In an article reproduced on the website of Grameen Bank, , the author, Frédéric Bobin, writes that Bangladesh goes against the clichéd image of a Muslim country, when it comes to the position of women in society. He attributes this to the secular dimension of the founding of the state, when cultural nationalism played a larger part than Islam in unifying the new country see and. The fact that Bangladesh has had a female prime minister for the last 20 years or so, alternating between the present Sheikh Hasina and the leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia, is often held up as testament to the empowerment of women here. However, both derived their legitimacy through male relatives as you will have read in this blog. Today, in addition to the prime minister, there are a number of women holding important ministries. Officially, the government is committed to equality and increased participation for women in national and local government. For example, there is the work of and her organisation in Jessore, for which she won a 1999. Incidentally, a previous recipient of this , , was a respected advocate and international voice in the field of women and rural development. Widespread social and cultural change, albeit slow, is nonetheless evident. Deeply entrenched cultural views, relating to appropriate roles for women in both the public and private spheres, are being challenged. There are more women working outside the home now e. Significant progress has been made in relation to closing the gender gap in school enrolment see. I could write the entire blog post on the many inspirational women in the public sphere in Bangladesh — past and present — many of whom I have made reference to in other parts of this blog. Living in Dhaka, I am aware of the disparity in the lives of women from different social groups. The small, urban middle-class live very much like their western counterparts. For example, there were times when I found myself in cosmopolitan cafés in the wealthier suburbs of Dhaka, surrounded by women in jeans sipping cappuccinos while I, the only foreigner, was dressed in the traditional, local shalwar-kameez. A very bizarre feeling! However, in other parts of the city, and in rural Bangladesh, I would rarely see women in public places e. It is important to acknowledge the strength and vitality of women in Bangladesh, as outlined above. Many articles, written by western observers, about women in Bangladesh and other countries , are often condescending albeit unintentionally in their portrayals of women as victims only. This is not to deny that the challenges remaining are manifold, as is evident in gender equality indices e. For Bangladesh, the gender-related development Index GDI is lower than the human development index HDI , indicating that an aggregated index masks gender inequalities. Of the 155 countries for which both indices could be calculated, 100 countries showed less disparity than Bangladesh. On the gender empowerment measure GEM , which considers whether women are active in public and economic life, Bangladesh ranks 108th of 109 countries. Bangladesh is ranked 63rd out of 86 in the OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. You can read about the variables they use on their website, together with their explanation of the ranking for Bangladesh. There are a number of reasons for these low scores. It is still a challenge for women in politics to influence public decision-making, due to both lack of experience and continuing resistance from male colleagues. While access to education has improved, as outlined earlier, learning outcomes are poor, particularly for girls. Economic opportunities for women continue to be limited by factors such as discrimination in the labour market; limited access to training; high illiteracy levels; and very heavy household work burdens, due to deficiencies in basic services. Most women work at the low wage end of the formal sector or else in the informal sector. Close to half of all farmers in Bangladesh are women, and 15% of rural families are headed by women whose husbands have died, divorced or abandoned them. It is estimated that half of all farmers in the developing world are women and has shown that when women farmers have access to the same resources as men, they can produce 30% more food. Finally, the high levels of violence against women, and fear of violence, both in families and communities, impedes mobility and quality of life see below. There are over 82 million women in Bangladesh based on 50% of the total population. For the majority of these women including adolescent girls , life is characterised by inequality and subordination within the family and society. Too many women suffer horrific acts of violence, as outlined below. Perpetrators of this violence often escape being brought to justice. In addition to the discrimination against women outlined above, below are examples of some of the more shocking crimes that many women in Bangladesh fall victim to. Daily reports in the papers attest to the frequency and ferocity of such crimes. Abuse, torture and even murder of the new wife have resulted from such violence. This clip from highlights the issue of dowry-related violence. There is a sizeable Islamic group against equal rights for women in Bangladesh. These are religious edicts under Islamic Sharia law. You can read of 14-year old Hena, who, after surviving rape, was labelled an adulteress and sentenced by local elders and clerics to 100 lashes. She was beaten to death. Despite the anti-fatwa rhetoric, including a , the practice continues. In this heinous crime, acid, usually aimed at the face, burns through skin and bone, leading to permanent disfigurement. Then I began to see it more and more and I realised that the same term is also used in other parts of Asia e. Every time I read the word I feel angry on so many levels. This is hardly an appropriate term to describe the sexual violence that destroys the lives of so many women in Bangladesh and elsewhere. A disturbing number of young women in Bangladesh commit suicide as a result of such serious harassment e. Polygamy is legal in Bangladesh. Though the practice is considered outdated and has decreased in the past 50 years in urban areas, it is still prevalent in many rural areas see. The law permits Muslim men to marry up to four women, conditional supposedly on the consent of prior wives. Writing about the above discrimination and abuse against women fills me with sadness. From a young age I think I was a natural feminist, before I even knew what the word meant. I could never understand why the idea of equal opportunities and outcomes for men and women would even need to be debated. I have outlined a litany of abuses in Bangladesh, but of course discrimination exists throughout the world to a greater or lesser extent. In it she points out that roughly the same number of women are murdered by men in the US each year as were killed in the Twin Towers between 2,800 and 3,000. But these killings provoke no parallel war on terror. She argues that if the rights that we grant to all humans are not granted to women, then that implies that they have sub-human status. I will end with this quote from. The complexity and ambiguity rings very true indeed. I wonder if there will ever be a day when we recognise and respect the full humanity of all human beings; when we will act as though all lives have equal value. Not in my lifetime I would think, though undoubtedly the world would be a better place. One of the things that attracted me about my work placement in Bangladesh was the possibility of contributing to work in the area of gender equality. Unfortunately, however, implementing my related objectives in this regard is proving problematic see posts ,. On March 15th 2009 I left Ireland to spend 13 months in Bangladesh as a volunteer. I am based in Dhaka, the capital, and working as a Research and Training Adviser at the National Institute of Local Government NILG , a division of the Ministry for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. I set up this blog in order to share some of my experiences with family and friends. At the water cooler! Archives by month Archives by month Where I live now: Dhaka This slideshow requires JavaScript.
