Speaker for gender-equality programmes to attain sustainable development

Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Sunday underscored the need for undertaking gender equality based programmes to ensure inclusive and sustainable development of the country as the women are effective variable for change.

“Equality based development is fundamental right for every women…so, sustainable development goals (SDGs) have a direct linkage with women improvement ,” she said while virtually joining to ‘women of Inspiration -2021 prize’ distribution ceremony at a city hotel here.

Dr Shirin said “although country’s half of the population is women, so the contribution of women in socio-economy is evident.” Junior Chamber International (JCI) organized the programme.

She told the function that Bangladesh is now a role model in women empowerment and promotion of women leadership, adding that ” but there are some critical challenges like poverty, disparity, financial dependency, lack of women participation in decision making and women leadership are the global challenge ahead of women development.”

After emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, the Jatiya Sangsad Speaker said, violence has significantly increased on woman and female children along with raising gender-based disparity. So, formulation of innovative policy and strategy conducive to women empowerment is very much essential, she added.

Citing the achievement of ‘inspirational leadership award’ by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Speaker said the winning of such commonwealth recognition by the Prime Minister for her outstanding leadership during the pandemic is glorious for the nation.

All sorts of initiatives like the National Women Development Policy of 1997, inclusion of mother’s name in passport and grant of citizenship to the child through mother have been introduced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a mark of economic and social development outline for the women.

Chaired by JCI Bangladesh vice-president Ismat Jahan Lisa, the programme also was addressed, among others, by Sagufta Yasmin MP, Barrister Shah Ali Farhad and Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the United States Embassy in Dhaka JoAnne Wagner.