Women Empowerment in Bangladesh [Some Facts and Thoughts]

1. Empowerment is defined as “the enhancement of assets and capabilities of diverse individuals and groups to engage, influence, and hold accountable the institutions which affect them”. In another literature, it is defined as “a process whereby women become able to organize themselves to increase their own self-reliance, to assert their independent right to make choices and to control resources which will assist in challenging and eliminating their own subordination”.  

2. Empowering women to narrow the gap between men and women demand appropriate policy action. Bangladesh has the political courage that favour women at the expense of men to stand for equity.

3. The Constitution of Bangladesh grants equal rights to women and men in all spheres of public life [Article28 (1) and 28 (3)].

4. The Seventh Five Year Plan (2015-16-2020-21) of Bangladesh government, which is the national medium-term development plan committed to transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 (also known as Vision 2021), considers women’s engagement in political and economic activities as a cross-cutting issue with women’s empowerment as one of the main drivers of transformation.

5. The government of Bangladesh formulated a number of laws, regulations, policies and guidelines related to gender development and endorsed international treaties, laws, conventions, such as the relevant sections of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), an international treaty which was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly and the spirit of the Platform for Action (PA), an agenda for women's empowerment, that aims to remove all the obstacles to women's active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making.

6. The government of Bangladesh committed to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  2016 (Goal 5)  of gender equality and empowering women and recognised the theoretical underpinning from the concept of ‘Women and Development (WAD)’ to ‘Women in Development (WID)’.

Government’s Initiative for Ensuring Gender Parity

7. To expedite women’s economic, social and political empowerment, comprehensive initiatives have been undertaken by providing extensive training, creating job opportunities, ensuring participation in labour market and providing support to small and medium women entrepreneurs.

8. Gender-related information with visual materials and promotional messages are disseminated and discussed among all staff and others to improve their knowledge, ideas, and attitudes regarding gender discriminations and appropriate training is being provided to all staff to equip them better for gender integration in their respective programmes or projects.

9. Extensive social safety net programmes have been undertaken to provide various kinds of allowances for disadvantaged groups, such as destitute women, maternity and lactating mothers, disabled women, and divorced women. Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) is carried out for ensuring food security to vulnerable extreme poor women.

10. Collateral free loans are given to women entrepreneurs  

11. Women entrepreneurs receive 10% of the Small Enterprise Fund and 10% industrial plots.

12. Gender-sensitive budgets were prepared for 40 ministries.

13. Women’s participation in agricultural production is facilitated through access to agricultural technologies and loans are given for agro-processing, homestead gardens, nurseries, bee-keeping, and other activities.

14. Enhanced participation and livelihood of rural poor women is a priority programme of the government implemented through the “One House, One Farm Project”, which gives priority to female households in every village.

15. Loan disbursement towards women entrepreneurs has been increasing both in amount and numbers.

16. Fifteen percent (15%) refinance fund in Bangladesh Bank is reserved for women entrepreneurs. Women are also entitled to SME loan up to TK 2.5 million free of collateral, only against the personal guarantee. Moreover, all banks and NBFIs have opened women entrepreneur dedicated desks through which bank officials are providing information and service to women entrepreneurs.

17. JOYEETA, an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Children affairs established to empowering rural women of Bangladesh. It’s a business platform to support and facilitate the grass-root women entrepreneurs to showcase and market their own arts, crafts, products, and services.

18. Keeping in mind the needs of mothers, the current government extended maternity leave for expecting mothers from four months to six months.

19. Steps have been taken for the delivery of primary healthcare services through community clinics to rural, marginal, and vulnerable women. Women-friendly model district hospitals have been established. Maternal Health Voucher Schemes provides a voucher package of three ante-natal checkups, safe delivery under skilled birth attendants, one post-natal checkup, and transport cost.

20. Primary education is compulsory and free for all children aged between age 6 and 10.

21. All children attending primary and secondary schools receive textbooks free of cost.

22. The education of girls up to grade XII in public institutions is also free.

23. To encourage girl students to continue their studies and also to reduce drop-out rates, stipends are awarded up to the under-graduate level.

24. In passport and birth registration certificates, both father and mother names are mandatorily incorporated. It was only my father’s name before. 

25. Parliament passed the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act of 2010. In order to effectively implement this law, the government has formulated the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Rules 2013.

26. Prevention and Restraint of the Human Trafficking Act 2012 and the Pornography Control Act of 2011 was enacted by the current government.  

27. One Stop Crisis Centers in 7 divisions are providing medical treatment, legal support, policy assistance, and rehabilitation to the victims. DNA profiling lab and DNA screening labs have been established in a few national hospitals for effective investigation of gender-based offenses such as rape. Continuing that total 80 One-Stop Crisis Cells are established, among them 40 in district hospitals and 20 in Upazila health complex.

