Bangladesh Open University (BOU) hosted an international online workshop today on

"Gender Mainstreaming in Student Affairs," as part of the European Union-funded MAGENDA project (MAintain GENDer Equality in Academia). Held via Zoom from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM BST, the event drew participants from across Asia and Europe to discuss practical strategies for promoting gender equity in higher education. This marked the fourth workshop in the "Gender Equality Practice" series under Task 1.1 of the MAGENDA initiative, which involves a consortium of 10 universities and institutions from Bangladesh, Nepal, and several European countries. Professor Nirmala Dhami of Nepal's Far Western University (FWU) delivered the keynote address, emphasizing the importance of constitutional support for gender parity. "Nepal has a national policy on gender equality rooted in our constitution, and FWU has developed its own gender policy in alignment with this framework," she said. Her presentation generated a lively discussion, with Professor Serazul Islam, Director of IQAC and Researcher on the BOU MAGENDA team, praising her insights while pointing out the ongoing challenges faced by academia in institutionalizing gender-sensitive practices. Responding to a question raised by Dr. Md. Mizanoor Rahman, Deputy Project Manager of BOU MAGENDA, Assistant Professor, Dr. Gambhir Bahadur Chand of FWU highlighted departmental efforts to ensure gender parity. "Although FWU lacks a comprehensive university-wide gender policy, individual departments have their own criteria to promote gender equity, especially in scholarship allocations for STEM programs," he noted. He also shared that the university encourages female participation in extracurricular activities to promote inclusive student engagement. In her concluding remarks, Professor Dr. Sabina Yeasmin, Project Manager of BOU MAGENDA, underscored the need for data-driven approaches. "Maintaining gender-sensitive data, as mentioned by Professor Dhami, is crucial for effective gender monitoring and informed decision-making," she said. The MAGENDA project is led by Professor Namraj Dhami of Pokhara University, Nepal, with Professor A. B. M. Obaidul Islam serving as the Chief Patron of the BOU component. Bangladesh Agricultural University and Sher-E-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka also the active members of the MAGENDA project and they also participated in the workshop. Today's discussions reflected both the achievements and persistent gaps in achieving gender equity in academia. The participants agreed on the importance of

translating these conversations into concrete institutional actions to create inclusive learning environments.