women
Civil Society calls for protecting climate vulnerable women and girls
Rights-based civil society representatives on Friday demanded urgent action to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of women and female adolescents, whose health is n danger owing to the adverse effects of climate change.
They came up with the demand at a virtual press conference held today on the eve of the International Rural Women's Day to be celebrated on Saturday.
The National Committee for International Rural Women's Day Celebration organized the press conference.
Speakers in the press conference opined that the health, livelihood, and environment of the people of the coastal areas, lowlands, and hills have been affected the most due to the impact of climate change.
Its impact on food, nutrition, livelihood as well as the health of women and girls is severe, they added.
The speakers identified forced use of excessive saline water as one of the most harmful effects of climate change.
Excessive use of saline water causes various uterine diseases, the disruption of menstrual health and hygiene in girls, and skin diseases. The lack of fresh water in mountain ranges due to deforestation also creates such hazards for women and girls, the speakers said.
From the press conference, a call was made to establish water purification plants at government expense in saline areas, to provide specialized services to women and girls in community clinics, and to strengthen alternative employment creation.
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In her keynote speech, Tamanna Rahman termed women and girls as the first victims of any disaster.
“According to research, the amount of salt entering women's bodies with drinking water is causing more miscarriages in women in coastal areas than in other parts of the country. Due to the lack of clean water, most girls are forced to wash their menstrual clothes with salt water, which causes various diseases in their uterus,” said Tamanna.
Tamanna added that women living in hilly areas suffer from malnutrition.
“Many of them (Women living in hills) fall ill while collecting water along the hilly terrain. Considering these realities, it is important to adopt and implement special plans for the people of this region. In particular, the government has to ensure the health, nutrition, livelihood, and emergency healthcare of women living in hills,” Tamanna added.
The virtual event was chaired by National Committee on International Rural Women's Day Celebration Chairperson Shamima Akhter and was moderated by Ferdous Ara Rumee. Tamanna Rahman presented the keynote speech, while committee members including Masuda Farooq Rata and Manju Ara Begum spoke at the event.
Women’s Asia Cup: Thailand stun Pakistan by one wicket
Thailand sealed a stunning one-wicket win against Pakistan in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup on Thursday in Sylhet.
It was Thailand’s first-ever win against Pakistan in T20Is.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a moderate total of 116 runs for five wickets with opener Sidra Ameen hitting 56 runs off 64 balls with six fours.
Thailand bowlers were disciplined enough to restrict Pakistan to a moderate total.
For Thailand, Sornnarin Tippoch scalped two wickets while Thipatcha Putthawong took one wicket.
In reply, Natthakan Chantham guided Thailand to a historic victory. She scored 61 off 51 balls with five fours and two sixes.
Read: Women’s Asia Cup: Jemimah, Deepti guide India to stunning win
Pakistan pushed the match to the last over. But with only one wicket in hand, Thailand sealed the match with one ball to play.
Nida Dar and Tuba Hassan scalped two wickets each, but their efforts were not enough to avoid a loss.
It was Pakistan’s third match in the event. They have won the first two matches. The Indian women’s team is on top of the table, with three wins in three matches.
Sri Lanka have also played three matches and won two of them while Bangladesh played two matches and won one. Bangladesh is set to take on Malaysia on October 6.
Women’s Asia Cup: Jemimah, Deepti guide India to stunning win
Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma smashed a fifty each to guide India to a stunning win against the UAE in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup in Sylhet.
It was India’s third match in the event and they now have three wins in three matches.
India batted first on Tuesday and posted a challenging total of 178 for five. Jemimah scored 75 off 45 balls with 11 fours while Deepti scored 64 off 49 balls.
India lost wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh in the first over of the match for a duck, but the fifties from two batters helped them post a big total on the board.
In reply, the UAE managed to score only 74 runs for four wickets in 20 overs. They failed to offer any resistance to the Indian side.
The only positive that the UAE earned in this match was their batting the whole innings against the quality bowling attack of India.
Read: Bangladesh suffers big defeat to Pakistan in Women’s Asia Cup
In the other match of the day, Sri Lanka beat Thailand by 49 runs.
