Excluding women will halt national progress: Army Chief

Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman has said that no country can achieve sustainable development by excluding half of its population.

He made the remarks on Friday while attending a three-day reunion of former cadets of Joypurhat Girls’ Cadet College as the chief guest.

“When women make up 50 percent of the population, it is impossible to move the nation forward without them,” he said.

He wished the participating cadets and ex-cadets success and prosperity, urging them to dedicate themselves to serving the country.

The army chief added, “To become good human beings, we must work with honesty and moral principles. We dream of producing many capable cadets. We want women’s leadership; we want women’s empowerment. It would be wrong to think of national development while excluding half of the country’s population. Therefore, women must be equipped with proper skills.”

Addressing the new cadets, he encouraged them to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and continue working for the nation. General Waker-Uz-Zaman inaugurated the Association of Joypurhat Ex-Cadets (AJEC) reunion and received the salute at the reunion parade.

Speakers at the event included Ariful Haque, Principal of Joypurhat Girls’ Cadet College, and Mousumi Shikha, President of the Joypurhat Ex-Cadet Association.

Joypurhat Deputy Commissioner Afroza Akhter Chowdhury, Superintendent of Police Muhammad Abdul Wahab, teachers and journalists were also present.