Country's 43.50 per cent female upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) face various obstacles while taking action against corruption, says a report of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
The obstacles include pressure from politicians, influential people, false allegations and non-cooperation from the district administrations, upazila parishad chairmen and law enforcement agencies concerned, said the report revealed on Thursday.
Of the female UNOs, 89.10 per cent could take action against corruption, it added.
The anti-corruption watchdog disclosed the findings of the report titled 'Role of Women Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) in Establishing Good Governance at Local Level: Challenges and Way Forward' at a virtual programme.
An online survey was conducted during the period between June, 2020 and March, 2021.
As of June 2020, out of 485 upazilas in the country, 149 had female UNOs, which was 31.1 per cent of the total UNOs posted.
Even though TIB sent a set of questions to all female UNOs for the survey, only 45 had responded.
According to the report, 78.3 per cent female UNOs faced different challenges while carrying out their duties.
"It is alarming that 78.3 per cent female UNOs had to face some sort of challenges in their professional life," TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said while speaking at the programme.
The number of female UNOs shows an encouraging picture of woman empowerment in the country, he said, adding that the achievement has been blurred due to the obstacles and challenges.
