Photo : Collected

DHAKA, Sept 23, 2025 (BSS) – Speakers at a roundtable today stressed the need for ensuring easy and speedy justice by avoiding lengthy court proceedings and emphasized the importance of including marginalized people, particularly by enhancing women’s capacity to lead and make decisions in the functioning of village courts.

The remarks came at a national roundtable on the importance of gender-sensitive and inclusive village court services for rural women and marginalized people, held at a city hotel.

They said village courts are an important local government initiative to provide affordable legal aid to marginalized people. This requires concerted efforts and awareness at the field level to transform village courts into effective platforms for inclusive justice, they added.

The Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh Phase III Project, in collaboration with the Local Government Division, UNDP and the European Union, organized the meeting.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Mumtaz Ahmed addressed the event as the chief guest, while Local Government Division Secretary Md Rezaul Maqsud Zahedi and UNDP Senior Governance Specialist Tanvir Mahmud, among others, were present as special guests.

Senior officials of various ministries, development agencies, academia and media representatives also attended the event.

The meeting was moderated by Additional Secretary of the LGD and National Project Director of the Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh Phase III Project Suraiya Akhter Jahan.

Mumtaz Ahmed said, “If information about village courts is incorporated into all projects and training programs run by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and other relevant ministries on women, children and development, it could significantly improve public awareness.”

Ahmed stressed the need for special attention to the inclusion of women as judges in the judiciary. “To raise awareness about village courts, information should be widely disseminated, and a brief introduction should be included in textbooks,” she added.

She further said it is undoubtedly a matter of joy that village court activities are now being conducted in 4,453 union parishads across 61 districts of the country.

Md Rezaul Maqsud Zahedi said, “To make village courts more effective, it is essential to make the inclusion of women mandatory.”

He noted that coordinated cooperation among the media, local government and all ministries is required to ensure impartial and speedy justice for women at the grassroots level.

A total of 1,36,808 cases were filed with village courts from February 2024 to August 2025, of which 36,962 were by female petitioners. During this period, 14,214 cases were referred from the High Court.

National Project Coordinator Vibhas Chakraborty presented the project profile at the meeting.

Others who addressed the event included Shahana Sarmin, Executive Director of the National Women’s Organization; Hazera Khatun, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare; Dr. Prakash Kanti Chowdhury, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; Mir Mashrur, Chief News Editor of Channel i; Gender Lead Sharmin Islam; and Head of Communication Md Abdul Qayyum.