BSS, Dhaka :
International Women’s Day will be observed today across the country as elsewhere in the world with a call for building a new world with equal rights for women and men.
On the eve of the day, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages, greeting all women across the world.
In their messages, they termed the day’s theme ‘Corona Kale Nari Nettritto, Gorbey Notun Somotar Bishwa’ as time befitting in the current perspective and wished success of all programmes of the day.
In his message, President Md Abdul Hamid said the present government is implementing massive programmes to prevent all kinds of violence on women, including establishing women rights, spreading education for them and empowering women, to establish gender parity.
The womenfolk are keeping their footprints in all sectors, including politics, trade and business and job, without any restriction now, the president said.
Referring to different laws and policies, including National Women Development Policy 2011, for protecting women rights, the head of the state said that the government has worked to eliminate all kinds of discriminatory behaviors and practices to women, prevent violence against them, bring down the child marriage rate to zero, ensure equal wages for men and women in workplaces and facilitate the women entrepreneurs with separate banking and marketing systems.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the Awami League government has been implementing various programmes for a long time attaching priority to women empowerment and development.
The women are now playing a vital role in different areas, including politics, judiciary, administration, education, health, armed forces and law enforcing agencies due to the time befitting and pragmatic measures of the government, Sheikh Hasina added.
The premier said that the greatest Bengali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formed the Women’s Rehabilitation Board in 1972 with the aim of rehabilitating and empowering women who had suffered in the great war of independence.
Bangabandhu ensured the equality of women in all spheres of national life in the constitution, she added.
She hoped that with the joint efforts of men and women of the country, implementation of Vision-2021, achievement of sustainable development goals by 2030 and transition from middle income country to developed country by 2041 will take place in Bangladesh.
The ‘Sonar Bangladesh’ as dreamt by father of the nation, will be built. Delta plan-2100 will also be implemented in the days to come. It is our expectation in the Mujib Year,” she continued.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights.