Opener Harshitha Samarawickrama posted 81 to help Sri Lanka to score 156 for five while batting first. In reply, Thailand tumbled for 107 for five in 20 overs.
With three wins in three matches, India are now at the top of the table with six points while Pakistan are right behind them with two wins in two matches so far. All other teams in the event have endured at least a defeat.
Women must take bold steps forward: KM Khalid
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid has said the government is implementing various steps to empower women, to which they need to be aligned by taking bold steps of their own.
The state minister shared his remarks as the chief guest at an event marking the first anniversary of a special Gender Equity & Empowerment Program, or GEEP, undertaken by Vromonkonnya, a women-focused travel organisation.
A two-day workshop titled ''Leadership Boot-camp & Peace Concert 1.0" was held at Dhaka University’s TSC auditorium.
The journey of 'Vromonkonnya-Travelettes of Bangladesh' as an organisation started in November, 2016 as the first women-focused travel organisation in Bangladesh.
In addition to travelling, they are working in 64 districts to raise awareness on the liberation war, self-defence techniques, women's health, prevention of child marriage, adolescent problems and more, among students of various educational institutions.
Congratulating Vromonkonnya, Khalid said, “We want to congratulate the team of Vromonkonnya for taking these bold and noteworthy steps and setting up great examples that our women need to follow.”
Adding to the importance of travelling, he said, “Our Bengali culture is traditional, rich and diverse for thousands of years. We have more than 500 archaeological sites. Through travelling, we can learn about our history and heritage on the one hand, and on the other hand, we can enrich ourselves with knowledge.”
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The event, featuring its slogan "End racism, Build peace," was also joined by Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur.
It also featured several panel discussants representing different sectors in society, including Bangladesh Police Special Branch DIG (Counter Terrorism Intelligence) Shamima Begum, Deputy Secretary and Bangladesh Tourism Board Deputy Director Rahnuma Salam Khan, US-Bangla Airlines Public Relations GM Md Kamrul Islam, UNDP Bangladesh Youth Coordinator Mahamudul Hasan, cartoonist and monthly satire magazine UNMAD’s Assistant Editor Morshed Mishu and popular band Chirkutt’s founder-vocalist Sharmin Sultana Sumi.
Women's Hockey: BHF Green team beat BHF Yellow team by 2-1 goals
Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) Green team beat BHF Yellow team by 2-1 goals in the Walton Women's Development Cup Hockey Tournament at the Maulana Bhasani National Stadium here on Tuesday.Rani Khatun scored twice for the winners in the 17th and 55th minutes while Riva Khatun scored the lone goal for the losers in the 28th minute.
Read: Bangladesh Hockey team due to fly for Indonesia Monday for Asia CupBHF Red team will play BHF Yellow team on Wednesday (Sept 14) at 4 pm at the same venue.
Diverse voices needed so that all people can benefit from women exercising leadership roles: O’Neill
Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security Jacqueline O’Neill has emphasized that diverse voices, in both Canada and Bangladesh, are needed to ensure that all people can benefit from women, including young women, exercising leadership roles in creating and sustaining peace.
Ambassador O’Neill met State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam as part of a three-day visit to Bangladesh that ended on Thursday.
Ambassador O’Neill highlighted that both countries share deep commitments to multilateralism and peacekeeping, and have long demonstrated leadership on the Women, Peace, and Security agenda.
Also read: Covid management: Canada finds Bangladesh a success story in the world
"This was a timely and valuable opportunity to exchange experiences, insights, and challenges in implementing respective Women, Peace, and Security National Action Plans.”
While in Bangladesh, Ambassador O’Neill and Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Lilly Nicholls met with senior government and military leaders, partners from civil society, youth, early career diplomats, and international organizations.
Also read: Bangladesh again requests Canada to deport Bangabandhu's killer Nur
These discussions drew attention to the importance of sustained inclusion of diverse voices, particularly of women, and vulnerable groups, such as refugees, and ethnic minorities, into decision-making processes, said the High Commission.
