To develop the leadership of women, WAVE Foundation has implemented a pilot project titled ‘Women in Leadership’ with the support of the British Council.
As part of the project activities, a day-long ‘Women in Leadership Summit’ was held on March 28, 2023 at the CIRDAP International Conference Center in Dhaka under the title ‘Women in Success, Struggle, Leadership’. Women from various districts of the country including Rangpur, Khagrachari, Sylhet, Barisal participated in the summit. Farida Parveen, Director General of the Directorate of Women Affairs, was present as the chief guest in the inaugural ceremony.
She expressed in her speech, “It is possible to establish gender equality in society by coordinating the work of all parties with the government. Currently, the government is running multifaceted programs for women’s advancement and leadership development. The Directorate of Women Affairs is working in 493 upazilas of the country now. In the speech of the special guest, Dr. Nazneen Ahmed, Policy Advisor, Regional Bureau of Asia and the Pacific,
United Nations Development Programme in New Yorksaid, “Leadership does not mean only political leadership. We can sharpen our leadership just by doing our duty properly.” David Knox, Program Director, British Council Bangladesh shared, “While Bangladesh has made significant progress in developing women’s leadership, there are still many forms of discrimination exist against women. Social security and Accountability will play a greater role in the overall empowerment of women. Women’s leadership will be created when women’s empowerment is ensured. Only then, they will move forward in society.”
Speaking on behalf of the organizers, Mohsin Ali, Executive Director of WAVE Foundation emphasized women’s equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities that are strongly mentioned in SDG-5. He added “Lack of leadership is the reason why women are still lagging. It is from this realization that WAVE Foundation is working on promoting women’s leadership development under this project.” After his speech, Project Coordinator Roksana Yasmin Mitu gave a comprehensive concept about the project activities on behalf of the WAVE Foundation.
After the Inaugural Ceremony, three-panel discussions on ‘Women in Innovation and Technology’, ‘Skill Development and Employment Opportunities for Women’, and ‘Women in Success, Struggle and Leadership’ took place sequentially.
In the panel discussion Professor Dr. Lafifa Jamal, Department of Robotics, University of Dhaka Distinguished Trainer Abdullah Zafar, Artisan Entrepreneur Tania Wahab, Professor Dr. Zobaida Nasreen, Department of Anthropology, University of Dhaka, Human Rights and Gender Expert Sanaiyya Faheem Ansari, representatives of the project from different places and present participants were present and expressed their opinion. The three panels were moderated sequentially by Deputy Director Kaniz Fatima, Deputy Director Nazma Sultana Lilly, and Assistant Director Aniruddha Roy from WAVE Foundation.
In the closing ceremony, Abdur Rahman Khan, Program Manager, Non-formal Education, British Council Bangladesh thanked the participants. Nasifa Ali, Deputy Executive Director, WAVE Foundation said, “Our society and the country cannot move forward leaving women behind. To bring women in the front row, they need to increase their skills and they should be provided employment and opportunities to create successful leadership.”
