Gender and Development

Overview

Bangladesh remains one of the world’s poorest countries with a population of approximately 150 million.  In the UN Human Development Index, Bangladesh ranked 139 among 175 countries and according to the Gender Development Index, it ranked 112 among 114 countries. Moreover, in the Gender Empowerment Index, the ranking of Bangladesh was at 69 among 70 countries (UNDP 2003).

Bangladesh’s Constitution and Participation in International Conventions

The Constitution of Bangladesh ensures equal rights to all citizens and prohibits discrimination and inequality on the basis of sex.  The GOB became a signatory of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1984 and subsequently ratified the Optional Protocol on CEDAW in 2000.  Bangladesh is also a signatory to the Beijing Declaration and endorsed its Platform for Action (PFA).

National Policy for the Advancement of Women

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs is the lead ministry in promoting women’s advancement.  It launched the National Policy for the Advancement of Women in 1997 during the Awami League (AL) government.  In 2004, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government modified the policy without consultation, and since then it has become a controversial document. Civil society and donors have called for the government to revert to the 1997 policy. In order to reduce controversy, in July 2007 the Advisor for Law and Parliamentary Affairs under the Caretaker Government met with representatives of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and civil society to discuss how to revise the policy.  The Advisors requested members of civil society to provide information on how other Muslim countries address the issue of Shariah Law in their policies. Finally, a revised policy was developed and it was launched on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2008. 

The current AL-government expressed its commitment to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in its election manifesto. In the inaugural ceremony for International Women’s Day in March 2009, the Prime Minister announced in her speech that her government would reintroduce the National Women's Development Policy adopted during the last AL government to ensure gender equality in society. Finally, on March 8, 2011 the new policy was launched.   

Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) 

The Government of Bangladesh (GOB) makes a clear commitment to equality between women and men in its recently-approved Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).  It sets out several strategic goals:

·         Enhance women’s participation in decision-making;

·         Promote gender equality and empowerment of women (also a Millennium Development Goal); and

·         Ensure women’s full participation in mainstream economic activities.

Bangladesh Sixth Five Year Plan: FY2011-FY2015 Accelerating Growth and Reducing Poverty Government

In recognition of the long -term development challenges, the Government has adopted Vision 2021. Vision 2021 and the associated Perspective Plan 2010-2021 have set solid development targets for Bangladesh by the end of 2021 in order to make it a middle income country by 2021. The implementation of Vision 2021 will be done through two medium-term development plans, with the first spanning the Sixth Five Year Plan (FY11-FY15) and the Seventh Five Year Plan (FY16-FY20).  The Perspective Plan sets the strategic directions and provides a broad outline for the course of actions for making Vision 2021 a reality. This five year (2011) plan is the sixth in the series of development plans in Bangladesh starting in 1973.

A number of core targets have been identified to monitor the progress of the Sixth Plan. These targets have been set according to the vision and objectives of the perspective plan as well as the goals of the Millennium Development Goals. The realization of these targets by the end of the Sixth Plan should likely put Bangladesh on course to realize most of the objectives of Vision 2021 and the MDG goals. These monitorable targets fall into seven broad categories:

(i)            Income and Poverty;

(ii)          Human Resource Development

(iii)         Water and Sanitation;

(iv)         Energy and Infrastructure,

(v)           Gender Equality and Empowerment;

(vi)         Environment Sustainability;

(vii)        ICT.

The Government of Bangladesh had consultations on the sixth five year plan with donors but is yet to finalize the plan.

General Status of Women in Bangladesh

In spite of these commitments, women still face discrimination, exclusion and injustice, and have a negligible influence in decision-making processes.  Discriminatory laws and polices hinder formal equality, and socio-political conditions prevent women from exercising their rights.  Girls are often considered a burden, especially for poor households, where they are at risk of marriage at an early age and where the practice of dowries, though illegal, continues and is burdensome.  Women are usually the last to eat at mealtimes and 30% of the women are chronically malnourished.  Furthermore, violence against women makes women socially vulnerable and prevents them from fully participating in society.  However, women in Bangladesh have gained greater access to micro credit and increasingly participate in economic activities, particularly in the ready made garment (RMG) sector.  This has significantly contributed to Bangladesh’s annual GDP growth rate of more than 5% over the past decade.  

Challenges for women in Bangladesh include the following:

·         According to a survey, only 24% of women participate in the labor force compared to 84% of men.  Female participation is also concentrated in lower-level jobs, and wages are about only half of the male wage rate.

