24 April 2015 - The Philippine Embassy in Dhaka celebrated International Women’s Month at the Philippine Chancery on April 17 as part of its promotion of gender awareness and development.

Under the theme, “Juana, Desisyon Mo ay Mahalaga sa Kinabukasan ng Bawat Isa, Ikaw Na!”, the occasion gathered the Filipino community in Dhaka, especially the women, to give special acknowledgment to the vital role that women play in the family, at work and in the society. 

The Philippine Embassy invited Madame Alma Maria A. Bandillo, spouse of Philippine Ambassador to Bangladesh Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo and Dr. Carmen Z. Lamagna, vice chancellor of American International University in Bangladesh (AIUB) at the program who delightedly shared their inspiring thoughts on the importance of commemorating women’s individuality.

In her message, Dr. Lamagna expressed her profound pride in the achievements made, not just by herself, but by the whole community of Filipino women in Bangladesh who bore the sacrifices of being separated from their families to work abroad and the struggles of confronting issues of gender disparity in the country.   Her tenacity hailed her the first female vice chancellor of a university in Bangladesh and accorded her a number of recognitions that speak wholly of women empowerment. 

Towards the end of the program, guests were asked to share their testimonies about women as influence and motivation, after which men participants handed flowers to all the ladies at the event.  END