The Department of Women’s Affairs (DWA) was created in 1984 to take on the joint responsibilities of the Bangladesh Women’s Rehabilitation and Welfare Foundation created in 1972 and the Women’s Affairs Cell created in 1976 under the Ministry of Social Welfare and Women’s Affairs. This ultimately became an attached department under the Ministry of Women’s Affairs first created in 1978 and later renamed as Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in 1994. The current mandate of the organization includes awareness building/sensitization of women’s issues especially their rights and privileges, skill development, prevention of violence and repression against women, support to develop women’s organizations for literacy, health care, income generation and empowerment along with their enhanced awareness about environmental protection. The mandate also calls for close collaboration with voluntary and non-governmental organizations. Special emphasis is placed on poverty alleviation by addressing distressed women both in rural and urban areas. The Ministry Women and Children Affairs (MWCA) is the apex policy-making agency with respect to DWA and hence all policy matters are decided there (.(CDS), December 2000, Page- 3.)