Women representatives need political empowerment: Speakers

RAJSHAHI, June 1 (BSS): Speakers have voiced for making the elected women representatives in reserved seats of the local government institutions (LGIs) politically empowered for elevating their working capacity.
Importance should be given to strengthening decision-making capacities of them for eliminating all sorts of discrimination against women by empowering them with the ability of equal partners in development.
They made these observations at a daylong with lawmaker and women representatives in LGIs titled "Gender and Women Political Empowerment Issues" at Postal Academy conference hall in Rajshahi city yesterday.
Prip Trust under a project titled 'Aparajita: Political Empowerment of Women' the organized the dialogue to discuss how to attain the cherished goal.
Aktar Jahan, MP, addressed the session as chief guest while Deputy Director of Local Government Dipak Ranjan Adhikary and Editor of Daily Sunshine spoke as special guests with Rawshan Ara Begum, Vice-chairman of Godagari Pourasava, in the chair.
During her welcome address, Rokeya Jebin Kabery, Deputy Director of Prip Trust, said main thrust of the programme is to build confidence, knowledge and capacity of elected women representatives and encourage network of mutual support so that they can fulfill their obligations to their voters.
Godagari Pourasava Councilor Sufiya Khatun Mili read their present status elaborating existing problems. She says they should have equal opportunity to participate in decision making and accepted as full-time workers not as token women so that they can work for welfare of the community like alternative dispute resolution independently.
She observed that overall development of the community couldn't be possible until the womenfolk especially the elected ones were empowered politically and socially.