The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said her government is trying its best to fulfil the dream of poet Begum Sufia Kamal for overall advancement of the country's women.
'Despite limitations, we're trying relentlessly to improve the lot of women as they are an integral part of the country's development,' she said while speaking at a discussion at the Osmani Memorial auditorium in the city Monday.
The discussion was organised by the women and child affairs ministry in observance of the 100th birth anniversary of late Begum Sufia Kamal, a renowned poet and a pioneer of women's rights movement in Bangladesh.
The state minister for women and child affairs, Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, presided over the function.
Hasina said her government had undertaken special measurers for women in all sectors so that they could make progress quickly.
She mentioned that the present government had allocated special funds to help the women entrepreneurs flourish in their ventures.
'We've also made the education for female students free up to higher secondary level and provide free books to them,' she said.
She urged all to work together for halting all sorts of repression and torture against women.
Describing the development activities undertaken for women during her government's previous tenure and also this time, the prime minister said the present government would do whatever was possible for the development of the women.
'Half of the population of the country is women. We can't think of any development bypassing the development of women.'
She urged the women to take part in the economical activities in larger numbers alongside men.
'We've taken a women development policy to establish their rights in all sector. We faced an adverse situation because of this policy. But let me assure you, there is nothing anti-Islamic in the policy. We formulated the policy in accordance with the Qur'an and Sunnah,' Hasina said.
'There is nothing in the policy that would hurt any religion,' she added.
The prime minister said political empowerment of women was essential to fulfil the dream of Begum Sufia Kamal.
She said it was the Awami League which approved the highest number of women candidates in the last general election and only two of them lost in the election.
She mentioned that during the previous tenure of the Awami League, women were appointed as judges in the High Court Division, and this time, a woman judge has been appointed in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
Hasina also said the maternal leave was only three months before 1996. After assuming the office last time, the AL government increased this leave to four months and now it had been raised again to six months so that mothers could take proper care of their newborn babies.
Recalling the contributions of Sufia Kamal for women and also for the country, she said in an emotional voice that Begum Sufia Kamal was all time a great support to her. 'Both before and after 1975, I always used to go to my 'fufu' (aunt) for all sorts of support and she (Sufia Kamal) always helped me. She was very close to my father and our family.'
Later, the prime minister witnessed a colourful function.
Born in Barisal on June 20 in 1911, Sufia Kamal dedicated her life to empowering women. She received Independence Day Award, Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Award, Deshbandhu CR Das Gold Medal, and many other national and international accolades for her contributions in literature and other fields.
Poet Begum Sufia Kamal passed away on November 20 in 1999.
Source : New Age
