Parliamentarian demands action against police man harassing woman over Bindi

Dhaka, Apr 3 : Noted actor and ruling Awami League parliamentarian Subarna Mustafa on Sunday demanded action against the police personnel who harassed a female college teacher for wearing Bindi. Speaking in the national parliament Jatiyo Sangsad on Sunday, Subarna Mustafa asked if there is any clause in the constitution of Bangladesh that prohibits wearing of Bindi on their forehead? She said that no law restricts women from wearing what they consider fit. She said that it is shameful when someone from the law enforcement agency plays the role of an eve-teaser by taunting a woman for wearing a Bindi. She termed the incident disgraceful, she said that this is not an issue one any one political party as it concerns the entire woman comm ty. Parliamentarian and social activist Aroma Dutta said that she completely echoes the sentiment of Subarna Mustafa on this issue. She said this is an unfortunate incident and is nothing more than harassment. Dutta said that the policeman’s actions were attempting to prevent people from practicing their own culture as women have worn Bindi and jewellery for thousands of years in the country. “Such incidents are not expected in a secular state like Bangladesh,” said Aroma Dutta. She however said that the incident reflected the mindset of an individual and not of the law enforcement agency of Bangladesh in general. A lady teacher Lata Samaddar of the local Tejgaon college lodged a complaint with police that a policeman abused her for wearing Bindi while she was getting down from a rickshaw on the way to her college on Saturday. She said in her complaint that the person in police form tried to run the motorbike over her during which she got injured. Lata Samaddar told this correspondent that the action of the police person reflected the fundamentalist and anti-woman attitude of the person. MAZ RKM