State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nessa Indira has said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently launched a visionary campaign called ‘Smart Bangladesh’ which targets to bring equality in women’s participation in ICT to support the transition of Bangladesh to a developed country by 2041.

She told this while speaking at the general debate of the ongoing 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations Headquarters on March 9, said the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN.

Reiterating the commitment of Bangladesh to CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action, she shared that the Government of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of  Sheikh Hasina has tken up several signature initiatives to empower women, such as the establishment of 5000 digital centers at the grassroot level; establishment of science and technology universities in major districts; technical and vocational institutes across the country; introduction of women-led agent network ‘SATHI’ to facilitate digital financial services for marginalized women; etc.

These projects have helped Bangladesh to make remarkable progress towards economic and political empowerment of women. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had been accorded with Global Women’s Leadership Award, Planet 50-50 Champion and Agent of Change Award for her outstanding contribution to the empowerment of women in Bangladesh, the State Minister further added.

Underscoring the need to identify the key barriers to technological innovation and education to achieve gender equality and women empowerment, Fazilatun Nessa urged for enhanced capacity building and technology transfer to bridge gender digital divide. 

She also called for greater international cooperation to ensure gender equality in the field of ICT.