Dhaka: The International Women’s Day is being observed across the country today as elsewhere in the world with the theme ‘Rights, Equality, Empowerment/Development of Women and Girls’. Different women, social, and political organizations have taken separate programs to observe the day.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus issued a message expressing hope that the country’s womenfolk would advance in line with the developed world to realize the dream of a developed Bangladesh. Professor Yunus emphasized the significant role women played in the recent student-people movement, noting their leadership in the mass uprising of July-August for the country’s democratic transformation.
To mark the day, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has organized elaborate programs. The Jatiya Press Club (JPC) is set to hold a discussion at its Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall with JPC President Hasan Hafiz presiding over the event.
In observance of International Women’s Day, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) will organize a rickshaw rally from the city’s Banani Beltola area to Karail ground. Participants will include members and players of BLAST’s youth and women’s football teams.
A colorful rally, organized by Bangladesh Jatiyotabadi Mohila Dal, will commence from in front of the BNP central office, parading different city streets before returning to the starting point. BNP National Standing Committee member Begum Selima Rahman will attend as the chief guest, while Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, the party’s senior joint secretary general, will be the main discussant.
International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8 annually, traces its roots back to 1909 when the Socialist Party of America organized a Women’s Day in New York. The 1910 International Socialist Women’s Conference proposed an annual Women’s Day, and after women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The United Nations adopted the day in 1975, broadening its significance worldwide.