Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S. Murshid. Photo : PID

DHAKA, Mar 13, 2025 (BSS) - Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S. Murshid sought stronger global cooperation and investment to advance gender equality, renewing commitments to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind.

She came up with the call while delivering Bangladesh’s national statement at the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), said a press release received here today.

Adviser Murshid underscored the role of women who have historically been a part of every national struggle for self-emancipation, democracy and social justice.

The adviser is on an official visit to New York and Washington, D.C. to attend the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, being held from March 10–21.

 “Women, in the forefront of July Revolution 2024, an uprising against fascism and injustice, were 65% of the young revolutionaries . . . With the fall of the fascist government of Sheikh Hasina, the interim government took over to bring the nation back on the road to democracy and the gender landscape of Bangladesh changed forever,” the adviser mentioned in the statement.

Referring to the interim government’s firm commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the government has initiated a transformative reform agenda to eliminate discrimination and for the first time “Women Affairs Reform Commission” has been established to address the barriers to gender disparity, the elimination of violence against women as a fundamental prerequisite to empowering women.

The interim government has launched Quick Response Teams to reach victims of violence within 24 hours of occurrence, she added.  

Adviser Murshid in her statement underscored the importance of removal of the reservations of CEDAW articles 13 (a), 16.1 (f) and 16.1 (c).

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of CSW69, adviser Murshid held bilateral meetings with her counterparts from China, Sweden, Mexico and Finland and discussed areas of collaboration on women’s development, gender equality, and efforts to combat violence against women and children and development of care economy as a social business in Bangladesh.

Adviser Sharmeen Murshid is also set to deliver a key-note speech at the high-level side event, jointly organized by Bangladesh, Nepal and Finland on “Investing in Care-A pathway to Economic Growth and Gender Equality” where minister from Nepal, high-level government representatives from Bangladesh, Nepal and Finland as well as representatives from UN-Women, ILO, ADB and the World Bank, civil society and international organizations will participate. She will also hold bilateral meeting with Turkey and Tunisia.