Women’s Advancement in Bangladesh Is Encouraging But Still A Long Way to Go

Women's advancement basically refers to the process of women's development and can be defined in different ways. But women's empowerment means accepting, encouraging and allowing women to be excluded from the decision-making process. It emphasizes participation in political structures and formal decision-making and in the economic sphere, raising an income that enables participation in economic decision-making. It also includes work to enhance the status of women through education, health, awareness raising, literacy and training.

There is a saying, give me a good mother; I will give you a good nation. Essentially educated mothers are the pillar of a nation, the beacon of light and they contribute like trees in various ways. Women's education scholarship at school and college level is the leading step in the development of women's advancement in Bangladesh. The participation of women in local administration like Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO), Deputy Commissioner (DC), secretaries, bankers, teachers, police officers, judiciary, armed forces and various levels is noticeable and it has increased significantly to deal with men equally and they are successfully playing significant role in every sector. They are not behind men in any area, but in some areas they are more pioneering, innovative and creative than men.

It needs to be said that education boosts women's confidence and helps them find better jobs and they feel encouraged to work shoulder to shoulder with men. They argue in the public interest and place demands to the government for health care, social security and other relevant rights. In particular, education empowers women to make choices that improve their children's health, their well-being, and their chances of surviving a struggling life. Despite significant improvements in recent decades, education is not universally available and gender inequality still persists. A major concern in many countries is not only the limited number of girls attending school, but also limited access to education for those entering the classroom. More specifically, there should be more efforts to address the low participation and learning achievement of girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

In Bangladesh, women's participation in the labor force has increased manifold over time. In 1971, the participation of women in the workplace was only 10 percent, after 53 years of independence, it increased to 38 percent which means it has increased by 28 percent. About 38 percent of women are in the workplace including agriculture, ready-made garments, banks, offices and courts. Women's participation is increasing not only in the export-oriented garment sector, but also in many non-traditional and emerging formal sectors, such as hotels and restaurants, transportation, real estate services, telecommunications, banking and insurance. This is because as access to higher education increases, opportunities for women in Bangladesh to enter the high-value job market have expanded. But several factors act as barriers to women's higher participation in the labor force. Lack of infrastructure such as transport, toilets, childcare facilities and overall lack of security hinders their participation in the job market. Child marriage is another factor that prevents girls from continuing their studies and entering the workforce.

Bangladeshi women have made significant progress since the country gained independence in 1971. Over the past four decades, women's political empowerment, improved job prospects, increased educational opportunities, and new laws have been enacted to protect their rights, although Bangladesh's policies on women's rights are dominated by patriarchal values. Bangladesh also has not elected a male Prime Minister since 1991.

The literacy rate as of 2023 for the population aged 15 and above in Bangladesh is lower for females (74.18%) than for males (78.67%). Bangladesh has improved its education policy over the past few decades and girls' educational opportunities have increased. But the concern is that the quality of education has not improved at all. In the 1990s, the enrollment rate of girls in primary school increased rapidly. Although there is now gender parity in enrollment at the primary and lower secondary school levels, the dropout rate of girls at the later secondary and higher secondary levels is declining at a satisfactory rate.

Bangladesh has been a role model in the advancement and empowerment of women over the last decade and the country is experiencing a remarkable change in society due to its efforts in this regard. Bangladesh's achievements in the last decade are exemplary in many areas like reduction of infant and child mortality, poverty alleviation, increase in women entrepreneurship, education and health. In this regard, both the public and private sectors have played important roles and have often worked in a collaborative fashion. Early interventions were made in family planning to reduce the birth rate and microcredit was introduced to provide income generation opportunities. The mobilization of rural women by NGOs in villages and the use of door-to-door women workers to provide health and family planning services have played an important role in improving infant, child and maternal health and income-earning opportunities.

 
Erina Haque Bithy is a columnist
and a human rights activist.