·         Though gender parity has been achieved in primary and secondary education enrollment, drop-out rates are higher for girls than boys.

·         Maternal mortality rate is still very high—194 per 100,000 live births—and only 18% of deliveries occur in suitable facilities.  Home deliveries with skilled attendants also remain very low, at 4%.  Thirty percent of women are chronically malnourished (BDHS 2007). Achieving MDG 5 is a challenge. 

·         Bangladesh has the unfortunate distinction of persistent early marriage (average age of marriage is 16.4 years) and early child bearing, which often contributes to high fertility and maternal mortality.

·         A number of laws exist to prevent violence against women, but the enforcement of those laws remains a major challenge. The Bangladesh Cabinet recently approved  "The Domestic Violence (resistance and protection) Act, 2010".

·         Though the government declared it would reintroduce the National Women's Development Policy adopted during the last AL government to ensure gender equality in society, no progress has been made so far.

·         A lack of gender-disaggregated social and economic data acts as a barrier in monitoring progress towards gender equality.

Women in Government and State Mechanisms for gender mainstreaming 

A milestone in women’s development is participation in local government.  Since 1997, women have the opportunity to be elected directly into seats reserved for women. In the August 2008 City Corporation election in 4 city Corporations (Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet), 41 women were elected.  Of the 41, only 2 were elected into un-reserved, general seats while where 39 were into seats reserved for women. 

At the local, Union Parishad, level, approximately 1,400 women hold elected positions, but there an election has not been held at this level since 1997.  Bangladesh held a very successful parliamentary election in December 2008 and women in the AL-led government now hold several important positions.  Key ministries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture) are led by women ministers. There also two women who hold positions as State Ministers, one for the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and one for the Ministry of Labor and Employment.

At present, 45 women occupy reserved seats in Parliament and 19 women were directly elected; thus bringing the total of women in Parliament to 64 or 18.5% of the total members.  Women hold less than 5% of senior Civil Service posts.

Women now serve as one of two directly elected chairpersons in each of the 481 upazilas (local units below the Union Parishad level).  As a result of the recent election law reforms, political parties are now required to have a minimum of 33% women representation in party committees by 2020.  

Ministry of Women and Children Affairs is the lead ministry for mainstreaming gender in all other line ministries. However it is headed by the State Minister and is considered a weak ministry both in human, as well as financial, resources. In addition to the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, the Government also put into operation a comprehensive national machinery to promote the advancement of women. At the highest level is the National Council for Women’s Development (NCWD), chaired by the Prime Minister (See below the structure in Annex-1). Below the apex, the implementing agency for the National Action Plan (NAP) for Women’s Advancement (which also is responsible for the National Policy for the Advancement of Women) and the Parliamentary Standing Committee interact with WID Focal Points in all line ministries, servicing ministries and the MWCA. WID focal points in the line ministries comprise the Women’s Development Implementation and Evaluation Committee. Associate WID focal points also are located in the line ministries, servicing ministries, and the MWCA. Below the MWCA, the Department of Women’s Affairs (DWA) contains a Sub-WID focal point, which oversees the district DWA, which houses the WID Coordination Committee.

Women in Private Sector

The private sector has played a strong role for country’s economic growth and also has great prospects for future growth. Women entrepreneurship is also growing fast, helping Bangladesh to grow. Despite the many problems women face in working outside home and other social barriers, the number of women entrepreneurs is increasing. In the garment sector, 80 percent of the employees are women. Women are also involved in other export oriented industries. The Government of Bangladesh has also made some efforts to make work more conducive for women but more needs to be done.

As the number of women entrepreneurs grows, there are now two women’s chambers: the Bangladesh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) and the Dhaka Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DWCCI) and two entrepreneurs’ associations: the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh (WEAB) and the Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (BFWE).

Mission Efforts

The Mission promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment, and integrates gender as a cross-cutting issue in all development activities.  Promoting gender equality has been made a cross-cutting issue in the results framework of all its Development Objectives i) Citizen Confidence in Governance Institutions Increased; ii)  Food Security and Poverty Status Improved; iii)  Health Status Improved; and iv):  Responsiveness to Climate Change Improved under the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for 2011-2016.  USAID’s Gender Advisor facilitates gender integration in development activities.  A small Gender Fund is in place to fund specific activities targeting gender equality and women’s empowerment. A small research grant pilot initiative for gender related research was launched in September 2010 from this gender fund. Six (6) students from Dhaka University received the award.