A coalition has been formed recently by seven leading national and international non-government organisations (NGOs) - Breaking the Silence, JAAGO Foundation, Manusher Jonno Foundation, Oxfam in Bangladesh, Plan International Bangladesh, Save the Children in Bangladesh, and WaterAid Bangladesh.
The countrywide platform aims at promoting the rights, protection, and wellbeing of women and children as centre of political parties' election manifestos. It is set to place concrete demands to the parties for recognising wellbeing of women and children.
Political leaders must recognise that wellbeing of women and children is not a peripheral agenda, but the foundation of a just, resilient, and future-ready nation, the coalition members have said.
They have urged all political parties to demonstrate leadership by committing to evidence-based, adequately financed, and inclusive policies that respond to the lived realities of women and children, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
It said the coalition has been formed to ensure that the voices, struggles, and aspirations of Bangladesh's majority population, women and children are not sidelined once again in political commitments.
The coalition is currently conducting regional consultations, evidence reviews, and community-level listening sessions to understand the needs and priorities of women and children across urban, rural, and climate-vulnerable areas.
Findings from these consultations, along with insights from the coalition's initial position paper, would be shared at a high-level dialogue with the political parties in Dhaka on 14 December.
The coalition has observed that despite women make up 50.8 per cent (World Bank, 2023) and children 33 per cent (UNICEF, 2023) of Bangladesh's total population, their needs remain weakly reflected in political commitments.
Persistent vulnerabilities, gender-based violence, early marriage, learning poverty, malnutrition, unsafe migration, and climate risks continue across regions, including Bangladesh.
smunima@yahoo.com
