Bangladesh's Youth Festival 2025 concluded yesterday after a month of activities under the theme "Let's Change the Country, Let's Change the World."

One of the most remarkable aspects of this year's festival was the unprecedented participation of Bangladeshi young women in sports and cultural activities.

For the first time in the country's history, the festival featured women competing in a wide variety of sports, including football, cricket, kabaddi, badminton, volleyball, and basketball, said a press release.

According to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, at least 2.74 million women and young girls took part in 2,931 sports events and cultural activities across the country. Among these, 855 football matches were held, some even in remote parts of Bangladesh.

The press release said this marked a historic milestone, as never before have so many women participated in such a vast number of sporting events.

The interim government and local authorities in more than 500 rural sub-district towns organised women's sporting events with great enthusiasm. These matches were met with widespread public support, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators who celebrated the achievements of female athletes in a festive atmosphere.