Department of Women Affairs
Profile
- Head
- Zinat Ara
- Role
- Director General (Additional Secretary)
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1990
- Legal basis
- Women Affairs Directorate formed 1984 under the Ministry of Women Affairs (est. 1978); upgraded to Department of Women Affairs by administrative order in 1990; operates under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (renamed from Ministry of Women Affairs in 1994); the DWA has institutional roots in the Bangladesh Women Rehabilitation Board established 18 February 1972.
DWA is simultaneously managing three active tracks under the new BNP government: (1) VAW response infrastructure -- 14 One-Stop Crisis Centres and 67 One-Stop Crisis Cells across district and medical college hospitals, supplemented by a nascent 24-hour Quick Response Team (QRT) system announced January 2026; (2) social protection delivery -- Maternity Allowance for 7.70 lakh poor mothers at Tk 800/month for 36 months, Working Lactating Mother Allowance for 2.75 lakh urban beneficiaries, and reform of the Mother and Child Benefit Programme (MCBP) under the WFP-DWA MoU (signed October 2023, active to December 2026); (3) climate-adaptive women's empowerment -- GCA coastal livelihood programme in Khulna and Satkhira finalised in April 2026, with tools to be scaled to other vulnerable coastal zones.
Recent activity
- 2026-01-17 policy Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S. Murshid announced Quick Response Teams (QRTs) at the 'Pashe Achhi' campaign: coordinated multi-agency teams to deliver support to VAW survivors within 24 hours; QRT at initial implementation stage, to operate alongside 14 One-Stop Crisis Centres, 67 One-Stop Crisis Cells, and the National Helpline 109. ↗↗
- 2026-02-17 appointment Prof. Dr. A.Z.M. Zahid Hossain sworn in as Minister for Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare in the Tarique Rahman-led BNP cabinet; DWA remains the principal implementing agency under the new minister. ↗↗
- 2026-04-06 policy DWA Director General Zinat Ara presided as chief guest at the validation workshop for the Gender-responsive Coastal Adaptation (GCA) project: finalized a ToT curriculum, gender-responsive livelihood toolkit, and 2050 climate impact forecast for coastal women across five upazilas in Khulna and Satkhira districts; implemented jointly with DPHE, IPTM, UNDP, and the Green Climate Fund. ↗
- 2026-04-06 statement Minister Zahid Hossain declared zero-tolerance on all forms of violence against women and children at a Plan International Bangladesh event, committing to enforcement of the Nari O Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain 2000; DWA's OCC and helpline network cited as primary response infrastructure. ↗↗
- 2026-05-17 international Minister Zahid Hossain met UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda; discussions covered strengthening DWA-delivered social safety nets, expanding the National Helpline 109, scaling Quick Response Teams for VAW survivors, care economy policy, and legal aid expansion under MoWCA-UN Women partnership. ↗
Provenance & notes
established_year set to 1990 (the year the Women Affairs Directorate was upgraded to a full Department), not 1984 (when the Directorate was formed) or 1972 (the Women Rehabilitation Board). Wikipedia article (stub, last revised April 20, 2026) lists DG as Parveen Akhter; Bangladesh Post (December 12, 2023) reports Kaya Khan appointed DG after gazette notification following Farida Parveen's OSD posting; BSS primary reporting (April 6, 2026) identifies Zinat Ara as Director General (Additional Secretary) presiding as chief guest at the GCA validation workshop -- this is the most recent primary-source confirmed name and is used here. DG appointment date unknown; head_since left null. OCC infrastructure count (14 One-Stop Crisis Centres, 67 One-Stop Crisis Cells) sourced from BSS January 2026 QRT announcement citing MoWCA figures; 8 Divisional DNA Screening Labs and National Forensic DNA Profiling Lab are MoWCA assets operated through DWA coordination. Maternity Allowance beneficiary figure of 7.70 lakh and Tk 800/month rate cross-verified across MoWCA March 2023 Presentation PDF and ILO-SPC Maternity Protection Study (September 2025). VWB 15-lakh beneficiary target for FY2025-26 from DATABD/NSSS sources. MoWCA total FY2025-26 budget Tk 5,078 crore confirmed via New Age BD and Daily Star; DWA-specific sub-allocation not found in public documents -- annual_budget_bdt and fy_budget_year left null at DWA level. Staff count not disclosed in any available primary source.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Women_Affairs
- https://bangladeshpost.net/posts/department-of-women-affairs-gets-new-dg-127078
- https://bangladesh.un.org/en/252250-wfp-and-department-women-affairs-bangladesh-join-hands-advance-inclusive-social-protection
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/375149
- https://www.bssnews.net/national-parlament-election-2026/351994
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/397245/govt-plans-rapid-24-hour-response-to-protect
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/375076
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/296070/govt-adopts-zero-tolerance-on-all-forms-of-violence-azm-zahid
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/national/387972
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/see-who-will-become-next-ministers-state-ministers-1363801
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/governance/news/who-gets-which-ministry-inside-bnps-cabinet-line-4108521
- https://mof.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/mof.portal.gov.bd/budget_mof/ee7abdfd_6e05_4a89_b8e4_b7b17f73d3ef/130_Women_English.pdf
- https://socialprotection.gov.bd/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Maternity-Protection-Study_ILO_SPC_cabinet-Divison-.pdf
- https://databd.co/design-of-the-vwb-programme-to-bolster-womens-economic-empowerment/
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/266575/allocations-for-gender-budget-women-children-affairs-drop