March 07, 2021:

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World” is unlike the generic thematic concentration of the past as the COVID-19 pandemic has posed us ample questions  to re-visit, re-think and re-conceptualise our policies in terms of gender equity in the wake of insurmountable tangible and intangible impacts on women in societies irrespective of the geographies. Women around the world have been indomitable with the significant increase in their work-load at households beyond their inalienable roles as forefront fighters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aftermath of the pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the women, children and the marginalized communities considering the fact that most of the women in developing countries are employed in low paid jobs in service sectors which have been impacted the most and also exhibited low participation of Women in IT sectors which have seen the growth during the pandemic.

In Bangladesh, we have seen the tremendous growth in gender equity in last 10 years and the Bangladesh Foreign Service has seen the significant progress of gender equity and a favourable gender balance in its recent intakes. The  overall Gender Equity in Bangladesh reflects our progressiveness which is quite remarkable in South Asia and we still need to strive for more to transform ourselves towards a more inclusive and equitable society in this landmark year of celebration of the Golden Jubilee of our Independence and Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We are proud to have quite a few Ambassadors or Heads of the Missions who are women. Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with her charismatic leadership and personality has proved to be one of the best leaders of the world and made herself a role model for other women of the world. Bangladesh Foreign Service Association salutes the women around the world who have significantly contributed in bringing social changes by dedicating themselves in all walks of life where space exploration or war fields are only insignificant parts of the wider spectrum. We hope that our women in Bangladesh will not be constrained to play innovative and exceptional pivotal decision making roles for an inclusive and sustainable future of gender equity which will go beyond Vision 2041 of Bangladesh and project ourselves beyond the borders.

On behalf of the Bangladesh Foreign Service Association, I would like to wish a happy and successful global celebration of International Women’s Day 2021.