Role of the Right to Information (RTI) Act is very important towards elevating living and livelihood conditions of the marginalized women together with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Apart from this, RTI has important roles to hasten the social development process besides ensuring transparency, accountability and good governance in public offices.
However, due efforts are progressing to empower women through need-based interventions side by side with strengthening governmental and civil society institutions and expanding networks for information access.
Discussants made the observation while addressing a stakeholders meeting for generating mass-awareness related to the RTI Act 2009 along with its successful implementation at Mohanpur Upazila Parishad conference hall room in Rajshahi district today (Thursday).
On behalf of its project titled "Advancing Womens Right of Access to Information in Bangladesh", Association for Community Development (ACD) organized the meeting funded by USAID and technically supported by the Carter Center.
The meeting discussed and devised ways and means on how to ensure access to information related to the service deliveries to marginalized, disadvantaged and underprivileged women.
It also focused on delivering various public services among the marginalised community besides making them interested and inspired to the services.
Government officials, particularly the designated ones, media workers, teachers, members of the civil society and presidents of women and youth forums joined the meeting.
Youth Development Officer Saeed Ali Reza, Women Affairs Officer Vandana Saha, Statistics Officer Farhad Hossain, Education Officer Rashida Yasmin, Rural Development Officer Moshiur Rahman, Agricultural Officer Mustafa Kamal and Food Controller Nurunnabi spoke on the occasion.
Subrata Kumar Paul, coordinator of the project, illustrated the aims, objectives and implementation strategy of the project during his multimedia presentation.
Terming the access to information as vital the discussants viewed the full-length implementation of the RTI act with unhindered flow of information by all government and non-government organizations concerned needs to be ensured for expediting development and ensuring good governance everywhere in the society.
The meeting was told that the project is being implemented in the upazila aimed at creating a congenial environment where women, especially Dalit and marginalized are able to enjoy Right to information from government and non-government agencies for protecting their fundamental Rights.
It has also started generating public awareness about climate change and how to mitigate its adverse impact through adaptive measures. —BSS