Schedule of ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifiers announced
The schedule for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier has been announced on Wednesday (August 31) with eight teams competing for the final two spots of the next year’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and USA put in Group A while Thailand, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and hosts UAE pooled in Group B..Two qualifiers for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 to be determined from the eight-team league tournament that runs from September 18-25 in Abu Dhabi The top two teams from each group will make the semi-finals and both the finalists will book their places in the next year's T20 Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa.Hosts the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will play Thailand at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on the opening day of the global qualifier. Zimbabwe will also be in action on day one as they take on Papua New Guinea at the adjacent Tolerance Oval.
Read: Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier: Bangladesh’s first game goes into reserve dayBangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and the USA complete the line up in the qualifier in the battle to join Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and hosts South Africa at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup next year.Hosted at Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub, the matches at the Tolerance Oval will be the first full internationals at the ground since it was given ICC accreditation, while the Zayed Cricket Stadium will be the venue for the final as well as both semi-finals.Bangladesh and Thailand, who played in the highly successful T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020 and qualified for this tournament on that basis, are the two leading teams in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings and are drawn in different groups.Two qualifiers for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 to be determined from the eight-team league tournament that runs from September 18-25 in Abu Dhabi.
India’s women reach Commonwealth Games cricket final
India’s women cricketers are within one win of an historic gold medal after defeating host England by four runs in a thrilling Commonwealth Games semi-final on Saturday.
After posting 164-5 in the Twenty20 format, its biggest score in the tournament, India restricted previously unbeaten England to 160-6 at Edgbaston.
It is the first time women’s cricket has been played at the Games and backers are hopeful a successful tournament will lead to the sport’s inclusion at future Olympics.
More than 160,000 tickets were sold prior to the semi-final, a new record for a women’s cricket tournament, and another sizeable crowd attended Saturday’s match.
Opener Smriti Mandhana hit 61 in 32 balls to set the tone for India in its innings.
England captain Nat Sciver, who has called for women’s cricket to be included in the Olympics, top-scored with 41 in her team’s reply before being run out with less than two overs remaining.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said: “I am really happy. Everyone is coming in and performing for the team. (The fans) were cheering until the last ball. It was a great opportunity for all the players to perform.”
India will play Australia or New Zealand in Sunday’s final. England will meet the loser of that match in a bronze medal playoff.
On the track, India’s Avinash Mukund Sable bagged India’s first-ever medal in a long-distance event.
Although beaten by just 0.05 seconds in the 3,000 meter steeplechase by Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot, who clocked 8:11.20, the 26-year-old runner felt encouraged by his silver medal-winning performance.
“My last lap was a bit disappointing but I am really happy,” Sable said.
India’s Priyanka Goswami also picked up a silver in the women’s 10,000-meter walk.
After failing to win gold on Day 8, they came in a rush for table-leading Australia on Saturday morning.
Ollie Hoare claimed a last-stride triumph in the 1500 meters in 3:30.12, becoming Australia’s first champion in the event since Herb Elliott triumphed in Cardiff in 1958.
He beat world champion Jake Wightman of Scotland, who led into the home straight before finishing third behind Hoare and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot.
Australia also picked up golds in lawn bowling, gymnastics, walking and diving to stretch its lead over England after the host nation had closed the gap to three the previous day.
Five to receive 'Bangamata Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib Award' 2022
The government has named five "outstanding personalities" as the recipients of the "Bangamata Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib Award" 2022 – considered the highest state award for women in the "Ka" category – for their contributions to different sectors.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nessa Indira announced the names during a press briefing in Dhaka Saturday.
The government has introduced the award to recognise five Bangladeshi women in politics, economics, education, culture and sports, social services, independence and liberation war, research, and agriculture and rural development every year.
Also read: Mahmuda gets USAID's Laura W. Bush Award
This year's awardees are Sylhet's Syeda Jebunnesa Haque (politics), Cumilla-2 MP Selima Ahmed (economics), former Dhaka University pro-vice chancellor Nasreen Ahmed (education), Kishoreganj's Asia Alam (social service), and Gopalganj's Ashalata Baidya (independence and liberation war).
The award will be handed over on August 8, marking the 92nd birth anniversary of Fazilatun Nesa Mujib, mother of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and wife of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Also read: Bangladesh receives D-8 peace award
Born in Gopalganj's Tungipara on August 8, 1930, Fazilatun Nesa was assassinated along with most of her family members on August 15.
