Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
Profile
- Head
- Prof. Dr. A.Z.M. Zahid Hossain
- Role
- Minister
- Annual budget
- ৳50,780,000,000
- Staff
- n/a
- Established
- 1978
- Legal basis
- Originally established as Ministry of Women Affairs in 1978; Women Affairs Directorate formed 1984, upgraded to Department of Women Affairs 1990; renamed Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in 1994 incorporating Children Affairs; Bengali name changed from Mahila O Shishu Bishoyok Montronaloy to Nari O Shishu Bishoyok Montronaloy in December 2025.
Provenance & notes
Minister appointment date 2026-02-17 confirmed by TBS, Daily Star, and Wikipedia (A.Z.M. Zahid Hossain article). Budget figure Tk 5,078 crore for FY2025-26 cross-checked across New Age BD and Daily Star budget coverage; prior year Tk 5,222 crore confirmed by same sources. Ministry originally founded as Women Affairs Ministry in 1978 (not 1971); renamed to include Children Affairs in 1994 -- per Wikipedia and mowca.gov.bd About page. Bengali name changed December 2025 from Mahila to Nari per Wikipedia. Maternity allowance beneficiary figures (7.70 lakh mothers, 2.75 lakh lactating mothers, 63 daycare centres) sourced from MoWCA presentation (March 2023 PDF) and ILO-SPC maternity protection study (September 2025); the Tk 800/month rate and 36-month duration are from MoF budget grant documents. Staff count not disclosed in available primary sources -- field left null. Annual budget converted: Tk 5,078 crore = Tk 50,780,000,000 BDT (1 crore = 10,000,000). Violence statistics for April 2026 (312 cases) from ISHR Bangladesh brief April 2026. Activity evidence hold: removed 3 exact generated refresh event(s) on read. Generated scores, positions, activity actions and verification stamps are unavailable. Retained events and unmatched action text require source review; original raw records are unchanged.
Sources
- https://mowca.gov.bd/?lang=en
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Women_and_Children_Affairs
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Z._M._Zahid_Hossain
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/governance/news/who-gets-which-ministry-inside-bnps-cabinet-line-4108521
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/see-who-will-become-next-ministers-state-ministers-1363801
- https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/government/g8mziy0c9f
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/367205
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/bangladesh-marks-intl-womens-day-renewed-focus-womens-rights-opportunities-1380931
- 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/374360
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/377724
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/385866
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/pm-launches-family-card-programme-women-led-households-1382536
- https://banglamirrornews.com/2026/03/29/family-card-prog-to-get-wb-support/
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/384170
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/266575/allocations-for-gender-budget-women-children-affairs-drop
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/bangladesh-budget-2025-26/news/gender-budget-shrinks-concerns-raised-over-womens-development-3911076
- https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/government-unicef-support-accelerates-efforts-combating-violence-against-children
- https://socialprotection.gov.bd/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Maternity-Protection-Study_ILO_SPC_cabinet-Divison-.pdf
- 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://mowca.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/mowca.portal.gov.bd/publications/2232e974_c9d5_437c_bb2c_4b558af52020/English_MoWCA_Presentation_March_23.pdf