A/55/280/Add.2 Mukarram Mosque for women during Eid congregations and other special occasions of national and religious importance. A separate section under the Department of Deeny-Dawat and Culture, which is totally staffed by women, organizes discussions, meetings, seminarsymposia, and other Islamic cultural programmes. Resource persons from amongst distinguished women, visiting female dignitaries, scholars and ladies of high rank speak at these functions exclusively to female audiences. These programmes have a far-reaching impact on women’s participation in socio-economic and religious activities and help increase their knowledge of Islam. The representative of the Foundation considered that, in accordance with the Constitution, every individual was free to practise his or her religion in Bangladesh. He said that Muslim extremists found no support in Bangladesh. With respect to the fatwas declared against women, he noted that they were not real fatwas, since they were not imposed by qualified people. B. Consultations with non-governmental organizations and independent experts 48. Non-governmental representatives and independent experts consulted by the Special Rapporteur said that State policies generally respected freedom of religion and belief, in the strictest sense of those terms, and also respected their manifestations, within the framework of the limitations provided by the law. 49. Paradoxically, however, it emerged that religious communities — more particularly minorities and ethnic groups, but also Muslims — encounter serious problems. Such problems arise sometimes or regularly, depending on the nature of the case and of the situations involved. 50. According to the non-governmental sources consulted, these problems in fact arise in two main contexts. The first involves relations between the State and religious communities (for example, restricted access for non-Muslims to public-sector employment, and especially to positions of responsibility, notably in the army and the police (see sect. IV.B)); the Vested Property Act, under which the assets of Hindus and the Hurukh/Oroan tribes are stolen (see paras. 30 to 33); and legislation affecting women (see sect. V) and relations between the State and ethnic communities 12 (for example, the delays in the implementation of the Peace Accord concerning the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and serious incidents against members of ethnic communities involving State officials, see sect. IV). The second context involves relations between the State and non-ethnic communities, particularly extremist religious parties. Here, it is glaringly obvious that there is a real and effective threat of religious extremism. That threat stems largely from religious parties such as Jamat-e-Islami, which are very active in their efforts to train Muslims by infiltrating mosques and madrasahs and engaging in political action. This extremism is notably responsible for the climate of insecurity that reigns among non-Muslim minorities, as well as among the Ahmadi Muslim minority community, among ethnic groups and among women, regardless of their religious confession (for example, the problem of the fatwas and the assaults on the physical and moral integrity of women. The fact remains, however, that it is the responsibility of the State that is in question — especially its responsibility to protect its citizens from intolerance and discrimination. 51. According to the non-governmental experts, these problems stem largely from exploitation of the religious domain by political parties seeking either to win or maintain power. It was stressed that extremist religious parties had introduced this practice of exploiting Islam for political purposes, and other parties had followed their lead, becoming caught up in the system. It was pointed out, for example, that the ruling party had — just like the Islamic parties, and notwithstanding its commitment to secularism — organized an electoral campaign employing Islamic symbols such as the Koran and the veil. This phenomenon seems especially worrying because, according to the non-governmental sources consulted, it continues to be used by parties after they are elected into office (Muslim symbols such as the reciting of the Koran remain a very prominent feature of State television and radio broadcasts). Thus, for reasons that are purely electoral, the authorities tend to ensure that their actions do not offend the Muslim majority, and especially their religious feelings, which in itself is a legitimate practice. 52. According to non-governmental representatives, this approach has the effect of rendering the authorities powerless in many areas, leading to inaction. For example, the Government tries to combat religious