7pc increase in budget demanded for women's empowerment

18 May 2010, 18:00 PM

DU Correspondent

Women leaders and development workers have demanded seven percent increase of allocation in the upcoming national budget for the development of women and establishing of a full-fledged separate ministry for the community. The demands were placed at a press conference titled 'Want women-friendly national budget' organised by Bangladesh Nari Pragoti Sangha and Institute for Environment and Development (IED) at the National Press Club in the city yesterday. Reading out a written speech, Deputy Director of Nari Pragoti Shahnaj Sumi said the emergency needs for achieving the target of reducing the rate of maternal mortality in the millennium development goal is removing weakness in the budget about the issue and restoring the community-based clinic system. Other demands include secure accommodation and transportation for women in educational institutions, keeping women-run institutions away from taxation, giving tax incentives to the bank which offer loans to women without mortgage and providing tax incentives for encouraging fund to set up separate bank for women. Rokeya Kabir, executive director of Nari Pragoti Sangha, Dr Pratima Pal Majumder, senior researcher, Shipa Hafiz, director of gender studies and diversity programme of Brac, and Numan Ahmed Khan, executive director of IED, spoke at the programme. Their demands also include taking up effective work plan for implementing national women development policy, allocating fund for reducing physical pressure on women who are engaged in agricultural activities and arranging training for government officials to aware them of women empowerment.