Online Interactive Educative Seminar: Women in Leadership; Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World
Once the famous former Minister of law & Justice of India, B.R Abbedkar said, "I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved." For more than 100 years, 8th of March is being celebrated globally as International Women’s Day in order to tribute women’s achievements. But this year, the scenario is a little different from previous years. The turmoil we have been going through because of COVID-19 since 2019, has affected women in vulnerable ways. According to International Labor Organizations, globally women have suffered more job losses related to the pandemic than men. About 5% of women in 2020 lost work, compared with 3.9% of men. Even apart from this, domestic violence, rape against women and other sexual assaults have been increased at an alarming rate in Bangladesh along with other sub continental states amid COVID-19 rampantly.
Being concerned, this year the international Women’s Day is set with the theme, "Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world", focusing on the campaign theme, #ChooseToChallenge. Women across the globe are demanding a world which is inequality, stigma, stereotyping and violence free. This women’s day has been focused to reduce imbalance and mistreats between men and women in workplaces, households, roads, transports and everywhere women take part along with glorifying the women, who were at forefront of the battle against COVID-19, as front-line and health sector workers, as scientists, doctors and caregivers, yet they get paid 11 per cent less globally than their male counterparts. However, minimization of this vital gap is the ultimate intention and whole hearted wish of this day.
To appreciate every woman in this world from both rural and urban parts of the country and around the globe, we VAALO have successfully organized an online educative seminar in this International Women’s Day on the topic of “Women in Leadership; Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World”. It is our sheer pleasure that we got three most flourishing and exuberant personalities as our panelists. They are Dr. Zeba Mahmud, Country Manager of Alive & Thrive, FHI-360; Dr. Shahanaz Chowdhrury, Associate Professor & Head, Dept of Community Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Bangladesh University of Health Science and Dr. Altaf Hossain, Director of BAPSA. We went for Facebook LIVE from our official Facebook page of “VAALO avant-garde Ltd”.
All of our panelists shared their valuable thoughts on various topics regarding women empowerment and the hindrances such as the impact of COVID and women in the workplaces, economic gender gap, women in developing countries and hardships they are facing to go ahead. Throughout this entire seminar, our honorable Managing Director, Dr. Nazneen Akhter, moderated the whole program, joined and listened to the discussion and nicely created a knowledge transcending environment with a thoughtful conclusion.
