Desk Report: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has come out with a five proposal for emphasizing the need to create a conducive environment for women and girls. Speaking at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
She said, ‘In the Global South, we need to create an enabling environment for women and girls to become agents of change. We all should join hands to achieve SDG 5. At the event, Sheikh Hasina drew the attention of Global South leaders to five critical issues needed to develop women and girls as change makers in the region.
The Prime Minister said in his first proposal, ‘We must mitigate the adverse effects of the ongoing food, energy and financial crises to ensure the nutrition, health and safety of our women and girls.’
Second, he urged us to keep girls in school, protect them from cybercrime, and try to bridge the growing digital divide. Many girls face this problem.
Sheikh Hasina’s third proposal calls for increasing opportunities for gainful employment, decent work, pay equality and financial inclusion for women.
In his fourth and fifth proposals, the Prime Minister suggested considering the need to take measures for the safety and survival of women due to climate impacts, besides creating ‘equal opportunities’ for women to pursue active and sustainable political careers.
On the measures taken to ensure equal rights for women in Bangladesh, he said that the constitution made under the direct supervision of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has ensured equal rights for women.
The Prime Minister also noted that Article 28(2) of the Constitution states: “Men and women shall have equal rights in all spheres of State and public life.”
“We have a unique example of a national parliament where our Speaker, Leader of Parliament, Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader of Parliament are all women,” she said.