Promoting Gender Equality

Gender inequality slows economic growth and impedes poverty reduction. Discrimination against women in Bangladesh often begins before birth and lasts throughout their lives, affecting their health, and their participation in mainstream politics and economics.

The Royal Netherlands Embassy supports a gender perspective for all Millennium Development Goals and national poverty reduction strategies.

Furthermore it provides gender equality support to mainstreaming gender in its priority sectors (education, rural electrification, water resources

management and health) set by the Netherlands Development Cooperation Program to Bangladesh.

Women-specific initiatives are supported in strategic priority areas for both the governments of the Netherlands and Bangladesh. These areas are as follows:

�        Promoting Good Governance through a right-based approach;

�        Combating violence against women and enhancing political participation

�        Promoting women's rights; with a focus on Reproductive Rights

�        Integration of policy on gender and poverty into the PRSP

The Embassy chairs the Local Consultative Group on Women Advancement and Gender Equality (WAGE) and is aiming to work increasingly within the framework of Program Based Approach and donor co-ordination.