Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls Dr Sharman Stone, visit to Bangladesh

DHAKA, May 2 (NsNewsWire) — Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, Dr Sharman Stone,
visited Bangladesh from 29 April to 2 May 2019, underlining the shared
commitment of Australia and Bangladesh to gender equality and women’s
empowerment.
In her meeting with State Minister, Md. Shahriar Alam, Ambassador
Stone applauded the progress Bangladeshhas made on gender equality and
women’s empowerment, particularly in achieving parity in school enrolments
for girls. Ambassador Stone welcomed the leadership of Prime Minister
Hasina in promoting girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment.
They discussed the importance of financial inclusion programs for achieving
this.
Ambassador Stone reiterated Australia’s commitment to work with
Bangladesh to address high rates of violence against women and girls. She
expressed condolences for 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi, who died from her
injuries after speaking out against sexual harassment and underlined that no
country is immune from violence against women.
During her visit to the Rohingya refugee camps, Ambassador Stone
was struck by the scale of the crisis, including its impact on the host
community in Cox’s Bazar. Observing an Australian-funded BRAC Community
Empowerment Project, Ambassador Stone was impressed to see how host
community women, themselves living in poverty, were raising their voices,
exercising their rights and working together to achieve economic
empowerment.
The Ambassador visited the UNFPA women’s friendly space, health
centre and a Save the Children temporary learning centre in the camps.

To date, Australia’s support has enabled over 30,000 girls and boys in the camps
and host communities to access 365 learning centres. Because of Australian
Aid, these children are receiving basic education, access to healthcare and
nutrition, and importantly, a safe place to play.
During a meeting with the Executive Director of BRAC, Dr Mohammed
Musa, the Ambassador shared some insights on the work Australia is
supporting to tackle gender-based violence in the Pacific. They agreed that it
was extremely important to exchange knowledge and data on what works to
address gender-based violence. Ambassador Stone visited a BRAC
adolescent development program in Korail slum in Dhaka to see how
Australian aid is driving women’s economic empowerment and gender
equality through local partners. She was struck by the resilience and
determination of the women and girls.
Ambassador Stone was delighted to meet a group of impressive
Bangladeshi women leaders, including alumni from the Australian Awards
program. Of the around three thousand Australian Awards alumni in
Bangladesh, at least half of them are women.
In 2017-18, Australia delivered $1.3 billion in development assistance
for gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide. In Bangladesh,
Australia has contributed to the achievement of gender parity in primary
education enrolments and completion rates, and continues to be a strong
supporter of skills development for girls. Press Release