Senior Correspondent: Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal will work to combat rape, violence against women and children and other social crimes, BNP Acting Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Saturday (September 12).
He also urged leaders and activists of the BNP’s women’s wing to take the government’s welfare and women’s empowerment programmes to the public.
Rizvi made the remarks at a gathering before a rally organised in front of the BNP central office at Naya Paltan in Dhaka to mark the 48th founding anniversary of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal.
He said Mohila Dal leaders and activists should play a responsible role in informing people about government programmes aimed at ensuring women’s civic and legal rights and helping them become educated and financially self-reliant.
Rizvi said BNP leaders and activists had contributed to the party’s struggle and now shared responsibility for the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
“You have contributed your blood and sweat to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government. Therefore, you too are part of this government,” he said.
Rizvi recalled what he described as the sacrifices made by Mohila Dal leaders while BNP was in opposition, saying many women leaders, including Afroza Abbas and Sultana Ahmed, had faced arrest, remand and imprisonment during political movements.
He praised Mohila Dal leaders at the central, district and metropolitan levels, saying women were equally capable of running state institutions and other organisations.
Rizvi also highlighted women’s education and economic empowerment, saying former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had introduced free education for girls up to the higher secondary level.
He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government planned to extend free education for women further into higher education.
Rizvi also cited the government’s Family Card programme, under which financial assistance is provided primarily to women in eligible households, as an example of efforts to strengthen women’s economic empowerment.
He urged Mohila Dal leaders and activists to promote the government’s public welfare and women-focused programmes among people across the country.
Mohila Dal President Afroza Abbas and General Secretary Sultana Ahmed, along with leaders and activists from different units of the organisation, attended the programme.
