Bangladesh calls for commitment, action for gender-equal world, curbing emissions
State minister for women and children addresses Commission on the Status of Women’s session at UN
Bangladesh has called for sincere commitments and urgent actions to fight climate change and ensure a gender-equal sustainable world.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatunnesa Indira made the call while delivering statement during the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the UN headquarters in New York today.
The theme of this year's CSW-66 general debate is "Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes."
The state-minister led a five-member delegation with the representatives from Ministry of Women & Children Affairs, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to the session.
She shed lights on the climate vulnerability and disaster risks in Bangladesh and highlighted its disproportionate impacts on women and girls.
Fazilatunnesa Indira stated that Bangladesh ranks 7th in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, although the country's contribution to global emissions is less than 0.47 percent.
She enumerated various government policies, laws, and projects aimed at ensuring gender-responsive climate action, adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction.
She also referred to the inclusion of 38,000 women volunteers in the "cyclone preparedness programme" which has received UN's Public Service Award 2021 for ensuring gender equality in disaster risk reduction.
"These projects will strengthen capacity of women and girls to act as whistle blowers before calamities, protect assets, diversify livelihood, relief and rehabilitation activities", said the state minister.
The state minister also called for ensuring financial, technical and technological resources to help the climate vulnerable countries overcome the challenges faced by women and girls.
She also emphasised that "Principle of Equity" and "Gender-Climate Justice" should be introduced in every national and international development policies.
On the sideline of the debate, she held a bilateral meeting with the women and youth minister of Burundi. They exchanged views of various initiative to promote women's economic empowerment and expressed hope to share good practices between the two countries.