Dhaka: Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandakar Abdul Muqtadir emphasized the government's ongoing efforts to economically empower women by broadening livelihood opportunities and enhancing technical education. Speaking at a program at the Sylhet Sadar Upazila Auditorium, the minister highlighted the importance of women's self-reliance in fortifying families economically and contributing to national development.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the program, organized under the Prime Minister's Office's "Living Standards Improvement Programme for Small Ethnic Communities" for the 2025-26 fiscal year, witnessed the distribution of bicycles, sewing machines, and educational scholarships among beneficiaries. Muktadir outlined government initiatives aimed at increasing women's economic participation and ensuring their active role in family decision-making.
The minister announced upcoming training programs for women in aquaponics-based fish and vegetable cultivation, with government incentives to follow post-training to facilitate production. Emphasizing skills development, Muktadir stated the government's focus on integrating technical and vocational education with general education. Efforts are underway to introduce compulsory technical education at the SSC and HSC levels in selected subjects.
Muktadir also pledged to establish a Technical Training Institute in Sylhet Sadar to expand local students' training opportunities in computer operation, driving, and other technical skills. He stressed the urgency of accelerating canal excavation to ensure irrigation during the dry season, asserting that maintaining food self-sufficiency requires no cultivable land to remain unused.
The program was chaired by Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun. Other notable attendees included Sylhet Zila Parishad Administrator Abul Kaher Chowdhury Shamim, Sylhet Metropolitan BNP General Secretary Emdad Hossain Chowdhury, Sylhet District BNP Joint General Secretary Siddiqur Rahman Paplu, and Sylhet Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Khoshnur Rubaiyat.