The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Paduka Marina Mahathir, daughter of Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad, will arrive in Dhaka tomorrow on a six day visit on an invitation of Bangladesh Centre for Development Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) to attend a conference on Women and Media.

The conference, supported by the European Commission, is aimed at generating awareness and making policy recommendations on the issues related to women and media.

Marina Mahathir, a right activist, media person and columnist in Malaysia, will be the keynote speaker at a national conference on "Media and Gender Equity." She has recently agreed to become a trustee of a fund to help two Malaysian bloggers being sued by the New Straits Times Press (NSTP).

BCDJC President and Editor of the daily Amader Shomoy Nayeemul Islam Khan said her trip also includes programmes organised by United Nations joint Programme on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Asian University of Women (AUW).

In addition to the BCDJC conference, she will launch the UNAIDS business coalition on HIV/AIDS UNAIDS in Dhaka and visit the AUW campus in Chittagong.

She is expected to meet Noble laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus and BRAC Chairman Fazle Hasan Abed, civil society leaders and activists. She will also visit field projects of Grameen Bank and BRAC.