Wednesday, June 1, 12-1:30 p.m.
National Democratic Institute
2030 M St., NW, Fifth Floor
Washington, DC
Presentation by:
Nasim Firdaus
Executive Director of the Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leadership
Bangladeshi women made significant political progress in December 2008 when 19 of them were elected to parliament, including one who is now prime minister. But the majority of women in the legislature did not stand for election; they were appointed by their political parties to one of 45 seats reserved for women. While these seats have given women a voice in parliament, these members (MPs) are often marginalized and not viewed as credible politicians because of their appointive status.
The Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leadership (BDAWL) is working to correct that by improving the women’s skills to debate, research and speak authoritatively on a variety of issues so they can make a greater contribution to their country's democratic development. Nasim Firdaus will discuss how the organization is working to achieve these goals by helping the MPs develop policy expertise in a number of areas.
Firdaus is accompanying a delegation of one elected and eight appointed parliamentarians to Washington as part of a study tour sponsored by The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA). The women, who have each worked with BDAWL, will discuss how the skills and knowledge they gained from the alliance’s programs have helped them be more effective lawmakers.
BDAWL was launched in November 2008 with the goal of increasing the number of women in leadership positions in all professions through training and orientation programs, workshops and a speaker series. NDI is a founding partner of BDAWL. More information on BDAWL is available at www.bdawl.org.
Please RSVP
to Jennifer Hopfensperger
at jhopfensperger@ndi.org
or (202) 728-6334
Lunch will be provided.
