Empowerment of Women

• Women’s empowerment is a core issue of contemporary development.

• It underscores the notion that women are active agents, not passive recipients of development
outcomes.
• Empowerment facilitates women’s full and effective participation in political, economic,
social and cultural life
• Making them stronger and more confident to take control of their actions and lives.
• It emboldens women to demand equality in their relationships with men within their families
and the society. Evidence shows that the empowerment of women helps to create inclusive,
open and prosperous societies.
• International action in the 1990s provided opportunities to transform global opinion and forge
a consensus in favour of the empowerment of women.
• In particular, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) remains the most comprehensive
documented global commitment to gender equality, women’s rights and development.
• Furthermore, gender equality and women’s empowerment are a standalone goal in the 2030
agenda and a cross-cutting issue amongst all of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Empowerment as a Concept

• Indeed, empowerment is a complex concept that encompasses social, economic and political
aspects of life. According to the World Bank lexicon (2009), empowerment is the process of
increasing the capacity of individuals to make choices as well as transforming those choices
into actions.[1]
• In a more material sense, D Narayan (2002) defines empowerment as the expansion of assets
and capabilities to participate in, negotiate with, influence and control institutions that affect
their lives.[2]
• N Kabeer (2005) has a general yet comprehensive definition. In her words, empowerment is
the expansion in the abilities of individuals to make strategic life choices in a context in
which this ability was previously denied.[3]

The Status of Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh

• Successive Bangladeshi governments have formulated policies regarding women’s

empowerment, integrating it into their overall priorities and respecting their commitments to
global development goals.
• Since 1995, Bangladesh has been making strides in translating lofty promises into actions,
having shaped its original women’s development policies and plans of action in line with the
BPA.
Socio-Cultural Context

• Culturally and traditionally, two sets of social norms influence the position of Bangladeshi
women: patriarchy and purdah.
• In a male-dominated, patriarchal social system in Bangladesh, men dominate women and
dictate the terms of relationships through family, marriage and inheritance. [4]
• Traditionally, Bangladeshi women stay within the confines of a family home, their activities
limited to domestic work and childcare. In contrast, men work outside, support the family
 financially and control capital. This stereotypical role deprives the women of enjoying equal
status vis-à-vis men. Contradictory to legislative norms, such practices are socially condoned
as cultural norms, which lead to their perpetuation.
• such as early marriage, dowry and Shariah law, also affect women’s development in
Bangladesh.
• divorce, custody of children, inheritance and the like, are widely seen as gender-
biased.[5] Early marriage contributes to a lower level of literacy among women, as well as a
lower level of participation in economic activities.
• The dowry-based marriage system still victimises rural Bangladeshi women. [6] In this
practice, the family of the bride often has to pay a hefty amount of money and goods at the
time of the wedding and, in many cases, even after marriage.

Challenges to Overcome

• Due to a lack of proper education and skills, Bangladeshi women only minimally participate
in gainful economic activities or engage in political movements. [7]
• Despite commendable advances in female education and gender parity in primary and
secondary schools, high dropout rates and poor quality of education remain major
concerns.[8]
• Additionally, women and girls continue to suffer from various healthcare deficiencies,
especially in rural areas.
• Furthermore, reports reveal disparities in wage structures between women and men in some
sectors, even though such is prohibited by law.[9]
• Plus, government initiatives to improve the situation of vulnerable women through various
social safety net programmes have been found to be insufficient in actually meeting their
needs. These issues perpetuate and continue to exist because of the women’s traditionally
low level of participation in political activities.[10]
• Though the situation is steadily improving, as reflected in the increase in successful female
electoral candidates, it remains a daunting task to ensure adequate and equitable
participation. It appears that a lot remains to be done to empower women and bring them
into the mainstream of developmental activities.

Affirmative Action by the Government

In the early 1990s, the Bangladesh government started a concerted effort to improve the status of
women throughout the nation.[11] It understood that without the active women participation in all
walks of life, the development aspirations of the nation, including the creation of a democratic and
inclusive society, could simply not be achieved. In line with the provisions of the
Constitution,[12] the government enacted and amended various laws to safeguard the interests of
women, establish necessary institutions and formulate targetted policies for their advancement. It
initiated specific gender-sensitive policies and programmes to empower women, and provide for
them a rightful place in society with the ultimate objective of enabling them to become active agents
of development.[13]

Policies and Programmes

 • Successive governments have continued to make gender responsiveness an essential element
in long-term national development schemes. Women’s issues were mainstreamed into key
development strategies, such as the Five-Year Plans, Vision-2021 and Vision-2041.
• In the aftermath of the historic Beijing conference, the government formulated the National
Women’s Development Policy and the National Plan of Action, keeping with the spirit of the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The policy and plan were both subsequently
enriched, reflecting on the outcomes of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the
Twenty-Third Special Session of the General Assembly, the 2030 Agenda for Development
and SDG 5. Consistent with these strategies and policies, the government also strove to
tackles challenges like child marriage, violence against women, trafficking and other crimes
by enacting appropriate laws. Apart from enacting and enforcing laws, the government, in
partnership with the civil society, has worked to generate social awareness about these vices.

