They also called for changing social attitude towards women to safeguard reproductive health rights.

The Health Rights Project, Population Services and Training Centre (PSTC), in association with the daily Samakal organised the roundtable on 'Reproductive health rights of women' at the National Press Club in the city to mark the World Population Day.

Presenting a keynote paper, Dr Halida Hanum Akhter, director general of Family Planning Association of Bangladesh, said enjoying reproductive health means having a safe sex life, the right to information and the freedom to take decision on family planning.

She pointed out that about one-fifth of married teenage girls in the country are forced to conceive against their consent and most of them have no knowledge about various sexual diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

The speakers urged the media to raise awareness among people to eliminate social prejudice against reproductive health so that women can take decisions on their own on such issues.

They also criticised the media, particularly the electronic media, for showing advertisements where women are treated as a commodity.

Abed Khan, editor of the Samakal, Rokeya Sultana of UNFPA, Dr Julia Ahmed of Bangladesh Women Health Coalition, Milon Bikash Pal of PSTC, Ranjan Karmakar of Steps Towards Development, Dr Makhduma Nargis Ratna of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad and Dr Rawshan Ara also spoke at the roundtable moderated by Nitai Kanti Das of Health Rights Project.