Teknaf, Bangladesh: A 16-day training programme on ‘say no to violence against women’ has been on in the Burmese refugee camps of Nayapara and Kutupalong since November 25, said a refugee teacher.

The training topic is separated into three sub-titles ---stop violence against women, human rights for women and human rights for all. The training is from 9:30 am to over 4:00 pm every day.

The venue of the training is the community centre of the Nayapara camp. Every day, about 200 refugees from Nayapara camp including men and women participate in the training. But, the organizers want about 700 refugees to take part from Nayapara camp.

The training is being organized by the Technical Assistant Incorporate (TAI) with support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It will be completed on December 10.

The training is also going on in the Kutupalong camp. The trainers are from TAI and over 40 refugees including men and women participate in the training, said a refugee leader from the camp.

During the training, a play was enacted by refugees about human rights violations against women and the trainers also had some films about human rights violations against women and showed it during off time with a projector.

With the slogan “We can stop violence against women,” the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women was observed in Bangladesh yesterday as elsewhere across the globe.

“It is true that stopping violence against women is not an easy task because it is deep rooted in our society where women even don’t dare to disclose the fact even if she is tortured. But it is time to break the silence and come forward to stop violence against women, “said a refugee elder from the camp.

The local EU Presidency and the Delegation of the European Commission in a statement expressed their solidarity and support with the continued efforts to combat gender-based violence in Bangladesh.

It is the responsibility of everyone to resist repression on women in the society; a Rohingya elder said, adding that until women receive recognition for their contribution   to the family and the society, such repressing will go unabated.

The Home Minister Sara Khatun in a program said although there are some strong laws against torture on women, these cannot be executed properly always due to many reasons.