‘Govt committed to fostering women’s economic freedom at the marginal level’

The government aims to distribute Family Cards to 41 lakh women in the fiscal year ending 30 June, prioritising the financial security and economic self-reliance of women at the grassroots and marginalised levels, Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin has said.

He made the remarks while addressing the National Summit on Young Women’s Empowerment at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Mahdi Amin said the Family Card programme, one of the government’s key election pledges, was being implemented rapidly. He said the government was also working to expand women’s access to education, skills training and employment.

Emphasising women’s entrepreneurship, he said the government was creating opportunities for young people and women to access low-interest loans without collateral, seed funding and government grants to help them establish businesses and create jobs.

He said the government was also seeking to increase women’s participation in the international labour market, where their representation currently stands at around 5%. Following the Philippine model, initiatives are being taken to provide advanced training in nursing, caregiving and specialised fields to create opportunities for safe, dignified and well-paid jobs abroad.

The adviser also highlighted plans to expand technical and vocational training, including short courses lasting three, six or nine months and one year. Training centres and vocational institutes are also taking initiatives to teach foreign languages, including Japanese, Arabic, French, Italian and Korean, alongside skills required by overseas labour markets.

On education, Mahdi Amin said the government had begun implementing plans to extend free education for women from higher secondary to undergraduate level.

He stressed that inclusive development would require greater participation of women in the economy and state affairs, noting that women make up more than half of the country’s population.

He called for coordinated efforts involving the government, private sector and development partners to strengthen women’s economic, social and political empowerment.

The summit was chaired by ASM Rahmat Ullah Bhuiyan, country director of Save the Children in Bangladesh. Dipta Shankar, chief of education at UNICEF; Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman, additional secretary and project director of the EARN project; and Mahfuzul Alam Khan, acting secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, attended the event.