BANGLADESH: Dhaka's Call to Recruit Women in Senior UN Positions

Bangladesh, with two women leaders dominating the country's political scene both as Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, has called for women empowerment and recruitment of women in senior positions of the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni made the call at the annual ministerial meeting on A 1325 Call to Action on the fringes of the UN General Assembly session in New York, an official release of the Foreign Ministry said in Dhaka on Monday.
The Foreign Minister put emphasis on appropriate training programmes for all peacekeepers, military, police and civilian deployed by the United Nations for enhancing their capability to address gender issues particularly issues of preventing any sort of violence against women and girls.

Since empowering women entails that they have command over resources and adequate leadership capability for efficient management of those resources, the economic needs of women and necessity of their engagement internationally in all levels and forms of decision making process are crucial, she said.

It was Bangladesh, being a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, under whose initiative the UN Security Council adopted the landmark resolution in 2000, she said.

The foreign minister was one of the co-hosts of the event. The event was organised by the Canadian government in observance of the 10th anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

She said while the former could be achieved through ensuring their access to and participation in income generating and entrepreneurial activities such as micro-credit, education, vocational training, public health; the latter could be ensured through recruitment of women particularly in senior level positions of the UN including in the posts of Assistant Secretary General and Under Secretary General.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, immediately after assuming power in 2008, inducted more women in her cabinet holding powerful positions. Among them are Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni and Home Affairs Minister Sahara Khatun.

The Deputy Leader of the Parliament is yet another woman lawmaker of ruling Awami League Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury.
Moreover, additional 45 reserved seats for women have been created in the Parliament.