Marking the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl, UNFPA Bangladesh launched a nation-wide campaign, titled “Celebrating Daughters” with the slogan “My Daughter, My Future” on October 11, 2022.
The campaign was launched in collaboration with the Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS) and Concerned Women for Family Development (CWFD), with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
The months-long campaign aims to highlight the indispensable role that daughters play in all areas of life and refresh the conversations around the inherent value of women and girls through the active participation of young minds. It aspires to cultivate a meaningful appreciation in our society for the triple role that women and girls play in the productive, reproductive and community management spheres.
Additionally, the campaign will complement, promote and raise awareness about UNFPA’S efforts to observe the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which seeks to facilitate global action in a bid to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.
“We are moving in the direction of a world and a Bangladesh where girls are valued as much as boys, where parents are equally joyful regardless of the sex of their new baby, because they know girls and boys, both, have limitless potential, if they receive equal care and attention,” said the UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh, Kristine Blokhus, in a statement.
She added, “We are moving in the right direction, but we are not moving fast enough. As we mark the International Day of the Girl, we do so in the knowledge that, even today, girls are born to families who would rather have boys, who see girls as a burden, who believe that only boys can meaningfully contribute to their families and communities.”
“As one of the founding organizations of the country's film society movement, we are committed to upholding gender equality. Despite how far we have come together as a society, our progress remains inhibited by the prevalence of harmful gendered socio-cultural norms and beliefs. By collaborating with UNFPA Bangladesh, we are trying to do our part and help shed light on the entrenched undervaluation of women and girls,” said KM Itmam Islam, the General Secretary of DUFS.
Under the auspices of this campaign, UNFPA Bangladesh has announced a series of awareness-raising activities, including photography and video content competitions, where participants are invited to share the extraordinary achievements and aspirations of women and girls in Bangladesh. The call for submissions began on October 11, 2022, and will conclude on November 11, 2022.