Bangladesh holds a National Consultation ahead of CSW67

[from left] Md. Hasanuzzaman Kallol (Secretary, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs), Fazilatun Nessa Indira MP (State Minister, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs), and Gitanjali Singh (Country Representative, UN Women Bangladesh). Photo: UN Women/Motiur Rahman

Dhaka, Bangladesh — On 23 February 2023, a national consultation on the sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) was jointly organized by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA) and UN Women Bangladesh.

The national consultation, which brought together participants from thirteen-line ministries, civil society representatives and development partners, will help inform Bangladesh’s contributions to the draft of the CSW67 agreed conclusions.

The national consultation provided an interactive forum to discuss ways to address the needs and gaps in policy responses, encouraging a more inclusive and equitable digital evolution for women and girls in Bangladesh.

As outlined in the UN Secretary General’s report on the criticality of integrating a gender perspective in technology and innovation to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, the participants reflected on the eight recommendations for consideration by the Commission on the Status of Women.

The consultation highlighted areas such as the need to bridge the gap in the usage of intellectual property rights by women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); integration of forward-looking strategies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; the criticality of technology transfer for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the transformation of social norms that hold women’s potential back in the digital space.

“The CSW67 priority theme is fully compliant with Bangladesh as we progress towards our “Smart Bangladesh” vision. Various laws, policies and structures that harness digital technologies to empower women, advance gender equality and prevent violence against women have been formulated by the Government. We took note of all your suggestions today. We shall consider these recommendations as the Ministry represents all women and girls of Bangladesh at CSW67,” said Fazilatun Nessa Indira MP, State Minister, MoWCA, Bangladesh.

See also

• CSW's official documents
• Remark by Gitanjali Singh, Country Representative, UN Women Bangladesh
• Remark by Fazilatun Nessa Indira MP, State Minister, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWCA) [in Bengali]