Handicrafts exhibition to help empower disadvantaged women

The exhibition is being held at Drik Gallery under a project titled 'Capacity-building, poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihood for socially disadvantaged women (SDW) and their children'.

Department of Social Services in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiated the project in 1998.

The exhibition as part of the project aims at building capacity, alleviating poverty and empowering the socially disadvantaged women and their children to enable them to earn a sustainable socio-economic livelihood with due human dignity, Selima Sultana, project site coordinator, told The Daily Star.

About 1200 socially disadvantaged women and their children from Mymensingh, Jessore, Daulatdia Ghat, Rajbari and Dhaka are taking part in the exhibition, Selima added.

A total of seven organisations including Nari Maitree, ACLAB, PIACT-Bangladesh, Nari Unnayan Shakti, DORP and INCIDIN Bangladesh are the co-sponsors of the exhibition.

Md Habibur Rahman, additional director of social services department, formally inaugurated the exhibition in the morning.

Different items including cotton and georgette sari, salwar kamiz, fatua, bedcover, embroidery work and earthen ornament are on display at the exhibition.

It will remain open from 11:00am to 8:00pm daily.