International Women's Day is being observed today across the country as elsewhere in the world with a call for building a sustainable world giving priority to gender equality.
Different women, social and political organizations have taken separate programmes to observe the International Women's Day, reports BSS.
On the eve of the day, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages, greeting all women across the world.
In their messages, they termed the day's theme 'Teksai Agameer Jonnya, Gender Samotai Aj Agraganna' as time befitting in the current perspective and wished success of all programmes of the day.
President Md Abdul Hamid in his message said the achievement in empowering women over the last 50 years has introduced Bangladesh as a role model in the world.
He said the present government has been implementing massive programmes to prevent all kinds of violence on women, along with establishing women rights, spreading education for them and empowering women to establish gender parity.
The womenfolk are keeping their footprints in all sectors, including politics, trade and business and job, without any restriction now, he added.
The US-based NGO Global Summit of Women honored Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the Global Women's Leadership Award in 2018 for her outstanding leadership in advancing women education and women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, Asia and Asia-pacific region, he said, adding that the premier also received a special memento titled "Tree of Peace" from UNESCO in recognition to her outstanding contribution to the promotion of girls' and women's education.
"I hope that women-men would work together to make development sustainable in all sector for building a happy-prosperous Bangladesh," he said.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the Awami League government has been working to ensure equal participation of women and men in all its programmes with a view to building a 'Sonar Bangla' as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu.
She said one of the major achievements of Bangladesh in the last 50 years is to making significant progress in empowering women by reducing the gender inequality. To maintain this trend, the government has attached priority to ensuring food, health and education for women from grassroots level to make the development sustainable, she added.
The women are now playing a vital role in different areas, including politics, judiciary, administration, education, health, armed forces and law enforcing agencies due to the time befitting and pragmatic measures of the government, she said.
The premier said that the greatest Bengali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formed the Women's Rehabilitation Board in 1972 with the aim of rehabilitating and empowering women who had suffered in the great war of independence.
Bangabandhu ensured the equality of women in all spheres of national life in the constitution, she added.
She hoped that with the joint efforts of women and men Bangladesh achieved independence of the country, implementation of Vision-2041 would help build a hungry-poverty free prosperous Bangladesh as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu.
In observance of the day, Samajik Protirodh Committee, a platform of 66 women, human rights and development organizations, will bring out a procession and hold discussion and cultural programmes at the Central Shaheed Minar at 3pm tomorrow. Bangladesh Mahila Parishad President Dr Fawjia Moslem will chair the programme.
'Amee Pari,' an alliance for resisting family violence, will carry out a campaign at 12:01 minute today. Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) will organize a colourful rally on its premises at 10am.
Christian Women will hold a discussion - Women's caf,: women's contribution to a sustainable future-at BRAC Inn at 2pm on March 9.
International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a focal point in the movement for women's rights.
After the Socialist Party of America organised a Women's Day on February 28, 1909 in New York, the 1910 International Socialist Women's Conference suggested a Women's Day be held annually.
After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there.
The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.