'No payment, no service'

Mosammat Shumi Begum (27) of Gobindabganj upazila in Gaibandha is the mother of two. Her youngest is a boy of 20 months. Her husband Md Sajed Mondal is a farmer. The government runs a programme for poor women, the 'Mother and child support programme', which aims at meeting the nutritional needs of an infant from when it is in the womb to the crucial first 1000 days of its life. Shumi applied to be enlisted with this programme, but the local Union Parishad (UP) member asked for money to be enlisted for this allowance. She did not have the money and so could not be enlisted.

Shumi Begum voiced these allegations on Monday at the 'Service Provider Organisations and Public Hearing Fair 2022' organised by ActionAid Bangladesh. She is a resident of Gobindafulhara Abdapara village of Katabari union in the upazila. She said they ask for 4000 to 5000 taka to be enlisted. She was unable to pay so much money.

Shefali Rani (34), a member of indigenous community in Fulhara Kayarbhita village, made the same complaint. Her husband Dinesh Pahari is a day labourer. They have three sons and a daughter.

She reproachfully said that even though she was poor, she was not given the government allowance. She said that she was aware that the allowance was not given unless you paid and so she did not bother to contact any one. She didn't even have any idea of what government services were available and where these were available.

 This public hearing fair was held at the playground of Mahmudbagh Islamia Dimukhi High School of Bagdabazar, Katabari union. The men and women of the area voiced their grievances to the local people's representatives and government officials present at the event.

Referring to such complaints by the women, Katabari UP chairman Jobaer Hasan Shafiq Mahmud Golpa, who was chair of the meeting, denied ever taking money to enlist people of allowances. He said he had noted down the complaints and would look into whether any UP members were involved in such incidents. He said he would resolve the problems.

Speaking at the event, the upazila women affairs officer Farzana Yasmin said the government was working to ensure the rights of women in every village. Lists of women qualified to receive allowances were sent to the concerned office. But the demands were more than the allocations. Even so, effort was made for equal distribution by means of the allowance card.

A social survey report by ActionAid Bangladesh, regarding gender-sensitive public services, was presented at the event. The survey as carried out from 29 September to 12 October this year among 200 respondents of various professions in 28 villages of Katabari Union. The respondents included 123 women and 28 per cent of the various professions were housewives. According to the report, 24 per cent said they never receive government services. They are not given importance in government offices. They do not even receive the medicines they need at hospitals. They feel that they don't have anyone of their own at the service organisations, and so they can't avail the services. They have to pay if they are to get service. Even in cases where the government charges a nominal fee, they have to pay extra.

At the event, Shahnaz Begum (35), wife of day labourer Fazlu Miah of Dakkhin Betra village in Katabari union, said she had two children. She had to pay around 300 to 400 taka at the UP office to get their birth certificates. But the fee to register the birth of a child under five is just 50 taka.

Mosammat Rukhsana Begun, an over-50-year-old woman, said she goes to the local government service centre for medicines. But other than one or two, none of the drugs are provided free of cost. She has to buy these from other pharmacies.

Then there are persons who are not aware of what services they are entitled to and where to avail these services. The survey report said 11 per cent of the survey respondents had no idea about government services. Around 89 per cent were aware of education services, 82 per cent of health services, 56 per cent of child and women healthcare, another 56 per cent about agricultural services, around 63 per cent about allowances for the elderly, widows, those abandoned by their husbands and disabled, 26 about TCB cards and 15 per cent about the rice project.

Upazila agriculture officer Syed Reza-e-Mahmud said, there were three deputy assistant agriculture officers for each union. Through them, lists are down up for agriculture related assistance. Women farmers also receive assistance.

Also speaking at the event were the upazila livestock officer Belal Hossain, police inspector Milan Chatterjee and ActionAid Bangladesh's manager Azadul Islam.

At the day-long fair, the agriculture, education and health departments had a few stalls to highlight their services. ActionAid distributed exercise books among the students and hygiene kits among the girls present there.