Anita (9) hardly finds the scope to play after school, as her parents don’t allow her to leave their home alone on the pretext of security concerns. She can only visit relatives during holidays. Such restrictions are negatively impacting her mental and emotional health. Neli’s (15) parents always emphasize good grades at school. Participation in creative activities or hanging out with friends is not encouraged by her parents. Neli often feels confined, bored, and lonely. Besides studying, Neli wants to explore new places and take up creative hobbies.  Rita (18) has self-esteem issues over her looks. Negative comments from relatives and neighbors about her appearance are only making it worse.  After completing her master's degree, Zerin (25) wants to focus on her career. But her family wants her to stay home and carry out duties traditionally associated with women. Read More: Brave Women Freedom Fighters of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War These scenarios are not uncommon for girls and women in Bangladesh. Parents often try to limit the liberty and potential of girls due to a range of issues, like insecurity, social prejudice, traditional mindset, etc.  How can we address this situation? “Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less,” according to Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. In the twenty-first century, women are participating and taking on leadership roles in health, science, sports, technology, commerce, business, education, agriculture, politics, law enforcement etc.  What is the secret to raising strong girls who can defeat fears and develop themselves as confident, happy, and independent persons? Set positive examples for your girls Parents should be cautious about their impact on their daughters. Every mother or father who wants to raise a strong daughter should first try to set good examples. When daughters discover great qualities like honesty, kindness, hard work, perseverance, confidence, etc in their parents, they try to emulate those qualities and develop their personalities accordingly. Read More: 10 Greatest Female Scientists of All Time Demonstrate the value of inner beauty In today’s world, many girls and women become prey to the marketing strategies of the beauty industry. Many girls tend to suffer from inferiority complexes due to their skin complexion, height, weight, and many more reasons. They waste time, effort, and money in the race to meet the social standards of beauty.  Parents need to teach their daughters the value of inner beauty instead of focusing on physical beauty. Introducing daughters to successful women of substance can help them in this regard. Read More: Jute Sanitary Napkins: Bangladeshi scientist Farhana Sultana got awarded for eco-friendly innovation Living with disabilities  According to WHO, about 16% of the total population on earth has some kind of disability. In Bangladesh, many parents fail to equip their children born with disabilities — physical or intellectual — the skills needed to live a fulfilling life. If a child has some kind of inability or limitations, like a learning disability or physical disability, the parents should try to accept it and encourage their daughter to overcome the barrier.   Read More: OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award: Bangladesh's Gawsia among top women climate scientists Not limiting her potential  To raise a confident girl, parents should remove the words “that’s for boys” from their vocabulary. Women are exploring careers in diverse sectors that were previously associated with men. If a young girl is told that some professions and tasks are suited only for men, she gets a message of inequality. Such way of thinking can make her emotionally weak and destroy her potential.  When a girl gets mental support for following her dreams, she will never give up. Parents need to encourage their daughters to explore their opportunities. Praising her success will also help her feel unique.  Read More: “Icchedana”: A drama series on girls triumphing over gender stereotypes, social restrictions

The distribution of stipend money among the girls at secondary and higher secondary levels of educational institutions across the country was started through mobile banking on Thursday. Education Minister Dipu Moni inaugurated the distribution at her ministry on Thursday. The stipend beneficiaries will get a total over Tk 751.2 crore from the second instalment of July to December last year. The financial assistance is provided by the ‘Integrated Stipends Programme’ under the Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust. Deputy Minister for Education Barrister Mohibul Hasan Nowfel and Senior Secretary to Technical and Madrasha division Md Kamal Hossain, among others, were present there. Secondary and Higher Secondary division Secretary Solaiman Khan chaired the programme where the Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust Managing Director (additional secretary) Abdun Nur Muhammad Al Firoz delivered the welcome speech. No charges are imposed for cashing out the stipend money using mobile financial services. Read more: FY23: DPE to sign new deal with Nagad for stipend disbursement 

Nine Bangladeshi teenage girls returned to the country via the Benapole border on Friday after serving a two-year jail term in India. They were handed over to Benapole Immigration Police through a special travel permit, said Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole Check-post Immigration Police. The returnees are--Akhi Khatun, 16, Priya Das, 18, Riya Biswas, 19, Shanti Das, 17, Mithu Begum ,19, Sonia Akter, 18, Shirina Akter, 17, Bithi Khatun, 18 and Banu Khatun, 16. They are residents of Dhaka, Narail, Satkhira and Patuakhali districts. Sonia Akter, one of the returnees said, they went to India through different borders of Jashore with help of brokers two and half years ago in search of work. Indian police arrested them while working at home in India's Hyderabad and a court later sentenced them to two years in jail. After the completion of their jail sentences, they were kept at a local Shelter Home, Sonia added. Jashore Justice and Care Centre and Mahila Ain Samiti will receive them from the police and they will hand them over to their respective family members, said the OC.

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. Read: Webinar on sexual, gender-based violence held 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.

Police were looking for three sisters, two of them SSC examinees, on Friday, a day after they went missing from their house in the capital’s Adabar area. Sajia Nawrin, maternal aunt of the three girls, lodged a general diary (GD) with the Adabar police on Thursday afternoon. The missing sisters have been identified as Rokeya Ara, 18, who passed SSC last year and Jaynab Ara, 17, and Khadija Ara, 16, examinees of ongoing SSC exam. Read: Five missing as bulkhead ship sinks near Mongla port Investigation officer of the case Adabar Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Abdul Momin said that police went to the house at Shekertek Pisciculture road and checked the CCTV footage. It was seen that at around 11.04 am, first the younger sister, then the middle one and finally the eldest sister came out of the house carrying bags, police said. They said since the girls do not use mobile phones, it has been difficult to track them. But police are trying their best to locate them. Aunt Sajia said the girls have been living with her and another aunt since their mother died of cancer in 2003. She claimed that their father left their mother after she gave birth to three successive daughters. He married another woman and never looked after his daughters. Read: 4 Health Ministry employees suspended over missing of 17 files “Since my sister died, the three sisters have lived with me and my younger sister. They used to study from our houses in Adabar and Khilgaon,” Sajia said. She said, the eldest of three sisters passed SSC last year. And two younger sisters have been taking SSC exams this year. According to her, they have their next exams on November 22 but they left the house on Thursday morning without telling anyone. On that morning Sajia got back home to pick a file she forgot to take with her and found that the house was locked with the keys kept in a basket in front of the door. The girls have not been seen since then, she said. However, Sajia thought that some TikTok user might have persuaded them to leave the house. The girls, she said started to use TikTok when they were confined home during Covid-induced lockdowns. They took along with them their books, admit cards and registration cards, she added.