Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today said empowering women is crucial as it is quite impossible to advance the country leaving half of the population behind, says BSS report.
“Half of the population of Bangladesh is women. We firmly believe that if we leave this half of the population behind, if we do not empower this half of the population, if we do not empower them, if we cannot empower them educationally and economically, then it is certainly not possible to move the country forward in any way,” he told a function here.
The premier made the remarks while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Family Card programme, organised by the Ministry of Social Welfare, at T&T playground in Banani, adjacent to Korail slum, this morning.
Recalling the contribution of the former prime minister, late Begum Khaleda Zia, to women empowerment, Tarique Rahman said when Begum Khaleda Zia was in charge of running the country, she made education for women, from school level to intermediate level, free throughout Bangladesh.
“Today, we want to empower that educated female society economically and to make them economically solvent,” he said.
To this end, he said, the incumbent government has taken plans to empower women and as a part of it, today the Family Card progamme was introduced across Bangladesh.
“…I firmly believe that my government will be able to gradually bring this family card to all the four crore families in Bangladesh, headed by women, within the next five years, InshaAllah,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government has to follow rules and regulations in taking any initiative, and as part of those rules and regulations, it has to take pilot projects first.
This work (Family Card progamme) has started in 14 places or 14 upazilas across Bangladesh involving about 37,000 women,” he said.
In three areas of capital – Karail area, Bhashantek area and Sattala slum, about 15,000 women have been brought under the Family Card programme today, he added.