The country’s womenfolk is advancing at a faster pace and it has been possible due to various steps of the government.
Different initiatives of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs including establishment of Joyeeta Foundation have been making contributions to this end.
Taking various facilities from Joyeeta Foundation, the womenfolk is demonstrating their successes. They are becoming self-reliant, and playing an important role in the family and decision-making as well.
Concerned persons said thanks to various initiatives of the government, the womenfolk is flying the success of the flags not only at home, also at offices, courts and business organisations.
According to sources, support is being extended for marketing of products of 14,960 women entrepreneurs at the grassroots level through 180 samities (associations).
As a result, they can sell various cottage industry products produced by them.
Readymade garments and other products of the poor and distressed women who are registered with the woman associations under the Directorate of Women Affairs are being sold to make them self reliant economically.
Under the revenue budget, “Angana”, a sales and display centre, is being run at the head office of the directorate.
The government under the microcredit scheme for self employment distributed Taka 43.33 crore among 35,650 women till June 2018 from 2014-15 fiscal year.
Besides, the government has made arrangements for housing including hygienic latrine for 700 maternity allowance-recipient mothers in 10 upazilas in 10 districts.
The project was implemented under the “Swapna Package” programme at a cost of Tk 57.50 crore.
Nasima Begum, a beneficiary of the scheme who hails from Mymensingh, said the government has constructed houses and sanitary latrines for them.
“We previously lived in a thatched house and used bamboo-made latrine,” she said.
As many as 185 women, who are making contributions to the welfare of the society, were honored at upazila, district and divisional levels in five categories through a programme.
The programme titled “Joyeeta Onneshone Bangladesh” has been introduced for giving recognition and encouraging the grassroots women.
To provide housing facilities to the working women, eight dormitories – four in Dhaka and one each in Rajshahi, Khulna, Chattogram and Jashore – have been constructed. The number of the seats of these hostels are 1,606.
An official of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs said a 12-storey hostel having 744 seats was constructed to give housing facilities to the female garment workers at low cost. Besides there are daycare centres for the children.
For the working women, he said, a total of 43 daycare centres were opened in divisional cities including Dhaka and district towns. As a result, the mothers can give full attention to their work without any tension for their children.
There are 15 daycare centres for the children of the female garment workers in Dhaka, Chattogram, Manikganj, Gazipur and Narayanganj, the official said, adding the number of seats of each centre is 30.
Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Kamrun Nahar said the government is implementing various programmes for women development.
She said the government is framing a time-befitting women development policy and a work plan for its implementation, as well as domestic violence prevention law and the DNA law.
The secretary said the government has imparted training to huge number of women to make them self reliant and economic empowerment.
She said one crore and 84 thousands women took training on skill development from the National Women Training Academy. The unemployed women received training on sewing and embroidery, block and boutique, leather industry, food making and processing.
