The marginalised of the marginalised

The just concluded 'National Indigenous Women Conference 2016' has brought to the fore the extent to which women from ethnic minority communities are deprived of their rights. While women in general have to contend with all kinds of discrimination and violence, those from ethnic minority groups are even more marginalised. It is not only the state that neglects the need to ensure their rights as equal citizens; even within their own communities, patriarchal customs and traditions allow for discrimination and violence against women.

These important observations point to the urgency of formulating a policy to reduce the vulnerabilities these women face. The recommendations of the two day seminar that gave a voice to women from at least 17 ethnic minorities have been targeted to improve their status within their own communities as well as in society at large. They include: having reserved seats in parliament for these women, implementation of the CHT peace accord, a land commission for plain land ethnic communities, amendments to laws for an effective land commission for the CHT and a representative of the ethnic minorities in the National Human Rights Commission.

In addition to these steps it is crucial for the government to ensure access to justice for women from these communities who often become victims of sexual violence within and outside the communities. This means that perpetrators of sexual violence, no matter what their identities are, have to be brought to book.