<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>There is no alternative to integrated social movements against child marriage, dowry, and violence against women, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We must recognise our girls not just as victims, but as the driving force behind change,” she said while inaugurating inaugurated a two-day event titled “ICPD30 Global Dialogue on Demographic Diversity and Sustainable Development” that would create a platform to discuss the challenges and explore the opportunities of the world’s shifting demographics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bangladesh, Bulgaria and Japan along with UNFPA are hosting the conference at Hotel Intercontinental on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hasina said that Bangladesh has adopted the National Adolescent Health Strategy (2017-2030) and its implementation plan.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“To ensure health services for adolescents, we have established adolescent-friendly health service corners in 1,253 union-level service,” she said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She mentioned that an initiative has been taken to distribute free sanitary napkins to nearly 5 million adolescent girls studying in grades six to twelve.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, the government has launched the "School Meal" programme nationwide to meet the nutritional needs of school-going students.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prime minister said that since 2010, the government has implemented the world's largest free textbook distribution programme at the secondary level, distributing approximately 464 million books until 2024.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“In addition, we have introduced a stipend program to promote girls' education from primary to higher secondary level.Girls' education has been made charge-free up to twelfth grade.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She mentioned that the government has allocated 30 percent of national budget for the social and economic empowerment of women, reports unb</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“In line with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, we are implementing a national policy and plan of action for women's development," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Currently, she mentioned that 42.6 percent of the total workforce comprises women.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“And we aim to increase it to 50 percent by 2030. We have also set targets to ensure 25 percent female participation in the ICT sector by 2026 and 50 percent by 2041," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum, she said Bangladesh ranks seventh among 146 countries in terms of political empowerment, and first in the region.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>