The International

In January 2010, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a 3-day visit to India to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sign a series of agreements to defeat South Asia’s common enemy: poverty. Determined to transform both countries into a model of peace and development, Bangladesh’s second female Prime Minister stood as a symbol of hope to the many women of her homeland who have risen from the depths of poverty and prejudice to witness change.

For a country plagued by a lengthy history of extreme poverty and gender discrimination, Bangladesh has surely come a long way. Thanks to education and microfinance programs, the role of women in the country has dramatically evolved over the last two decades, leading the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to conclude that “if education were to be integrated on a massive scale with microfinance services for the very poor worldwide,” then the true potential of women will be recognized as they are offered “a dignified route out of poverty.”

Narrowing the gender disparity gap, today more women are given the opportunity to enroll in primary and secondary schools, acquire the necessary resources to enter the labor force, and earn a living for themselves outside of the household. Data from the United Nations and the World Bank prove Bangladeshi women are measuring up to their male counterparts, and playing a significant role in promoting social change while furthering economic development in the poverty-stricken nation.

Gender inequality in Bangladesh

Bordering India, Bangladesh has a well-known repertoire as a highly patriarchal society where gender discrimination has been prevalent for decades, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). With the UN reporting a Human Poverty Index of 42.2 in 2004, many women remain dependent on men to support them throughout their lives. Essentially an Islamic country with the latest 2001 Consensus totaling Bangladesh’s Muslim population to constitute nearly 88 per cent of the total population, a strict religious code of conduct along with traditional and social norms have refrained women from gaining independence inside or outside the household. “In the patriarchal society of Bangladesh, women are expected to be docile and complacent,” says Saiful Islam, one of the founding members of Women for Women, a non-governmental organization in Bangladesh dedicated to identifying and improving the “disadvantaged” status of women.

While this is not true in all households, disrespect for women is common in the region. Many families marry off their daughters in their adolescence to older men to avoid higher dowry costs and the economic burden associated with having more mouths to feed. According to the Social Institutions & Gender Index (SIGI) presented by the OECD, Bangladesh has the “highest rate of early marriage in Asia, and ranks among the highest worldwide.” The non-profit organization, Save the Children, reports nearly 50 per cent of girls are married by the age of 15 with 60 per cent of them becoming mothers by the age of 19.

The OECD further reports that arranged marriages often introduce domestic violence for many of the young women coping with the struggles of adapting to motherhood before adulthood. The SIGI, which measures gender discrimination based on social institutions across 102 countries, concluded that in Bangladesh, “early marriage and dowry customs are major factors in the ongoing problem of domestic violence.” In a 2000 study conducted by the UN Population Fund, 47 per cent of adult women surveyed claimed to have endured physical abuse by their male partners. Statistics released by the Bangladesh government confirmed the abuse, stating “one woman is subjected to violence every hour,” as existing patrimonial and social structures force women into passively accepting violence. In 2003, Kathryn B. Ward, a sociology professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, reported Bangladesh to have the second highest domestic violence (committed against women by men) rate in the world.

The OECD argues gender-based violence is also quite common outside of the home with reports of sexual harassment in the workplace, assaults and rape. Stories of acid attacks against women are also reported every year. Last year, in an exclusive interview with women scarred by acid attacks in Bangladesh, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported 179 acid-related assaults in 2008, declaring that the perpetrators were often rejected male suitors seeking revenge. Polygamy and prostitution are also legal in the country, and continue to further degrade women’s rights. As one acid survivor, Ms. Monica Rahman mentioned, “women and girls are so cheap in this society, so men can destroy them.”

But there is hope as a new way of living slowly emerges for females in the poverty-stricken nation. According to the OECD, “increased use of contraceptives and declining fertility rates” are growing evidence that the role of women in Bangladesh is in fact changing.

Hope through ‘Education for All’

Universal education equips women in Bangladesh with the necessary knowledge and resources to survive independently without having to rely on a male “guardian”. Specifically, young girls and unmarried women alike are empowered to provide for themselves through enrollment in primary and secondary education. In the Bangladesh Common Country Assessment report published in 2005, the United Nations commended Bangladesh’s success in raising primary school enrolment as one of the “most notable achievements of the last fifteen years”.

