Access to water is not just about “liquid in a bottle” but instead touches on universal issues such as dignity, opportunity and equality, the UN General Assembly President said on Thursday, in opening a high-level meeting on ensuring water and sanitation are available to all.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday warned world leaders that the Covid-19 is threatening to reverse the hard-earned achievements in women empowerment and urged them to do more to retain the successes. The Prime Minister also urged them to renew commitments and enhance their efforts to ensure women’s equality, empowerment and advancement. "We’ve much more to do. The Covid-19 pandemic has particularly aggravated the vulnerability of women. During this pandemic, women are facing discrimination and increased domestic violence, and, therefore, threatening to reverse our hard-earned achievements in women empowerment," she said. The Prime Minister said this in her pre-recorded video message delivered at the High-Level Meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women at the UN Headquarters. She put light on three points for the world leaders to consider for working to build back better. Firstly, Sheikh Hasina said, the world can benefit from every girl whose potential is realized, from every woman whose talent is tapped, and this can only be done through education.

The International Women's Day was celebrated in the country, as elsewhere across the globe, on Sunday highlighting women’s rights and equality.