Ensuring nutritious food intake essential to women’s freedom: Farida
“Women can achieve food security on their own if they themselves become the breadwinners,” says the fisheries and livestock adviser
Ensuring nutritious food intake is essential to ensuring women's freedom, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter said at a roundtable in Cox's Bazar today (15 December).
"If nutritious food is ensured, only then the true freedom of women can be ensured. Nutritious food is essential to stop violence against women and establish equality as well," she said at the discussion on "Opportunities, experiences and constraints in implementing multi-sectoral nutrition services at district level".
Addressing the event, organised by Nutrition International and the daily Samakal, the adviser noted that Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, who pioneered the fight for women's rights, had called for ensuring food security for women.
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"Unless women become self-aware, nutrition cannot be ensured. At the village level, it is important to help women in raising poultry and cows. Women can achieve food security on their own if they themselves become the breadwinners," she said.
The adviser also said, "It is easier for poor women to turn their financial state around than middle-income women."
Stating that there is a diversity of domestic fish, cattle, chicken, cow, and goat species in Bangladesh, she said during the fishing ban, only rice is given as support to the fishermen. "Rice is the only food. Where are the other ingredients with the rice?"
She said the interim government has decided to provide 40kg of rice instead of the previous allocation of 25kg. "But who will provide other food items along with rice?"
Stressing the importance of nutritious food, the adviser said all must come together to increase awareness of this issue.
Gautam Mondal, Samakal's online section in-charge, moderated the roundtable.
Also speaking at the event, Nutrition International's Country Director Saiqa Siraj said the Canada-based international nonprofit agency is 32 years old and has been working in Bangladesh for 28 years.
She also noted that the organisation only works with the government and does not take any separate projects.
