Bangladesh observes International Women鈥檚 Day today, along with the rest of the world, amid incidents of rape, harassment and violence against women and mob attacks on women in the country.
Most of the incidents remained unaddressed by the government.
鈥楩or All women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment鈥� is the theme of the day this year.
Women鈥檚 demand to have equal rights as men remains unfulfilled in Bangladesh with a rise in harassment, physical and sexual abuse, rape, and cyberbullying against women and girls.
Harassing women and girls over dress by some Islamists continues in Bangladesh, causing outrage聽in cross section of people.
Women鈥檚 equality in all spheres of life, including politics, administration, home and workplace, remains a distant goal, as they continue to lag behind their male counterparts.
The government, non-government organisations, women鈥檚 rights groups and socio-political organisations have chalked out various programmes to mark the day.
The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs will organise a programme at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Abdul Gani Road in the capital Dhaka, where interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus will be present as the chief guest.
Bangladesh Television, all private television channels, Bangladesh Betar and FM radios have been instructed to take necessary measures to broadcast the programme.
Yunus on Friday expressed hope that the country鈥檚 womenfolk would move forward in line with the developed world to materialise the dream of building a developed Bangladesh, according to a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha report.
鈥楾he women of Bangladesh will move forward in line with the developed world to realise the dream of building a developed Bangladesh. This should be our commitment to the development and empowerment of women in Bangladesh,鈥� he said in a message marking International Women鈥檚 Day, to be observed in the country today.
In a press release issued on Friday, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad said that the Samajik Protirodh Committee, a platform of 67 women鈥檚 rights and development organisations, will hold a rally and cultural programme at 11:00am at Shaheed Minar in the capital. BMP president Fauzia Moslem will preside over the event.
The Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust will hold a half-hour rickshaw rally starting at 11:30am today from Beltola at Banani to Korail Ershad Math.
The organisation will also conduct an awareness meeting on women鈥檚 rights at 12:00 noon at Korail Ershad Math.
The Bangladesh Nari Mukti Kendra will hold a rally at 11:00am in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, demanding the establishment of equal dignity and rights of women, ensuring strict legal action against the recent incidents of rape, mob attacks and violence against women, and full implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The Samajtantrik Mahila Forum will also hold a rally and procession at 11:00am in front of the National Press Club.
International Women鈥檚 Day has been celebrated worldwide on March 8 since 1913.
The idea of International Women鈥檚 Day was mooted by German socialist Clara Zetkin in 1910 during the second International Socialist Women鈥檚 Conference in Copenhagen.
The United Nations has been celebrating the day since 1975.
