Dhaka: To mark International Women’s Day, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Bangladesh organized an Open Mic event at Shahabuddin Park in the Gulshan area of the city. The event aimed to amplify voices for the rights, justice, and empowerment of women and girls across the country.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the Open Mic event was themed ‘Rights, Justice, Action: For All Women and Girls,’ and provided a platform for women, girls, men, and boys to express their reflections, commitments, and aspirations for a more equal Bangladesh.
UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh, Catherine Breen Kamkong, addressed the gathering, expressing gratitude to participants for their courage and engagement. She emphasized the importance of listening to communities for meaningful change, stating, “Policies and programmes are strongest when they reflect and are guided by real voices and lived experiences.” Kamkong reiterated UNFPA’s commitment to preventing violence against women and girls, ending child marriage, reducing adolescent pregnancy, ending preventable maternal deaths, and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, underscoring that sustainable progress requires collective action starting with dialogue.
Despite significant progress in advancing gender equality in Bangladesh, challenges remain. Violence against women continues to affect millions, child marriage is still a reality for almost half of all adolescent girls, and barriers persist for women and girls in exercising full agency over their health and life choices.
Farhana Sadika, a student at United International University, spoke at the event about the challenges girls face, including discouragement from studying technology and engineering, cyber-bullying, and online harassment. She highlighted initiatives like Alapon Helpline, which provide adolescents a safe space to share their struggles, discuss mental health, and support each other, helping young people find strength and hope for the future.
The Open Mic event is part of UNFPA Bangladesh’s broader International Women’s Day campaign, which seeks to highlight data, personal stories, and community voices to drive action on women’s and girls’ rights.