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| People walk past a signboard reading “Reserved area for women and children as instructed by the district commissioner” along a beach in Cox’s Bazar, in this photograph taken Dec. 29, 2021, after authorities in Bangladesh’s main resort district scrapped a dedicated beach section for women and children after a social media outcry over gender segregation, officials said Dec. 30, 2021. AFP-Yonhap |
Bangladesh has shut an exclusive beach zone for women and children following criticism, just hours after it was opened in the southern tourist district of Cox’s Bazar.
“We are always respectful of visitors’ opinion,” chief of the district administration Mamunur Rashid said Thursday as he announced the decision to scrap the plan.
A nearly 150-metre-long stretch of beach was marked with pink flags and signboards that read “restricted area.”
Rashid said the move had been inspired by requests from some tourists after a female tourist was reportedly raped in the area two weeks ago.
But the decision drew criticism on social media, as some accused the authorities of failing to act more broadly to improve women’s safety.
According to the Tour Operators’ Association of Bangladesh, more than 60 per cent of the country’s 6.5 million domestic tourists visit Cox’s Bazar every year. The town boasts more than 120 kilometers of sandy natural coastline along the Bay of Bengal.
Despite being a predominantly Muslim country, women in Bangladesh are not prohibited from swimming at the beach. Only conservative Muslims generally refrain from doing so. (dpa)
Bangladesh scraps ‘women and children only’ beach after criticism
Source: Buhay Kapa PH
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