Statement

by

Prof. Zinatun Nesa Talukdar

State Minister

for

Ministry of Women and Children Affairs

Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

at the

Special Session of the UN General Assembly

"Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty First Century"

5 June 2000 New York

Mr. President

Secretary General

Excellencies

Ladies and Gentlemen

Asalamu Alaikum

It is indeed an honor for me to address this august gathering. Five years back in Beijing we committed ourselves to an elaborate global agenda for the empowerment and advancement of women. We pledged to achieve the goals of equality, peace and development. Today we are gathered here again to take stock of how far we have been able to achieve these goals.

I am aware there is a time limit, so I will only highlight some critical issues in my statement. However, we have prepared a country paper elaborating on the actions taken and progress made so far in Bangladesh, which my delegation will make available.

Mr. President,

Even today, we in Bangladesh, continue to be inspired by the noble vision of our Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for women's advancement and empowerment. We have made sincere and all-out efforts to keep our promise made in Beijing to chart out a better life for our women. Following the Conference, in right earnest, a National Policy for Advancement of Women was adopted to set in motion the implementation process for the commitments made in Beijing. Other institutional mechanisms, such as; the National Council for Women's Development, Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Women's Development Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, WID Focal Points Mechanism, and District Coordination Committee were also established. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs was strengthened and designated as the focal point to coordinate efforts towards this end. A WID component has also been included in all sectors to mainstream women's concerns in the national development process. I am happy to inform you, that despite our many obstacles and challenges, we have been able to make significant progress.

Mr. President,

In line with the twelve critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing PFA, specific policy measures and programmes have been adopted in Bangladesh. Realizing that economic empowerment is a key strategy for women's empowerment, elaborate programmes have been undertaken to address the feminization of poverty and to make our women more self-reliant. Through the personal commitment of the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Ashrayon (home for homeless) programme and Old Age Pension for vulnerable women have been introduced. In addition, the Vulnerable Group Development Programme and other innovative programmes such as micro credit financing schemes and entrepreneurship development programmes have also been taken up. The success of micro credit as an effective tool in addressing poverty and for the empowerment of the poor in particular, women, is well known to you all. Bangladesh has covered total five million households under the Vulnerable Group Development Programme.

Mr. President,

Realizing the far-reaching impacts of investing in the health and education of women, we have placed emphasis on these two sectors. Some of our efforts in this regard include: Free education up to primary level, the Food for Education and special stipends for girls up to grade ten. These measures have contributed to increasing literacy of girls and addressing the high drop out rate. Moreover, sixty- percent quota has been reserved for female teachers. Today more girls are going to school in Bangladesh and are staying there. The female literacy rate has increased from 34.2 to 49.5 percent from 1995 to 2000. Within the social sectors, the education receives the highest allocation in our national budget.

Similar, emphasis has been placed on improving the health of our women. The government has approved a comprehensive Health Policy. Moreover under the Health been initiated in 1998, integrated health and Population Sector Programme which has and family welfare services with special focus on vulnerable group in particular, women and children. The major focus of the Policy is to ensure primary health care to all with special emphasis on vulnerable groups, such as poor women and children. The government has also formulated a Food and Nutrition Policy and National Action Plan for Nutrition. Some other major programmes that we have undertaken include: "Women Friendly Hospital", Emergency Obstetric Care and Upgrading Mother and Child Care. These have had important impact. Maternal mortality per 1000 live birth has come down from 4.5 to 3 from 1996 to 1998.

Mr. President,

Although much still remains to be done to ensure more participation of women in

politics, we have made good progress in this regard. In Bangladesh both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are women. We have enacted legislative measures to ensure adequate representation of women in the National Parliament as well as in the local government institutions. Thirty seats out of a total of 330 seats are reserved for women in the Parliament. At present, we have almost 11 percent women's representation in the Parliament. At the election held in 1997, 12,828 Union Council

(local government bodies) Members got elected through direct votes and they represent 22 percent of total Union Parishad members. The government has also introduced other important measures such as quotas for women, to increase the number of women in public sector as well as in senior decision making positions.

Mr. President,

Despite continuous efforts to combat violence against women, this continues to remain a problem. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs with other relevant agencies has undertaken a multisectoral project on violence against women to establish "One Stop Crisis Centres". Such centres would provide facilities for medical treatment, police investigation, legal aid and counselling in one place. Various national and regional initiatives have already been undertaken to address issues related to Trafficking of Women and Children. Emphasis has been given on training for law enforcing agencies, forensic experts and medical practitioners. The present government, under the able leadership and guidance of the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has enacted new laws to address women's human rights. The adoption of the " Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act 2000", in January this year, is expected to act as a strong base for protecting women's human rights.

Mr. President,

We have also recognized the potential of our girl child. The present government is fully committed to improving the condition of children as a whole with special focus on the needs and concerns of the girl child. The National Plan of Action for Children has been adopted with specific programmes identified for the girl child.

The Government has also given importance on gender sensitive environmental measures. A National Environment Management Plan (NEMAP) with strong focus on the needs of women has been adopted. Similar programmes have also been undertaken in other critical areas of concern.

Mr. President,

While primary responsibility is placed on national governments to implement the Beijing PFA, the international community, the UN system and other international organizations as well as the civil society were also identified as key actors in complementing national and global efforts for women's empowerment. It is important therefore, that while we make every effort at the national level to keep our part of the promise, international efforts are equally forthcoming. It is imperative that there is focused attention placed on women's issues. The UN system as a whole needs to coordinate their programmes at the national level and as appropriate, reinforce government efforts. Particular attention needs to be given on the efforts being made by the least developed countries and countries in Africa.

Given the political will, commitment and the momentum that has been generated through the Beijing process, there is no looking back. The goals of gender equality, peace and development is a global agenda today. Bangladesh is here at this special session not only to renew her commitments made in Beijing but also to carry back important lessons for further actions and initiatives. We are here to once again pledge ourselves to achieve gender equality and to make the world a better place for women in the new millenium.

I thank you, Mr. President and Thank you all.