Economic emancipation of grassroots women govt’s priority: Mahdi Amin

Prime Minister’s Education Adviser and Spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office Mahdi Amin today said ensuring financial well-being and economic self-reliance of grassroots and marginalized women is one of the government’s top priorities, adding that the Family Card programme is being implemented at a very rapid pace.

“The government has set a specific target of distributing Family Cards to 41 lakh women in the current fiscal year,” he said while addressing the National Summit on Young Women’s Empowerment at a hotel in the capital.

The programme was chaired by Save the Children, Bangladesh Country Director A S M Rahmat Ullah Bhuiyan. UNICEF Chief of Education Deepa Shankar, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Mahfuzul Alam Khan, and Additional Secretary and Project Director of the ‘EARN’ project Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman were also present.

Emphasizing women’s empowerment and improvement in the quality of education, Mahdi said women from different sections of society have different needs and contexts. Therefore, alongside empowering grassroots women, women from other sections of society must also be equipped with quality education and modern skills to enhance their capabilities, he added.

He stressed the need for the government and development partners to work together to create platforms that would ensure the proper development of the talents of young people and women.

Highlighting Bangladesh’s demographic dividend and the importance of women, Mahdi Amin said a large proportion of the country’s population consists of energetic young men and women, while women account for more than 50 percent of the total population. The presence of these energetic women truly reflects the image of the entire country, he added.

He said the Prime Minister often says that the three most important people in his life are his mother, his wife and his daughter. The Prime Minister’s deep affection and respect for women are reflected in every policy of governance, he added.

Recalling the historical progression of women’s development in Bangladesh, Mahdi Amin said the establishment of a separate Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the launch of the garment industry, a key sector for women’s economic empowerment, were initiated under Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman.

Subsequently, former Prime Minister late Begum Khaleda Zia made Bangladesh a global role model for women’s empowerment by introducing free education for girls up to Class XII. Continuing that legacy, the current government has announced the expansion of free education for women from Class XII to the undergraduate level and has already begun implementing the initiative, he said.

Highlighting various government initiatives in education, he said new textbooks are being introduced in the next academic year as part of efforts to make sports compulsory from the primary level. This year, the ‘Notun Kuri Sports’ programme was launched with the participation of around 17 lakh students, he added.

Besides, 11 lakh boys and an equal number of 11 lakh girls participated in a football tournament organised for students from Class I to Class V at primary schools.

To increase attendance at the primary level, the government is prioritizing the midday meal programme, free distribution of school uniforms and shoes, and the provision of hygienic sanitation and hygiene facilities at educational institutions, he said.

Stressing the need to move away from the conventional certificate-oriented, rote-learning-based education system and develop a skilled workforce equipped for real-life needs, the adviser said modern technical courses, including short courses and micro-credentials lasting three, six or nine months or one year, are being introduced nationwide.

Initiatives have also been taken to teach Japanese, Arabic, French, Italian and Korean alongside technical training to expand overseas employment opportunities, he said.

He outlined plans to create safe and dignified employment opportunities for women in the international labour market by providing advanced training in nursing, care-giving and specialized sectors, following the Philippine model.

Noting that low-interest loans without collateral, seed funding for innovative ideas and government grants are being arranged to encourage women entrepreneurs, Mahdi Amin said people’s empowerment is the fundamental basis of the state’s strength.

The government is working alongside the private sector and all development partners, including Save the Children and UNICEF, to build an inclusive and discrimination-free Bangladesh, he added.