Call to include women's chores to national GDP

Several rights-based organizations yesterday put a fresh demand to count women's household contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) that shows sum of monetary value of all finished goods and services produced within a country in a specific time period.

The activists also demanded the end of domestic violence. The demand was raised at a human chain organized in front of the Jatiya Press Club yesterday. A network of 22 organizations observed that the household related women activities have measurable contributions to the economic growth but those have yet to be recognized formally. The ill-tradition ends up with depriving the women.

Ferdous Ara Rumee of COAST Trust said the economy does not calculate the monetary value of homestead activities performed by women in the country, although they make up half of total population. Besides, she said, women are paid low in informal sectors too. Representatives from concerned organizations spoke about discriminations against women existed in society and urged the government to take sincere steps to establish equal rights for women and men both.

-AA Correspondent