Women’s participation key to building welfare-oriented Bangladesh: PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has pledged to build Bangladesh as a welfare-oriented state, saying that the country’s development must involve equal participation of both women and men.

He made the remarks while releasing fish fry into the Brahmaputra River at Mirzapur in Pakundia of Kishoreganj on Sunday (August 16).

The prime minister said women make up half of Bangladesh’s population and the country cannot move forward by leaving them behind. Women must be educated, skilled and brought into the mainstream of national development, he said.

“Bangladesh can be transformed into a welfare-oriented state only by ensuring the participation of both women and men,” Tarek Rahman said.

Speaking about the fish-release programme, he said the fish would grow, reproduce and spread into canals and wetlands, ultimately benefiting people across the country.

He said the core objective of the BNP’s politics was the welfare of people, particularly those living in rural areas. The government, he added, was working to establish a system that would directly benefit ordinary citizens.

The prime minister also highlighted the government’s canal-re excavation programme, saying work had begun across the country following a commitment made before the election. The initiative is benefiting farmers by improving access to irrigation water, while also creating opportunities to increase fish production, he said.

“Re-excavating canals alone is not enough. We have to make proper use of their water,” he said, adding that waterways should support both agricultural irrigation and fisheries.

Tarique Rahman said fish fry would be released gradually into rivers and major canals across the country. The initiative would help farmers with irrigation while increasing fish supplies and contributing to food security, he said.

On women’s education, the prime minister highlighted initiatives taken during former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s tenure to expand access to education for women.

The fish-release programme drew a large crowd in Mirzapur, with the area taking on a festive atmosphere from the morning.