Dhaka, 08 March 2016: In observance of International Women’s Day, UNIC Dhaka organized a debate and slogan contest with the engagement of university students at UNIC library on 8 March 2016. The topic of debate was ‘Planet 50-50: Gender Equality is Achievable by 2030’. UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Robert Watkins opened the debate contest as chief guest and took part in Q/A session. UNIC Officer-in-Charge M. Moniruzzaman moderated both the debate and slogan development sessions. UNIDO Chief of Operations Mr Zaki Uz Zaman, UNODC Chief Mr Kamrul Islam, UNESCO Communication Officer Ms Nyma Nargis, UNFPA Communication Officer Ms Asma Akter and WFP Communication Officer Ms Mahreen Ahmed graced the occasion as members of judge panel and represented UN Communication and Advocacy Group (UNCAG), they also spoke in the in the event. UN Youth and Students Association of Bangladesh (UNYSAB) and Dhaka University Model United Nations Association (DUMUNA) participated in the debate contest. The winners were awarded with prizes. More than than sixty students of different universities attended the programme.
Monthly Archives: March 2016
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Op-ed/Message for International Women’s Day: “From the Glass Ceiling to a Carpet of Shards”, 8 March 2016
As a boy growing up in post-war Korea, I remember asking about a tradition I observed: women going into labour would leave their shoes at the threshold and then look back in fear. “They are wondering if they will ever step into those shoes again,” my mother explained.
More than a half-century later, the memory continues to haunt me. In poor parts of the world today, women still risk death in the process of giving life. Maternal mortality is one of many preventable perils. All too often, female babies are subjected to genital mutilation. Girls are attacked on their way to school. Women’s bodies are used as battlefields in wars. Widows are shunned and impoverished.
We can only address these problems by empowering women as agents of change. Continue reading