Due to gender disparities and cultural stereotypes lying outside the classroom, many Bangladeshi females are deprived of a primary education and encouraged to take a traditional role within the household, while their male counterparts attend school. Over the years however, the Government of Bangladesh has recognized the power of investing in primary education to reverse the effects of poverty. Together with outside organizations like the United Nations, UNICEF, and the World Bank, Bangladesh has intervened to help the female population gain equal access to primary education in order to fight extreme poverty and improve their quality of life. As of October 1, 2008, the World Bank reported that the total amount of government spending on the education sector accounted for about 2.2 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Bangladesh has been significantly successful in reducing gender disparity across the nation after the inception of the Education for All (EFA) initiative in 1990. Adopted to support the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015, the international proposal aims to bring the benefits of education to “every citizen in every society.” The Bangladesh Government’s National Plan of Action for achieving the EFA targets includes unprecedented efforts to make education “compulsory, accessible and inclusive.”

A World Bank document released in April of 2008 discussed the paramount results achieved by the EFA. The report titled, “Education for All in Bangladesh – Where does Bangladesh stand in achieving the EFA Goals by 2015?,” concluded that nearly half of the 16.2 million students enrolled in primary education institutions were female, while the percentage of female enrollment at the secondary-level exceeded 50 per cent. Further, data showed Bangladesh had achieved gender parity in primary completion rates as well, with more girls finishing primary school compared to boys of the same age.

The National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT) says smarter women are making smarter decisions as the ripple effects of universal education benefit households in both rural and urban areas. The progress was depicted and published in the fifth annual Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), which was conducted by the institute in 2007. The survey, based on a nationally representative sample, showed the evolution of household trends across urban and rural regions. Drawing from the data presented, it was apparent many women were now making smarter future choices when it came to family planning; the percentage of married women who used contraception in 2007 amounted to 47 per cent—up a staggering 43 per cent from 1975. Additionally, there had also been a decreasing trend in the female household population receiving no education. In rural areas, the percentage of females age 6 and above with no education fell from 50 per cent in 1993-1994 to 32 per cent in 2007, while urban areas witnessed a slightly less drastic, but still significant drop from 34 per cent to 23 per cent respectively. These numbers are growing evidence pointing to education as a major determinant of empowerment, that is paving way to provide a brighter future for women by increasing their mobility and decision making capabilities.

Women helping women

In a paper published by Nashid Kamal, a professor and head at the Department of Population-Environment Independent University in Bangladesh, the model they used to assess education and women’s empowerment in the country discovered that a woman’s marital status was the most significant predictor of her empowerment. Mr. Kamal and K.M. Zunaid, a Sydney graduate student, concluded that unmarried women were “much more likely” to spend the income on their own. “Women who are unmarried have almost 6 times higher probability of being empowered,” the two reported.

That is why, in small villages across Bangladesh, women are getting together to spread the wealth by educating one another. Ms. Angela Gomes is a teacher at the Scared Heart School in the Jessore District, where she develops educational programs for women to help them seek out a better life for themselves. Recalling the women of her small village where she grew up, she says “they were treated like house servants-underfed, beaten, and mentally tortured. No on respected them, not even themselves. They had no solutions to their problems. Life just went on.” Forced to marry at age fourteen, Ms. Gomes was fortunate to win a scholarship to a missionary school which allowed her to resist subsequent domestic abuse. Instead of marrying and becoming a mother at an early age, Ms. Gomes opted for higher education and progressed from being a student to a teacher through the course of her teenage years.

Now working tirelessly to help poor village women learn to provide for themselves, Ms. Gomes is a firm believer that if women could create their own jobs and knew their rights, then “they couldn’t be tricked or beaten.” She says that more and more women are beginning to believe—for the first time—that their past does not have to be a prediction of their future, and that they are fully capable of earning their own living. “Once they were sure they would have food-through having work and income,” she says, “they began to understand how the question of getting more food is dependent on the question of getting more education. Then they become hungry not only for food but also for education."

