Now Dhaka girl Sanjana 'takes over' Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh for a day
Sanjana from Dhaka, a youth club member and community volunteer promoting girls' rights, and gender equality, took over the Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh for a day on Wednesday (11 October) to advocate for girls' rights, foster change in their community through activism accountability and resourcing with the aim to associate with the Girl Takeover campaign.
As the Global community marks International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October, Plan International Bangladesh is hosting a series of takeover events to promote abundant opportunities for girls' rights.
Plan International intends to provide a platform for girls and young women to take over leadership roles and challenge stereotypes around girls and leadership.
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It also wants to explore probabilities for boosting resourcing to girls along with the concerns and issues that are impacting their lives broadly.
Takeover is a part of the global GirlsTakeover campaign, a signature activity of Plan International. Every year, Plan rolls out this activity all over the world, including Bangladesh, marking the International Day of Girl on 11 October, under its Girls Get Equal campaign calling for increased investment in girls' power, activism and leadership.
This year, throughout the month of October Plan International Bangladesh is going to mobilize GirlsTakeover in leading roles within governance, diplomacy, and corporate among others all over the country to advocate gender equality, freedom and representation for girls and young women.
Sanjana, the Swedish Ambassador for the day, who is well-known as an active member of the youth forum, said, "Most girls in my community get apprehensive while communicating with people on a larger scale, today I have experienced that our voice matters and we should not be afraid to take our stand in the community. I want to take this learning and advocate for young girls in my community with the vision to confront gender discrimination, and break social norms and economic barriers."
She works in her community youth forum to address the daily obstacles that girls face in her community such as early marriage issues, and girls' education, especially in dropout cases. She wishes to bring considerable change and find new paths to empower young girls and children to influence girls' participation in women's economic empowerment.
Earlier, she took over the responsibilities of Canadian high commissioner for a day in Bangladesh for the same purpose.
Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde said: "Six hundred million adolescent girls globally represent infinite possibilities for leadership and change. Empowering girls is investing in our future. As we mark the International Day of the Girl Child, let us commit to being their allies in championing solutions and bringing about a positive change in our communities."
