Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said that women make up half of the country’s population and that any national development plan excluding them would be wrong.

He made the comment on Friday while speaking at the three-day reunion of former cadets at Joypurhat Girls’ Cadet College.

Wishing success and continued prosperity for the cadets and ex-cadets participating in the parade, he urged them to dedicate themselves to serving the nation.

The army chief said: “We must become good human beings and work with integrity. We dream of producing many cadets. We want women’s leadership and empowerment. Since half of the country consists of women, it would be a mistake to think of national development without them. Therefore, women must be trained and developed with the necessary skills.”

Addressing the new cadets, he added: “Follow the example of your predecessors and continue working for the country and the nation.”