Bangladesh has guaranteed women’s rights: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh has ensured the rights of women. The current government has taken various initiatives for the protection of women and children.

He was speaking at an international conference on ‘Women in Islam: Dignity and Empowerment’ in Jeddah today, Monday, November 6.

Calling upon the Muslim world and the OIC to stand by Palestine, the Prime Minister said that women and children are the most affected by Israel’s violence against Palestine. I ask world leaders to act now to stop this violence for their safety.

Sheikh Hasina said, we must be united for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. I will continue my role on behalf of our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

The Prime Minister said, the atrocities in Gaza remind us of the 200,000 women who were subjected to inhuman torture during our liberation war in 1971. These brutal incidents remind me of the brutal killing of my parents and other family members including women and children on August 15, 1975. He said, it depicts the scene of torture of thousands of persecuted Rohingya women and children in Myanmar.

Sheikh Hasina said that under the guidance of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the equal status of women has been confirmed in the constitution of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu in 1973 made provision for 15 reserved seats for women in the first Parliament. The Prime Minister said that as her daughter, she continued this work of women empowerment and increased the number of seats reserved for women to 50.

“Each time I have come to office, I have been trying to remove all barriers to promote women in decision-making,” she said. I feel proud to see our women occupying top positions in administration, judiciary, universities, armed forces, financial institutions and trade organizations.

The head of government said that women workers are about 46% of our formal economy. Women entrepreneurs are making a major contribution to our cottage and small scale industries. Women have a vibrant presence in IT freelancing, e-commerce and start-ups. He said, our government is working to increase women’s access to finance, markets, ideas and training.