Ms. Islam agrees on the importance of women supporting one another to promote equal education opportunities. “Many women are thinking about young women’s vulnerability, and that is strengthening the movement,” says the founding member of Women for Women. “They want to have access to education and health care, including reproductive rights; to stop violence against women; and to increase political participation.”

While a strong educational foundation is crucial to the country’s economic development, Ms. Gomes argues that health should be the number-one priority for these poor women in Bangladesh. “Reading and writing are important,” explains Ms. Gomes, “But not as important as eating. Not as important as staying alive and understanding that you are not powerless.”

The World Bank Gender Action Plan

The Gender Action Plan is a collective global agreement signed by the World Bank and some of the world’s leading countries to “advance women’s empowerment in order to promote shared growth and achieve gender equality.” With half of the funds coming from the Bank and half from the donor countries including Canada, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the 4-year, US$30.2 million-dollar plan targets women’s empowerment in the economic sector. Calling it “smart economics”, the World Bank acknowledges education as a key stepping stone in enriching the lives of women across developing nations like Bangladesh.

“The World Bank Gender Action Plan is an important step in boosting gender equality in an area that has received far too little attention in the past: the economic empowerment of women,” said Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, who co-announced the Plan with World Bank’s President, Paul Wolfowitz, at the Annual Meetings in Singapore in September 2006. Mr. Danny M. Leipziger, World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management agrees, saying the economic empowerment of women is not a women’s issue but a development issue. “Under-investing in women’s economic opportunity limits economic growth and slows down progress in poverty reduction.”

The World Bank also reports that the average woman’s life expectancy has increased by about 20 years in developing countries, while the gender divide of primary school attendance has been reduced dramatically. Since the Plan’s conception 4 years ago, efforts to promote gender equality around the world is having a positive impact on reducing social exclusion and empowering a better way of life for women everywhere. Bangladesh’s thriving garment sector is a great example. Today, an estimated 90 percent of workers in the garment industry are women, and according to World Bank estimates, industry exports make up some 74 per cent of annual total foreign exchange revenue for the country. For a nation grappling with extreme poverty, these numbers indicate women, given increased employment opportunities, are capable of playing a significant role in shaping Bangladesh’s economic infrastructure.

Insufficient progress towards achieving the MDGs

According to the latest report presented by the United Nations outlining the periodic assessment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Southern Asia has made the most progress in gender parity since 2000. However, despite some notable advancement, the UN reports that ameliorating violence against women still presents a challenge to the achievement of the MDGs. “Overall,” says the UN Secretariat-General, “Bangladesh’s performance with regard to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment (MDG 4) remains mixed.” Although the gender gap has narrowed within the education sector and caused female enrolment rates to exceed those of males in some primary and secondary schools, gender disparity in other areas is still widespread. Particularly, women in areas such as economic, political participation and adult literacy still require resources to ensure the rights to equal “survival, livelihood and participation.”

Although the country has seen many positive developments at the primary school level, the World Bank argues it is not sufficient to fulfilling the UN’s Millennium Development Goal 2 target of achieving universal primary education by 2015. “Progress has been slower than what would be required to achieve universal access and completion as well improved school quality,” says the Bank. The UN has declared that given Bangladesh’s unstable population, the country will need some US $1.7 billion to maintain its “current momentum” and achieve the MDG 2 by 2015. Both parties collectively agree that more capital needs to be invested in order to build a stronger education infrastructure, increase access to universal education, and reduce social exclusion.

Further, the UN stresses the need to introduce “targeted interventions” to encourage the poorest of girls living in rural areas to enroll and stay in school. More educational programs like the Food for Education (FFE) program need to be put in place to make universal education affordable for slum-dwellers. Without a chance at primary education, many will never get an opportunity to consider secondary education.

While it is true women today have more income-generating opportunities than ever before, Mr. Kamal and Mr. Zunaid’s findings support the United Nations and World Bank’s call for increased action. Proposing no “quick-fix” to the ongoing task at hand, the researchers say “female education is a necessary goal, and it needs to be pushed even more vigorously to cross the threshold of secondary education beyond which the net effects on female autonomy are all positive.”