President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have stressed the need for ensuring the empowerment of women and their rights and dignity in building an equity-based world for their further advancement, reports BSS. "I think that it is urgent to give the womenfolk proper dignity along with ensuring the rights and empowerment because their contribution to the family, society and state is unlimited," said the President in a message issued on the eve of the "International Women's Day 2016" to be observed today.
He said the forward march of the womenfolk of Bangladesh is recognised worldwide. Women side by side with men are taking the country on the way to prosperity by playing role in family, society, state and economic life, he added.
President Abdul Hamid said the present government has taken various steps for ensuring the dignity, rights of equal participation of women in different spheres of social and national life. "We hope that the collective efforts of women and men would help build an equity based world for all by 2030," he added. The President wished all programmes of the International Women's Day a success.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged all to work together for ensuring equal rights and opportunity for women in family, society and in the country. In a separate message the Prime Minister said different countries and international organisations, including the United Nations, praised the government for attaching priority to empowering of the womenfolk, ensuring gender equality and poverty alleviation in the national development plans.
"We've formulated the National Women Development Policy 2011 and necessary laws and policies have also been made to empower women and prevent violence against them," said the Prime Minister. The successful participation of women in different areas of the country including politics, judiciary, administration, education, armed forces and law enforcing agencies are now being visible, she added.
The government, she said, has also introduced motherhood allowance, allowance for lactating mothers and allowances for widows-divorced and repressed women to ensure social security for women. Besides, ensuring the women's participation in local government bodies through direct vote has played role in establishing women's rights, she said, adding that as per the Global Gender Gap report Bangladesh ranked 64th although its position was 68, 75 and 86 earlier.