International Women's Day

ACCORDING to Global Gender Gap Report 2017 of the World Economic Forum, the world is over 200 years away from gender parity. But the good news is that women across the world are making positive strides with growing global movement taking its roots.

Every year the world observes the day on March 8 and the campaign theme provides a unified direction to guide and galvanise collective action. Women of our country have also declared solidarity with the world movement in their own way and are working in almost all sectors alongside their male counterparts providing ample evidence that we are moving in the right direction. If we want to materialise the mission of economic emancipation of the country we cannot neglect our women and keep them in the dark. Women of our country are still lagging behind in education compared with men and we need to eradicate early marriages and make sure that women get quality education. At the same time adequate nutrition for women must be ensured as healthy mothers are vital for building a strong and healthy nation. The Bangladesh government has taken many praiseworthy steps to ensure improvement in Bangladeshi women's life and stood out as a role model for others to follow. We must take steps to reduce domestic violence and save women from dowry menace. Stalking and eve teasing are some of the social evils that need to be uprooted. We must declare a war against both. Male members of society must join their hands together and we must fight out the social evils together. Let us unite our hands together and help usher in a bright future for Bangladeshi women and march ahead to build a prosperous nation together.

Ayesha Afrin

Uttara, Dhaka