Dhaka, 14.October 2010. Today a national seminar title “Climate adaptation: priority on education of mother and girl child” has been organized at national press club in relation to the observance of International Rural Women Day 2010. ‘Rural women and adolescent girl must be educated on climate adaptation’ was the common voice of the seminar which was organized by Bangladesh National Committee on Observance of International Rural Women Day 2010. The seminar was moderated by Afoul Islam Khokan of Rupantor and the Moderator of EquityBD.The Chairmen of the parliamentary Standing committee of Ministry of Agriculture, Shaokat Momen Shahjahan M.P. was the chief guest of the seminar, Member of Parliament (MP) Asma Jerin Jhomo, Nazma Akter of Bangladesh Awami League, Syeda Asfia Ashrafi Papia of BNP, and Nur-a-Hasna Liliy Chowdhury of Jatiyo Party (JP) were spoke in the seminar along with leaders of civil society organizations. Mustafa Kamala Amanda of EquityBD has given welcome speech in the seminar.
Mr. Momen proposed to organize all the multi dimensional socio-economic activities of the rural women in a prescribed way to make their contribution in a visible form. Implementation of national policy of women development is important to ensure the rights and recognition of rural women he said.
Dr. M. Sohel Iqbal of equitybd has presented the keynote paper in the seminar. He mentioned that one fourth of the world population is rural women and 40% income source of a rural family is women. But they are not receiving proper respect from family and state. Among the drop out-of-school and HSC level student 51.9 % are adolescent girl in Bangladesh, who usually do not get proper attention from their parent’s especially in poor families. Situation is becoming jeopardized, while climate change catastrophic i.e., being affecting poor families, especially in coastal areas. He pleaded priorities for providing functional education with priority basis to the mothers and adolescent girls in poor families especially in coastal areas.
Asma Marin Jhomo, MP and a member of mother and child affairs parliamentary standing committee stated that frequent changing of government and policy caused the backwardness of women development and undermine their rights. For the effective role of rural women in climate adaptation government have to educate every rural family specially the women and girls.
Syeda Asfia Ashrafi Papia told that government and civil societies should work hand to hand to minimize the risk of climate change and educating the rural women. Nazma Akter asked for all party parliamentary caucus among the women MP of Bangaldesh. Though we have women leaders in politics and economics but the rural women are yet to go long way to access their rights – she added. Lily Chowdhury proposed that family member should extend the hand of assistance for boosting the rights of women.
Civil society activist Lily Hague, Maybug Hasan of CDP, Nargis Akter of Proshika, Shamima Akter of ESOW, Swapn Bhuian from Association of Landless Farmers), Bibha Rani Das fomm Savar, were also spoke in the seminar.
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