HC orders to set up breastfeeding corners at work places, malls, stations

Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Sunday directed the government to take necessary steps to set up breastfeeding corners at all work places, shopping malls, airports, bus stops and railway stations across the country.
The High Court bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Kazi Ebadoth Hossain
delivered the verdict following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan and her nine-month-old child Umair Bin Sadi.
Ishrat Hasan appeared in the court hearing in support of her petition, while Deputy Attorney General SK Saifuzzaman represented the state.
Ishrat Hasan told the reporters that the High Court has given reasonable time to the government to set up the breastfeeding corners at all government and private work places across the country. The details of the verdict can be known after its full text is released, she added.
Following the writ petition the High Court on October 27 in 2019 issued a rule upon the government to explain as to why they should not be directed to take necessary steps to set up breastfeeding corners and baby care corners at all work places, shopping malls, airports, bus stops and railway stations across the country.
In the rule, the court also asked the authorities concern of the government to explain as to why the Women and Children Affairs Ministry would not be ordered to formulate a guideline to establish breastfeeding corners and baby care corners at public places.
The writ petition was filed with the HC on October 24 saying that the mothers feel uneasy to feed their children at the workplaces, shopping malls, airports, bus stoppages and railway stations as there is no specific breastfeeding and baby care corners.
It was also said in the petition that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2009 had directed the authorities concern to establish breastfeeding corners and day care corners at all public and private workplaces in order to ensure safe motherhood and to grow up the children in a beautiful and healthy environment.
But the directives of the PM yet to be fully implemented, the petition also read.
Writ petitioner Ishrat Hasan said, she recently went to Cox’s Bazar with her baby. She had to wait for five hours in the Cox’s Bazar airport for a flight of US Bangla Airlines on returning to Dhaka. On that time she did not find any breastfeeding corners in the airport which pushed her in an embarrassing situation.
“Since the government is not taking any initiative to set up breastfeeding corners in the public places or work places we have filed the writ petition,” said the lawyer.