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Marginalized people in the country face discriminatory attitudes in many cases when seeking government services and benefits, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said today in a study.
The study titled “Access of Marginalized Communities to Public Services: An Assessment of Accountability Mechanisms,†published in a webinar today, said the negative mentality of local public officials and some government officials also constitute obstacles for the marginalized to avail themselves of different governments. services.
However, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a positive role in responding to the needs of marginalized people.
The main objective of the study was to assess the state of access and exercise of the existing institutional accountability system by people marginalized in receiving various public services.
Data collection for the study was completed between October 2020 and September 2021.
Bangladesh is home to at least 30 million people marginalized due to their religious identity, ethnicity, profession and different trait-based identities.
While focusing on the study, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said children of marginalized people face discriminatory attitudes in educational institutions.
Such a mentality of teachers gives an institutionalization of discriminatory behaviors towards the marginalized, he said.
Research has found that allegations of discriminatory behavior by ‘ordinary’ classmates and teachers in schools have also not been resolved. Even some students and parents were also victims of negative comments from teachers following the allegations.
In addition, investigators threatened the complainant parents that filing a complaint against a government official would not bring good results.
The study said transgender people were not allowed to queue for help during the Covid-19 pandemic.
When they wanted to complain to elected officials about this, the staff of the neighborhood police station did not let them do it.
Members of ethnic minority communities filed written complaints about education, land and social security programs by going to government offices. But due to their identity, there have been cases of complaints not being recorded, kept in the register and followed up.
The lack of accurate data on marginalized people is a major barrier to access, according to the study.
TIB made 10-point recommendations, including removing barriers to inclusion of marginalized people in various services and ensuring non-discriminatory and accountable services. The anti-discrimination law should be enacted quickly, he said.
It also recommended ensuring appropriate and regular publicity on the services and accountability system of government agencies in the field and in all media in the language of marginalized communities.
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