Political Inclusion

Affirmative policy decisions played a large role in efforts to guarantee the political inclusion of
women. These included the introduction of quotas in parliament and other constitutional bodies, and
reservation of seats for women in local institutions and other decision-making bodies. Such measures
have resulted in a considerable increase in the number of elected women in the political arena and
local bodies.[14] Apart from directly taking part in the elections, there are 50 reserved seats for women
in the 350-member national parliament. Bangladesh today is perhaps one of the few countries in the
world that has a female Prime Minister, a female Leader of the Opposition, a female Speaker, and a
female Leader and Deputy Leader of the House. Women are currently serving as cabinet ministers
and other high-ranking government officials, as well as in the police, armed forces, and as elected
representatives in local government.[15] The country can take pride in attaining this level of political
empowerment of women.

Economic Outcomes

The government has invested significantly in building women-friendly infrastructure, providing skill-
based education and training, and facilitating their access to information and communications
technology and the job market. These efforts have resulted in the increase of female workforce in the
domestic market from 26 per cent 2003 to about 36 per cent now.[16] Bangladesh has not only
increased female employment in the last two decades, but also cut the wage gap between men and
women significantly. Almost half of the working women currently pursue unskilled and semi-skilled
jobs in the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors. Only one-third of them are unpaid instead of
the 70 per cent two decades ago. [17] Women constitute most of the four million workers engaged in
the garments sector. The rate of female entrepreneurship has also shown progress, especially in small
and boutique-type sectors.

Education Incentives

To improve female literacy in Bangladesh, the government has introduced various programmes,
including distribution of free books for all primary level schoolchildren, free education for girls up
until university, and stipends for girls in rural secondary schools.[18] The government also successfully
ran a Food-for-Education programme and a Cash-Transfer programme for poor households in the
rural areas to attract female students.[19] It has also reserved 60 per cent of primary school teaching
positions for women.[20] These programmes have been reasonably successful in raising the enrollment
of girls in schools, increasing class attendance, reducing dropout rates and deterring early marriage.

Health Initiatives

The government has made strides, both at the structural and programme levels, to address the health
needs of women. It has established community and mobile clinics designed to expand healthcare
outreach, including maternal health care at the rural level. As a result of effective family planning
programmes, the number of births per woman fell significantly in the last two decades. [21] An increase
in the number of trained birth attendants, antenatal vaccination and progress in other health services
has resulted in a considerable decline in maternal mortality. Expanded immunisation programmes,
improved sanitation and access to safe drinking water, use of oral rehydration saline and vitamin A
supplement to children have also generated substantial health gains for rural women of all ages. [22]

Effective Government-NGO Collaborations

The government has effectively partnered with the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on
specific areas of women’s development. The role of micro-credit in the reduction of poverty,
particularly for rural women, is globally recognised. Both the government and NGOs are running
micro-credit, girls’ stipend, social security, health and nutrition programmes for women and girls.

The government has also undertaken various social safety-net programmes to address the
multidimensional challenges faced by poor women as a particularly vulnerable group. These include
the Vulnerable Group Development Programme, the Vulnerable Group Feeding Programme, the
Allowances Programme for Widowed, Deserted and Destitute Women, the Allowances for Poor
Lactating Mothers, the Maternal Health Voucher Scheme and the Community Nutrition
Programme.[23] These programmes have made positive contributions to the social status of women,
their freedom and confidence, decision-making ability and political participation.

Recognitions and Awards

Bangladesh has topped the South Asian countries in gender equality for the third consecutive year
and excelled in women empowerment in the Muslim world, second only to Indonesia. [24] The Global
Gender Gap Report 2018 shows Bangladesh standing in 48th position among 149 countries in the
overall Global Gender Index and 5th position in the Political Empowerment of Women Index.[25] As
recognition for her contributions in the advancement of women in Bangladesh, Prime Minister
Hasina was awarded the title of “the Planet 50-50 Champion” by the United Nations Women and
conferred the “Agent of Change Award” by the Global Partnership Forum. She was recognised by
Forbes as the “9th most powerful women in politics in 2017” as an acknowledgement of her people-
oriented development priorities.

Conclusion

Bangladesh has undergone a significant transformation, with the female space steadily expanding
over the past few decades. Many factors have acted together to achieve transformative outcomes in
women empowerment in the country. Evidently, pro-women policies and programmes of the
government and its partnership with the civil society have been crucial in delivering targetted
developmental interventions. The contributions of the NGOs cannot be understated for bringing
about a silent revolution among the womenfolk of the country. The fact that two women have led this
Muslim majority country for the last 20 years is itself remarkable. This is extraordinary by any
standard, particularly if one considers where Bangladesh started three decades ago. However, we
cannot rest on its laurels. The country has a lot of ground to cover. It is not a job to be accomplished
in a day, and this may be true for all countries. As we have known, empowerment is a process as
much as a goal to achieve.

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Gender Issues
Social Inequality, Equity, Patriarchy