Staff Correspondent

State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan today underscored the need for implementing gender budgets effectively for building smart Bangladesh.

“Gender budgets should not only be formulated, but also implemented effectively,” she said while speaking at a workshop on Gender Budget Report 2024–25 Preparation held at the Finance Division in the capital as the chief guest.

She said that discrimination can be eliminated through the formulation of a gender budget and its effective implementation.

Noting that the empowerment of women is essential to keeping pace with sustainable development, she said the Awami League-led government is working on women's empowerment, giving special importance to it.

She hoped that the gender budget could make a special contribution to advance women in workplaces or economically backward areas.

The state minister said that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had made sufficient allocations for the development of women in the 1972 budget.

"Bangabandhu knew that the development of women is necessary to advance the country financially,” she added.

Presided over by Secretary Finance Division Dr Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, the workshop was addressed by Women and Children Affairs Secretary Nazma Mobarek as a special guest.

Mohammad Saiful Islam, Additional Secretary, Budget-1, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance and National Program Director of Strengthening Public Financial Management Program to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS) gave a welcome address.

A presentation on the Gender Budget Report 2024–25 was made by Mahedi Masuduzzaman, Joint Secretary Finance Division, where five thematic areas with gender relevance have been identified, including women’s empowerment and social status enhancement; economic participation and equality, increase women’s effective access to public services; education, health and well-being for women’s development.

The presentation also underlined the challenges for women in Bangladesh, including labour force participation, income disparity, workplace challenges, reproductive health rights, nutritional issues, early marriages and harassment.