Govt to Distribute Sewing Machines to 30,000 Women

Bangla Press Desk:    The government plans to distribute 30,000 sewing machines free of cost among poor, helpless, and disabled women with a view to ensuring their socio-economic empowerment.

To this effect, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has sought a budgetary allocation of Tk 569 million in the current fiscal year

An official at the Finance Division said, "We have received a proposal from the Women and Children Affairs Ministry, seeking an allocation to buy sewing machines. The division is reviewing the issue."

The ministry would bring some 30,000 helpless, poor and disabled women into the main stream of the country's development by providing the sewing machines.

The ministry believes that providing sewing machines to such women would ensure their self-reliance.

Dependence of the women on social safety net programmes as well as poverty rate would reduce.

According to a World Bank 2025 report, women who were trained on sewing were able to earn around Tk 7,000 to Tk 10,000 per month.

The Department of Women Affairs trains women on sewing and other trades regularly. But they cannot do sewing in the absence of sufficient fund, the proposal said.

Almost a half of the total population of Bangladesh are women. According to the Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2024, women's participation in the labour market decreased from 25.3 million to 23.7 million. 

When contacted, a senior official of the department said, 'Sewing and dressmaking is one of the most familiar and acceptable professions for women in Bangladesh. With minimal training and equipment, these women are capable of earning an income staying at home, which plays a vital role in women's economic empowerment."