UN Women Bangladesh hosted a panel discussion on "Gender Equality in a Post-Covid Context" at the Lakeshore Hotel Gulshan in Dhaka on Sunday.
The key purpose of the event was to explore the status, challenges, lessons learned and future implications for advancing gender equality agenda in a post-Covid era, according to a press release.
The second purpose is to take stock of experiences from the Covid-19 crisis response and progress made on gender equality since the pandemic hit to inform future response efforts.
Finally, the discussion aimed to produce a policy paper based on the outcome of the multilogue.
The First Secretary Nayoka Martinez Backstrom, Environment and Climate Change, Embassy of Sweden, was present as special guest.
The event was presided over by Diya Nanda, deputy country representative, UN Women Bangladesh, and a vote of thanks was given by Dilruba Haider, program specialist-UN Women Bangladesh.
Diya Nanda, UN Women's Deputy Country Representative, welcomed everyone and stated that disasters have a significant influence on Bangladesh's socioeconomic environment, which interferes with family, social, and mental health. UN Women works tirelessly to promote women's societal empowerment and gender equality, which allows them to openly voice their thoughts.
She said that she hoped that everyone would take part in the execution of the measures taken by UN Women to progress underdeveloped areas, enhance the education and health of women, and solve the familial, social, and economic issues that disaster-affected women face.
A panel discussion about “Gendered impact of Covid-19 and disasters in Bangladesh” was then held and it was moderated by Dilruba Haider, program specialist, Dr Nazneen Ahmed, country economist, UNDP, Shamsuddoha, chief executive, Centre for Participatory Research and Development-CPRD, Shaheen Anam, executive director, Manusher Jonno Foundation and Sajid Raihan, Start Fund Network.
In her speech, Nayoka Martinez Backstrom, the first secretary of the Department of Environment and Climate Change at the Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh, greeted everyone and stressed the importance of ending gender inequality and preventing violence against women in the post-Covid-19 period.
She believed that in this approach, strategic long-term planning is essential.
In addition, she acknowledged Bangladesh's and UN Women's role in addressing catastrophes, climate change, women's empowerment, and equal rights for men and women.
2021 was a pivotal year for Bangladesh as the nation celebrated it's 50 years of independence. Over these 50 years, the country has witnessed remarkable progress on gender equality and women's empowerment.
However, disparities still exist in terms of women's voice and decision making, educational attainment at the tertiary level, engagement in formal economic activity, control over income and many more. Gender based violence is still widespread. Covid-19 context and series of disasters in 2020 cracked open the fault lines in gender equality in Bangladesh.
Reports from various agencies underscored the need for systematic and comprehensive assessment of gender issues that are evolving or worsening due to Covid-19 pandemic and the recent disasters.
As the pandemic winds down, the country continues to face additional challenges pertaining to new and ongoing crises, for example, frequent natural disasters and global economic recession. Women remain the hardest hit by these crises. So, reflecting on the challenges, existing barriers on gender equality, and lessons learned from the pandemic related to women and girls' inclusion in planning and decision-making is very important.
UN Women working with governments and civil society to develop the regulations, policies, programs, and services necessary to guarantee that the standards are fully implemented and benefit women and girls across the globe. UN Women commends UN Member States for setting global standards for gender equality. Globally, the notion of the Sustainable Development Goals is being realized.
