Media sensitisation event held at Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)

On 13 January 2015, the Working with Women project held a media sensitisation seminar for media personnel.

This project is being implemented with the financial assistance from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands. The seminar took place in the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) conference room. Mr. Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice-President, BGMEA; Farhtheeba Rahat Khan, Team Leader, Working with Women project; journalists from different newspapers, electronic media, and other BGMEA officials were present at the seminar.

The seminar, titled “Media Sensitisation: Value creation in RMG through embedding SRHR in factories and the need for positive marketing”, aimed to create awareness of the media about existing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) problems of the female garment workers and how embedding SRHR can add value to the Ready Made Garments sector. Positive media reporting is a strong supporting element that the industry needs now: to appreciate the good things happening in factory and thus advocating other factories to follow the path.

Mr. Shariful Islam, Founder, Bangladesh Brand Forum; and Dr. Nazneen Akhter, Senior Lecturer, Core Faculty Member, Department of Public Health, North South University presented the keynote papers in the seminar, followed by an open discussion session among journalists and hosts. BGMEA has stated its support to the initiative. Among others, Mr. Ashrafur Rahman Ranju, COO, Millennium Textile and Engr Md.  Kawsar Ali, COO, Comfit Composite Ltd. spoke at the seminar about their experiences in implementing the SRHR initiative. Mr. Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice-President, BGMEA shared remarks from BGMEA about the project and urged the journalists to promote good practices in the RMG sector in order to stimulate growth of the industry.