Japan minister says women ‘underestimated’
Japan’s minister for gender equality and children’s issues called the country’s record low births and plunging population a national crisis and blamed “indifference and ignorance” in the male-dominated Japanese parliament for the neglect.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Seiko Noda couched the steadily dwindling number of children born in Japan as an existential threat, saying the nation won’t have enough troops, police or firefighters in coming decades if it continues. The number of newborns last year was a record low 810,000, down from 2.7 million just after the end of World War II, she said.
“People say that children are a national treasure. ... They say that women are important for gender equality. But they are just talking,” Noda, 61, told the AP in a Cabinet office in downtown Tokyo’s government complex. “The politics of Japan will not move unless (the problems of children and women) are made visible.”
She said there are a variety of reasons for the low birthrate, persistent gender bias and population decline in Japan, “but being in the parliament, I especially feel that there is indifference and ignorance.”
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Japan is the world’s third biggest economy, a powerful democracy and a major U.S. ally, but the government has struggled to make society more inclusive for children, women and minorities. There are deep concerns, both within Japan and abroad, about how Japan will reverse what critics call a deep-seated history of male chauvinism that has contributed to the low birthrate.
The gap between men and women in Japan is one of the world’s worst. It ranked 116th in a 146-nation survey by the World Economic Forum for 2022, which measured progress toward equality based on economic and political participation, as well as education, health and other opportunities for women.
“Japan has fallen behind because other countries have been changing faster,” said Chizuko Ueno, a University of Tokyo professor of feminist studies, referring to Japan’s gender gap. “Past governments have neglected the problem.”
Because of outdated social and legal systems surrounding family issues, younger generations are increasingly reluctant to get married and have children, contributing to the low birthrate and shrinking population, said Noda. She has served in parliament since 1993 and expressed her ambition to be Japan’s first female prime minister.
Noda criticized a law requiring married couples to choose one family name — 90% of the time it is the women who change their surnames — saying it’s the only such legislation in the world.
“In Japan, women are underestimated in many ways,” said Noda, who is one of only two women in the 20-member Cabinet. “I just want women to be on equal footing with men. But we are not there yet, and the further advancement of women still has to wait.”
The more powerful lower house of Japan’s two-chamber parliament is more than 90% “people who do not menstruate, do not get pregnant and cannot breastfeed,” Noda said.
The lack of female representation is often referred to as “democracy without women.”
A quota system could help increase the number of female candidates for political office, Noda said, but male lawmakers have criticized her proposal, saying women should be judged by their abilities.
“That made me think that there are men who lack the ability” to be candidates, she said. But during the candidate selection process, “men can just be men, and I guess, for them, just being male can be considered their ability.”
Noda graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo and worked at the prestigious Imperial Hotel in Tokyo before she entered politics, succeeding her grandfather, who was a parliamentarian in Gifu prefecture.
Noda had her first child, who is disabled, at age 50 after fertility treatments. She supports same-sex marriage and acceptance of sexual diversity.
Noda, who has many liberal supporters, called herself “an endangered species” in her conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan with little interruption since the end of the war.
She said she is frequently “bashed” by conservatives in the party, but also by women’s rights activists, who don’t see her as an authentic feminist.
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Still, without the help of powerful male lawmakers in the party she could not have come this far, Chiyako Sato, a Mainichi newspaper editorial writer, said in her recent article.
Comparing Noda and her ultra-conservative and hawkish female rival Sanae Takaichi who both ran unsuccessfully in the September party leadership race, Sato said despite their different political views, they are similar “perhaps they had no other way but win powerful male lawmakers’ backing to advance in the Liberal Democratic Party at a time women are not considered full fledged humans.”
Japan’s Self Defense Force, she said, has had trouble getting enough troops because of the shrinking younger population. She said there’s also not enough attention paid to what the dwindling numbers will mean for police and firefighters, who rely on young recruits.
To try to address the problems, she has created a new government agency dedicated to children set to be launched next year.
Younger male politicians in recent years have become more open to gender equality, a reflection, in part, of the growing number of children who are being raised by working parents, Noda said.
But many male lawmakers, she said, think that issues around families, gender and population don’t concern them, and are reluctant to get involved.
“The policies have been made as if there were no women or children,” she said.