Staff Reporter:
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir stressed the need to strengthen the institutional capacity of village courts and recruit women members in village police to ensure justice at the grassroots level.
“Enhancing the effectiveness of local government institutions and increasing women’s participation in governance are essential. Greater involvement of women would make local government activities more effective, transparent and people-friendly,” he said.
He made the remarks during a meeting with a four-member delegation from the United Nations Devel-opment Program (UNDP), led by Deputy Resident Representative Sonali Dayaratne, at the Secretariat yesterday.
Fakhrul added that women village police members could play an important role in addressing various social issues by engaging women and children at the community level.
The meeting also highlighted the importance of increasing women’s participation in local government.
Both sides discussed the current activities, progress and institutional strengthening of village courts.
Emphasis was placed on making village courts more effective in ensuring easy, speedy and low-cost jus-tice for rural people.
The minister said village courts have been playing a significant role in resolving rural disputes for more than a century.
Fakhrul noted that quick settlement of minor disputes at the local level would reduce pressure on higher courts while ensuring accessible justice for ordinary citizens.
He further said strengthening the capacity of local government institutions is essential for the effective implementation of government development and social protection programs. In this regard, he added that technical and institutional support from development partners could play a vital role.
Both the Bangladesh government and UNDP expressed optimism about further strengthening coopera-tion to improve the effectiveness of village courts, ensure justice at the local level and promote women’s empowerment.
Senior officials of the ministry, including Local Government Division Secretary Md. Shahidul Hassan, were present at the meeting.
