Bangladesh, UN Women Pledge Closer Cooperation to Empower Women

Bangladesh and UN Women have pledged to work together to advance women's economic empowerment, build climate resilience, and implement the Women, Peace, and Security agenda.

Both sides also agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in promoting gender equality and protecting women's rights.

Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shama Obayed Islam, expressed this commitment during a bilateral meeting with Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, in New York on Friday (June 19).

During the meeting, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous highly praised Bangladesh's significant progress in women's empowerment and gender equality.

She reaffirmed her organization's interest in deepening its partnership with the Bangladesh government to implement the Women, Peace, and Security agenda.

Furthermore, she lauded the vital and honorable contributions of Bangladeshi female peacekeepers to international peacebuilding and UN peacekeeping missions.

Sima Bahous also warmly congratulated the State Minister on Bangladesh's election to the presidency of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

State Minister Shama Obayed Islam highlighted Bangladesh's long-standing and steadfast commitment to the empowerment of women.

She recalled the historic introduction of free education for women in the country, initiated through the visionary leadership of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. 

Additionally, she noted various effective measures taken under the current government to advance women's overall empowerment, including free education for girls up to the postgraduate level and the expansion of reproductive and mental health services.

She called for closer and more fruitful cooperation from UN Women to maintain this momentum.

During the discussions, the State Minister expressed deep concern over the ongoing funding shortfalls in humanitarian assistance programs for Rohingya women and girls sheltered in Bangladesh.

Emphasizing the critical need for sustained international cooperation to achieve a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis, she urged the global community to maintain pressure for the swift and safe repatriation of the displaced population to their homeland, Myanmar.