55 SC women lawyers urge for vacating MP post of Hasan Mahmud

Staff Reporter  :
A total of 55 women lawyers of the Supreme Court on Thursday sent a letter to the Speaker of the National Parliament to declare vacate the parliament membership of Information Minister Dr Mohammad Hasan Mahmud for making ‘deragatory, disgraceful, defamatory and indecent’ remarks about women.

Hasan Mahmud at a meeting organised by the pro-Awami Leage cultural body titled ‘Bangabandhu Shangskritik Jote’ on August 11 at the National Press Club made the comment that is termed by the lawyers as ‘serious defamatory and disgraceful’ against women community in general and the leading BNP women leaders in particular.

The Minister said, “In a bid to convince them, BNP sent to foreigners at dead of night their women leaders by dressing and making them up which did not harvest any positive result.”

In his statement he also made an oblique and distasteful indecent indication by uttering such comment like— “you go (to foreigners) along with them (women), we know, people speak many (ill) things (about that), I cannot tell all those…”

The women lawyers said, “By uttering these filthy words and making such oblique disgraceful indication towards the women and their character, Hasan Mahmud has seriously hurt the women folk in general attacking women’s dignity and their rights, by creating incitements and breaching the principles of gender equality.”

The lawyers said Hasan Mahmud has clearly breached Article 39 of the Constitution as his statement is defamatory, indecent, inciting and false which amounts to a criminal offence that calls for legal action against him.

They said under Article 27, 28, 29 and 40 of the Constitution the women enjoy equal rights and shelters as those of men regarding participation in National, Local Government and for promotion each and every sector of the state.

As oath-bound to uphold the Constitution, Hasan Mahmud by his disgraceful remarks against women has utterly violated the Constitution, for which his parliament membership to be vacated, added the lawyer.

So the lawyers requested the Speaker of the House to take appropriate actions leading to the vacating of the membership of Hasan Mahmud in the National Parliament for greater national interest and for national security.

Lawyers Fahima Nasrin Munni, Arifa Jesmine Nahin, Shamima Sultana Dipti, Sarkar Tahmina Shondha, Shamima Akter Banu, Morjina Raihan Madina, Begum Delwara Habib and others signed the letter.