Dhaka, Aug. 25 -- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged a collective effort to empower women and girls in the Global South to actively contribute to achieving gender equality - the UN's Sustainable Development Goal No. 5.

"In the Global South, we must create an enabling environment for our women and girls to become agents of change. We should all join hands to achieve SDG 5," she said while addressing a luncheon hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current chairman of the BRICS bloc, at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Hasina also raised five important issues to get the attention of BRICS member countries and others, according to the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.

"We must mi...