Asia Society award for Shirin Sharmin

10 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Unb, Dhaka

Asia Society awarded State Minister of Women and Children Affairs Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in recognition of her role as a leader in advocating the elimination of violence against women and mainstreaming women's empowerment and employment in Bangladesh. Dr Shirin received the award from Melanne Verveer, US Ambassador-at-Large, Global Women Issues at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Wednesday, according to a message from the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington. Accepting the award, Dr Shirin dedicated it to the resilient women of Bangladesh who helped mainstreaming the gender agenda in the country. She said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is committed to mainstreaming the gender agenda and empowering the women in every walk of life. She said women must not be perceived as passive recipients of charity but as autonomous agents of economic and social development, capable of making their own decisions, claiming their own rights, identifying their priority needs and finding best ways of responding to them. Ambassador Verveer, who visited Bangladesh in 2009, stated that she was amazed to see the innovativeness and resilience of the people of Bangladesh. The Ambassador referred to Bangladesh as a model country on a host of issues ranging from Bangladesh's success in micro finance to facing challenges of climate change and other natural calamities to spectacular achievements in terms of women empowerment.