Zaima Rahman, daughter of Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman Tarique Rahman, in her first public speech on Sunday called for women’s empowerment to help shape the future of the nation.
She made the call while addressing a policy dialogue titled ‘Women in Nation-Building: Policy, Potential and the Future of Bangladesh’ at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh in the capital’s Farmgate area.
‘When women are welcomed rather than pushed aside, they do not change their own lives only, they change the future of their families and the future of the nation as well,’ she said.
‘If Bangladesh truly seeks sustainable development, empowerment cannot remain limited to education, offices or policies alone, it must reach our homes, institutions and mindsets,’ she said.
‘I stand here today with a different sense of emotion and feeling. This is my first speech at the policy level in Bangladesh. I am not someone who has answers to all questions or solutions to all problems,’ Zaima said.
‘Still, I believe that from our own small positions, each of us should have the sincerity to do something for society and for the country,’ she said.
Zaima, who returned to the country with her family on December 25, 2025, after about one and a half decades abroad, highlighted the contributions of her grandfather, BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, and her grandmother, BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, to women’s advancement.
BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury attended the programme as the chief guest and outlined the party’s plans for women’s empowerment.
The programme, moderated by presenter Kazi Jessin, was also addressed, among others, by Centre for Policy Dialogue’s executive director Fahmida Khatun, BRAC Enterprises managing director Tamara Hasan Abed, and FICCI chairperson and Berger Paints Bangladesh managing director Rupali Haque Chowdhury.
During the question-and-answer session, Zaima spoke about women’s safety, noting concerns particularly in online spaces and among women under 25, both online and offline, and emphasised the need to address behavioural, cultural and social factors.
BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury attended the programme as the chief guest and outlined the party’s plans for women’s empowerment.
‘Our party has various action plans to bring women forward. In this regard, our leader Tarique Rahman has proposed introducing a family card,’ he said.
‘Women will receive greater benefits from BNP’s plans. Our programmes for women are not mere promises; we have spent long hours working out how these plans will be implemented,’ he said.
Centre for Policy Dialogue’s executive director Fahmida Khatun, speaking as a discussant, said that the biggest barrier to women’s development is access to finance, particularly for small women entrepreneurs who face multiple obstacles in obtaining loans.
She urged the future governments to give special attention to the issue.
BRAC Enterprises managing director Tamara Hasan Abed said that women should be viewed not merely as part of the population but as human resources, and that the hidden potential among women must be brought forward.
The programme, moderated by presenter Kazi Jessin, was also addressed, among others, by FICCI chairperson and Berger Paints Bangladesh managing director Rupali Haque Chowdhury.