28. Victim support centers are run by trained, professional women officers making the center more approachable for women victims.

29. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA) operates a Central Cell to ensure coordination of work on the prevention of violence against women and children and extends necessary support to the victims of violence.

30. The MoWCA now maintains a helpline (10921) to provide legal, medical, rehabilitation and counseling help to victims of violence.

31. The number of seats reserved for women in the National Parliament have been increased by 5, and made 50.

32. Reserved seats for women in union council, Upazila Parishad and municipalities have been increased to one-third of the total and women are to be directly elected to those seats.

33. A reserve quota for women employment at every level of the administration was created by the government which enhances women participation in government jobs.

Some Encouraging Facts and Figures

34. At present in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Speaker and Deputy Leader of the House are all women. In recent times, a number of cabinet members holding important portfolios are women. That includes the current Minister of Ministry of Agriculture, the immediate past Ministers of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Home Ministry, and Ministry of Labour.

35. There has been a sharp increase in the number of women parliamentarians elected (20% of total seats) in the last national election.

36. More than 12,000 women were elected as public representatives in the last round of local government elections.

37. Number of women among the Justices of the Supreme Court, top positions of the administration – secretaries, additional secretaries, joint secretaries, deputy commissioners, top positions of police, universities, central bank, armed forces, UN peacekeepers, and three women conqueror of the Mount Everest, indicates an improvement in women’s empowerment.

38. Bangladesh is now the top contributor of female police officers to the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations as Formed Police Unit.

39. Bangladesh has made tremendous success in cutting down the maternal mortality rate (MMR) drastically. MMR has declined by more than 66% over the last two decades and is dropping around 5.5% each year.

40. In primary schools, female enrolment is 51%, and in secondary schools it is 53%, while the male is 47 percent, a sharp departure from even just a few years ago when a male was 65% and a female was 35%.

41. Bangladesh has already substantially achieved the MDG3 as it has secured gender parity in primary and secondary education at the national level.

42. Currently more than 3 million women are working in the RMG sector alone.

43. Bangladesh has enhanced its women labor force from 24% in 2010 to 36% in 2013.

44. Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty and extreme poverty over the decade —from 48.9% and 34.3% in 2000 to 31.50% and 17.60% in 2010 respectively despite a series of external shocks that affected Bangladesh. A large portion of women, however, get rid of poverty over this period.

45. In the microfinance sector, as of December, 2014, the total number of borrowers is 27 million. Among the borrowers, the number of women borrower is 25 million. Through this microfinance platform, women have enjoyed larger mobility in society and access to other non-financial services too. 

PKSF’s Role in Empowering Women

46. Under the umbrella of poor-friendly and inclusive financial programs, as of November 30, 2015, the total number of members is 11.47 million and the total number of borrowers is 8.79 million. Among the borrowers, the number of women borrowers is quite significant (91%) i.e. 8.02 million.

47. PKSF provides both financial and non-financial support to the poor women through its Partner Organisations (POs). POs are widely known as Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). These MFIs have created new employment opportunities for many poor and destitute women by providing appropriate loans and hands-on training and by ensuring raw materials to produce different agricultural and non-agricultural products, such as goat, crab, ell fish rearing; handicrafts and mat making at their household level as a year-round income-generating activity at the household level in order to reduce their vulnerability as well as to enhance their status in family and community.

48. PKSF does not allow any discrimination against any employee or project participants for employment because of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression.

49. PKSF’s core goal is “instituting human dignity”. That actually created a huge scope to include those who are excluded. Women are always the center of PKSF’s activities. PKSF is a unique platform for GO and NGO-MFIs collaboration in the field of poverty reduction through the provision of various development programs. This partnership creates an extensive network that enables informing strong social capital, disseminating knowledge, sharing ideas, and exchanging views among the partners and development actors all over the country. 

50. Before conclude, I would like to share my personal views about women's empowerment. Traditional discourses of gender parity often oversimplify the complex process of women empowerment – general understanding is that if you wear western clothes and have a good corporate job, you look smart, you are a modern girl, you are empowered.

Does it sufficient to make you empowered?

51. In my understanding, context matters. The relationship among values, perception, agency, social and political institutions, and social structure in a given area create a complex web of legacy. That needs to be carefully examined if someone would like to understand the context-specific aspects of women empowerment.

52. However, I hope and wish we will reach a point where there will be no gender gap. Bangladesh has achieved laudable success in this regard but we are also learning along the journey and looking forward to a more equitable society.