Gender Equality in Bangladesh

Gender Equality in Bangladesh

Introduction: Our constitution has ensured that every citizen of the country has equal rights irrespective of religion, caste, gender or class. Despite constitutional guarantees of gender equality women of Bangladesh are still subject to discrimination, and violence.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has only one woman, its chairperson Khaleda Zia, on its 12 members standing committee. The Awami League has four women its President Sheikh Hasina, Matia Chowdhury, Johra Tajuddin and Sayeda Sajeda Chowdhury on the 13 members Presidium. The Jatiya Party (Ershad) has only two women on its 41 members Presidium committee-Rawshan Ershad and Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury. There is no female member on the central executive committee of Jammat-e-Islami. The Communist Party of Bangladesh has four female members on its 35 members central committee.

Employment: In Bangladesh, more than 60 million people live below the poverty line and among them 75 percent are female. Of the 9.5 lakh government employees, only 11 percent are women, mostly in class III or class IV categories. There is a rin woman judge on the Appellate. Division of the Supreme Court. Bangladesh has only three women ambassadors and not a single public university has a woman vice-chancellor.

Education: Girls in Bangladesh are five times more likely to drop out of school in grade one art boys. One out of every two women in Bangladesh is illiterate. In the universities (including private universities) the rates of female students and female teachers, are. 22% and 15% respectively. In Dhaka University, the male to female teacher ratio is 17 : 5. To increase the level of female higher edu¢at1on and ensure institutional support, it is necessary to increase the budget allocation in the education sector.

Maternal Mortality Rate: Bangladesh’s maternal mortality rate is still one of the highest in the world. Every year 320 women for every 1,001000 die in childbirth. This means that in Bangladesh a woman dies from childbirth every hour of every day. Baby girls are more likely to die in their first year than boys.

Status of Women: Equality between women and men means an equal visibility, empowerment, and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life. But women continue to have fewer rights, lower education and health status, less income, less access to resource and decision-making than men.

Conclusion: Bangladesh has made good progress towards equality between women and men. In 1990 a third of all girls and a quarter of all boys did not go to primary school. By 2005, roughly equal numbers of boys and girls were enrolling in primary school. While the number of women dying in childbirth is unacceptably high, the last 15 years have seen a substantial 22 percent reduction in maternal mortality.