Speakers at a national conference on Saturday said Bangladesh’s energy transition would not be just unless it addressed gender inequalities, particularly in household cooking, where women face long working hours and serious health risks.
The Just Energy Transition Conference 2026, hosted by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) at the Military Museum in Dhaka, placed gender equity at the centre of the country’s clean energy debate. The conference, themed “Voices for a Gender-Responsive Energy Future”, examined the social dimensions of energy transition alongside technology and finance, with speakers urging that grassroots realities be reflected in policy and investment decisions.
In her opening remarks, Shaheen Anam, executive director of MJF, said the organisation’s 23 years of grassroots work had shown that climate vulnerability disproportionately affects women and persons with disabilities. She warned that an energy transition cannot be considered just unless it responds to these realities, particularly the burden of unsafe and inefficient household cooking.
“So, energy will be clean, it will be green, and it will be for people’s welfare,” she said, calling on policymakers to prioritise renewable energy regardless of political change.
The first session, “Energy Policy and Governance in the Frame of Women’s Empowerment,” was chaired by Banasree Mitra Neogi, director of MJF’s Rights and Governance Programmes. She questioned who benefits from the transition, arguing that exclusion of any community undermines the principle of justice.
Presenting a paper, M Zakir Hossain Khan, executive director of Change Initiative, urged Bangladesh to distinguish between “negotiable” and “non-negotiable” energy needs, identifying safe and clean indoor cooking energy as non-negotiable for women’s health. He called for Bangladesh-led renewable energy guidelines, decentralised financing, community-based grids and regular public reporting, including quarterly publication of a Gender Just Energy Transition (JET) Dashboard.
Tanzina Dilshad, programme manager for environment and energy at the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh, highlighted women’s underrepresentation in implementation roles within the energy sector. She stressed the need for women-friendly policies that recognise career breaks and address structural discrimination, citing Shoktikonna as an initiative supporting young women’s participation in the transition.
Hasan Mehedi, chief executive of CLEAN, advocated decentralised and democratised energy governance, affordable financing such as low- or no-interest loans, and stronger incentives for employing women, proposing recruitment targets above 10 per cent.
The second session, “Power–Equality–Business,” chaired by Dilruba Haider of UN Women, focused on the link between renewable energy and women’s economic empowerment. She said the accelerating climate crisis made renewable energy an urgent necessity and noted that men must also play an active role in advancing gender equality.
Fredrika Norén, second secretary for inclusive economic development at the Swedish Embassy, said a gender-responsive transition requires reforms across multiple layers of society, including skills development and access to finance. She recommended decentralised sector-level funds and making gender responsiveness a core element of financing decisions.
Navid Hasan, founder of For the Light, said women remain largely absent from renewable energy entrepreneurship and ownership, calling for targeted green finance and training. Mollah Amzad Hossen, editor of Energy and Power, noted that Bangladesh’s renewable energy share remains low and that many installed solar systems are underutilised, urging expanded technical training for women and stronger support from local government.
The final session, “From Dialogue to Commitment: Holding Political Parties Accountable for a Gender-Responsive Energy Future,” featured representatives from political parties and civil society. Sharif Jamil of Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA) said election manifestos must clearly address renewable energy in light of Bangladesh’s climate vulnerability.
Fahima Nasrin Munni, assistant secretary for international affairs at the BNP, said women remain marginalised in energy-related decision-making and pledged that her party would prioritise women’s energy challenges if elected. Representatives from the NCP and Jatiya Party also expressed support for women’s empowerment and renewable solutions, including biogas.
The conference concluded with calls for stronger political accountability and concrete commitments to ensure Bangladesh’s energy transition is sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive.