Photographed by Asif Iqbal
UNFPA Bangladesh organised a three-month national campaign, titled “Celebrating Daughters,” with a focus on daughter appreciation and youth capacity development in 2022. In continuation of the campaign, UNFPA now plans to explore the crucial and lifelong role of fathers in the upbringing and welfare of their daughters, with a broader view to transforming the values and norms related to son preference and daughter aversion by allying with and celebrating fathers.
With these goals, UNFPA Bangladesh launched a social media campaign, titled “Letter to My Father/Daughter,” on the International Father’s Day, June 18, 2023 – a global annual celebration of positive masculinities and loving parenthood, in order to reinforce one of UNFPA’s key messages: Every daughter counts and every father can make a difference.
Themes for 'Letter to My Father' –
- Outlining the purpose of writing, which could range from an expression of gratitude and love to even loss.
- Short description of a core positive memory with one’s father.
- Father’s impact during childhood.
- Father’s contribution to ensuring daughter’s overall well-being and development throughout life.
- Reflections on how the writer (daughter) cares for her ageing father and contributes to the family welfare.
Themes for 'Letter to My Daughter' –
- Outlining the purpose of writing, which could range from an expression of love and pride to even regrets or longing.
- Short description of a core positive memory with one’s daughter.
- Detailing writer’s involvement in daughters’ daily care, education and overall well-being.
- Impact of fatherhood on the writer’s emotional wellbeing.
- Detailing hopes for the daughter’s future.
Submission Rules & Requirements:
- Participants are encouraged to write 500-word letters, either in Bangla or English, on their personal social media handles along with an accompanying photo with their father or daughter.
- Participants are encouraged to tag their friends in the post and challenge them to post similar letters.
- Participants are encouraged to use the following hashtags: #EveryDaughterCounts; #EveryFatherCanMakeADifference and #UNFPABangladesh.
- Participants are instructed to submit a hand-written version of the one-page letter below along with a photo with their father or daughter.
- The participant must rename his or her submitted photo and letter in the following format: Name_Age. Example: Tamanna Jannat_21.
- Participants must provide complete information below.
- By submitting a letter, the participant ensures that it is his or her original work, and has not been previously published.
- By submitting a letter, the participant ensures that it does not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libellous, defamatory, inflammatory, pornographic or profane content.
- By submitting a letter, the participants allow the exhibiting and publishing rights to the UNFPA Bangladesh.
- UNFPA Bangladesh reserves the right to modify the submission deadline and to disqualify any submission which violates the above-mentioned rules.
Submission Deadline: September 10, 2023.
For more information, please contact:
celebratingdaughters-bgd@unfpa.org
Submit your letters here.