Prime Minister Tarique Rahman Tuesday formally launched the government’s Family Card program for women-led households, fulfilling his election pledge to promote women’s empowerment, economic inclusion and social justice.
Just three weeks after forming the government following a massive election victory, the prime minister inaugurated the program at the T&T Playground in Banani, in his constituency.
The prime minister’s wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, cabinet members, and officials involved in implementing the program attended the event. The inauguration began with recitations from the Holy Quran and other religious texts, followed by the BNP party song “Prothom Bangladesh Amar Shesh Bangladesh,” with the prime minister and attendees joining in applause. Social Welfare Secretary Dr Abu Yousuf delivered the welcome speech.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Farzana Sharmin, Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Shafiqul Islam Milton, and Social Welfare Secretary Dr Mohammad Abu Yousuf spoke at the program, with Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain in the chair.
Tarique Rahman first handed over a Family Card to Pervin Begum at around 11:19am. Later, 16 other women also received cards from him. The program was formally launched at 11:30am when the prime minister pressed a button on a laptop, triggering the digital transfer of funds to the accounts of selected beneficiaries.
Addressing the event, Tarique Rahman said his government would gradually implement all election pledges “at any cost” to improve people’s lives and accelerate national development.
“We will fulfil the promises we made to the people one by one. These commitments will change people’s lives and transform the country’s future,” he said.
Describing the launch of the Family Card program as an emotional moment, the prime minister said it marked the fulfilment of a promise made to voters before the election.
He acknowledged that people have high expectations of the newly elected government, but noted that global circumstances — including the evolving situation in the Middle East — could affect the pace of implementing some pledges.
“We will not move away even slightly from our commitments. In some cases it may take a little more time due to the current global situation,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the government would gradually deliver Family Cards to women heads of all four crore families in Bangladesh within the next five years.
Highlighting the importance of women’s empowerment, he said: “Women make up half of Bangladesh’s population. If we fail to empower them socially, educationally and economically, the country cannot move forward.”
Recalling initiatives of previous BNP governments led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, Rahman said free education for girls up to the intermediate level had been introduced during her tenure.
“We now want to economically empower this educated female population and strengthen their financial stability,” he said.
Farmers’ Card next month
The prime minister also said the government would soon begin distributing Farmers’ Cards as part of its election pledges.
“Just as we provided Family Cards to more than 37,000 women today, Inshallah we will distribute Farmers’ Cards to our farmers next month,” he said.
Tarique Rahman also noted that the government had already waived agricultural loans of up to Tk10,000, including interest, for farmers.
“These are promises we made to the people — promises that will change their lives and the country’s future,” he added.
At the ceremony, Rina Begum, a beneficiary of the program who lives in the city’s Sattala slum, said she was overwhelmed with joy.
“Thank you, prime minister. I never dreamed that I would get this card. This money will help my family a lot,” she said.
Pilot program details
According to the Ministry of Social Welfare, the program aims to strengthen women’s roles in society by recognizing them as the primary representatives of their families in social welfare initiatives.
In its pilot phase, the program is being rolled out in 15 wards across 13 city corporations and unions spanning 13 districts.
Ward-level committees conducted household visits to collect detailed information on families’ socio-economic conditions. The survey recorded data on family size, education levels, housing status, and ownership of assets such as televisions, refrigerators, computers and mobile phones, as well as remittance flows.
Following verification and assessment, a total of 37,567 women-headed households were selected to receive assistance.
Under the pilot program, each selected household will receive a monthly allowance of Tk2,500 through the Government-to-Person (G2P) digital payment system, directly transferred to the women’s mobile wallets or bank accounts. Family Cards will feature modern security technologies, including contactless chips, QR codes and NFC functionality.
For the pilot implementation until June 2026, the government has allocated Tk38.07 crore. Of the total, Tk25.15 crore will be distributed as direct cash support, while Tk12.92 crore will be used for program implementation, including data collection, system development and card production.
Officials said the program will be provided free of cost, and beneficiaries will not need to collect the cards from government offices as they will be delivered directly to their homes.
The government will review the pilot every month, with a three-month “lesson-learning” period continuing until June 30 before considering further expansion.