Participants at the first annual conference of District Women Business
Forum Barisal unit Monday stressed on expansion of women
entrepreneurship for women empowerment and national development.
The annual conference held at the DWBF office was presided over by Dr.
Banolata Murshida, president and annual report was presented by
Rebeka Sultana of the organization.
It was addressed, among others, by Rehana Yasmin Baby, Bilkis Ahmed,
Hasina Begum, Sayema Begum, Rina Begum, Ayesha Begum and others.
As in other countries, Bangladeshi women face social, economic and
institutional barriers to decision making in the household, community
and at every level through to national level. They have fewer channels
for political representation, to influence policy or to hold the state
to account, the participants observed.
They said the Millennium Declaration commits governments to promote
more inclusive political processes, allowing genuine participation by
all citizens, as well as to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
They called the government to provide funds, training, mentoring and
advisory services for women entrepreneurs to create confidence
necessary to influence decisions in the public arena and empowerment.
The participants said women entrepreneurs could play vital role by
directly responding to Government-led poverty reduction strategies, if
they would be provided general or sector budget support.
At the end of the conference DWBF formed new 9-member executive
committee for 2013-15 fiscal by conducting election under Prof. Shah
Sajeda as election commissioner.
Dr. Banolata Murshida and Rebeka Sultana were reelected as president
and secretary, while Hasina Begum as vice-president, Sabina Yasmin as
assistant secretary, Maksuda Khanam as finance secretary, Sumaiya
Jahan Munni as organizing secretary, Parvin Afroz as information and
communication secretary Tahmina Morshed as office secretary and Ismat
Farhana Shimu as executive member formed the new executive committee
of DWBF for the current fiscal. -Our Correspondent
