The government is set to launch a new programme titled “Family Card” aimed at ensuring women’s empowerment, rights and economic independence by providing monthly allowances to women-headed families.
According to social welfare minister, the programme will be formally inaugurated by Tarique Rahman on Tuesday at 10:00am at the T&T Playground in Banani, adjacent to the Korail slum area in the capital.
During the pilot phase, information was collected on 67,854 women-headed families across the country. Using a software-based Proxy Means Test (PMT) system to determine poverty indicators, these families were categorised into different economic groups.
After verification and screening, 37,567 women-led households were finally selected to receive financial assistance.
Initially, the pilot programme will be implemented in 15 wards under 13 city corporations and unions across 13 districts.
To verify the socio-economic condition of each family, committees were formed at the ward, union, upazila and district levels. These committees conducted door-to-door visits to collect and verify information including family size, education, housing conditions, household assets and remittance income.
The minister said the entire selection process is software-based, leaving little scope for corruption or nepotism in choosing beneficiaries.
The Family Card will feature contactless chips, QR codes and NFC technology. Each card will allow up to five members of a family to receive benefits. In cases of larger joint families, multiple cards may be issued proportionately.
Under the pilot phase, selected families will receive a monthly allowance of Tk2,500. The government is also considering providing food assistance of equivalent value in the future under the programme.
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