NAYPYIDAW — In celebration of Burma’s Women’s Week, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged women to participate in the country’s development.
“With a commitment to take responsibility and carry out their duties, I urge our women to work for not only the development of the country but for the world,” said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the Women’s Week opening forum at the Kempinski Hotel in Naypyidaw.
A week-long series of events in honor of the March 8 International Women’s Day opens with a forum titled Creating Inclusive Growth.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Union ministers, permanent secretaries from the ministries, women’s rights advocates and female entrepreneurs attended the forum.
The state counselor stressed the need for rule of law in order to attain gender equality across the country, adding that suitable laws would not suffice unless they were also enforced.
Daw Nang Lang Kham, director of KBZ Bank, which hosted and coordinated the event, said it was organized to congratulate all Burmese women who contribute to the country’s business and development and for men who respect equality.
She added that women had long been considered supporting characters because of the existing structural barriers.
“If more women can enter the job market, their families will earn additonal income,” she said, adding that child care facilities should be established across the country so that women could contribute to various sectors of the country’s development.
Women’s Week will continue with seminars, a soccer match, a book fair and campaigns in Rangoon, Mandalay, Sagaing Division’s Monywa and Mon State’s Mawlamyine from March 6-12.
