Information Sheet for Module 2.1 Gender Equality
1.
Employment
Gender
discrimination also leads to women having less opportunities and less income. The
literacy rate for women in Bangladesh is only 43.2%, while 61.0% of Bangladeshi
men are literate. The share of women’s labour force participation has
significantly increased over the years (from 26% in 2002 to 36% in 2010), which
is a result of the significant employment opportunities that were generated by the
fast growing export oriented garment industry. However, the overall labour
force participation is, with 36%, still very low when men are taken into
consideration (82%). This can be explained by the fact that over 70% of women work
what is considered as unpaid ‘family labour’ and do not receive a salary. [1]
Similarly also a bigger share of women works in the informal economy, which
often leads to lower income for same work than man. This is problematic because
even if women work for their family, patriarchal values dictate that many of
the women are not given control of the property or the family income, and
therefore the women are not able to spend the money they earn as they see fit.
2. Violence against Women
Many women in
Bangladesh fail to report violence committed against them because there
persists a stigma surrounding rape, abuse, and domestic violence in the
country. The stigma surrounding violence against women means that many women do
not get the justice they deserve. In 2011, there were 420 recorded cases of
rape in Bangladesh, and only 286 reached the prosecution stage.
There are
specific laws which have been instituted by the Bangladeshi government in an
effort to prevent violence against women. Some of these laws include the 2010
Domestic Violence Act and the 2000 Suppression of Violence against Women and
Children Act. The 2010 Domestic Violence Act criminalises domestic violence.
This was a
landmark act because many Bangladeshi women face cruelty by their husbands. A
2007 report stated that 53% of married women in Bangladesh were physically
and/or sexually abused by their husbands. If the court deems that domestic
violence is likely to occur, it can either relocate the victim to a shelter or
evict the perpetrator of the violence.
The Suppression
of Violence against Women and Children act was passed in 2000 and makes clear
that there will be harsh punishment for those convicted for committing violent
crimes. The law targets rape, trafficking, and kidnapping.
Though
legislation is an important step towards ending violence against women in
Bangladesh, in order for significant change to occur, societal attitudes must change
in order to end the stigma and victim-blaming that women face when they report
violence carried out against them.
Source: Rowsan Ara Begum: Dept. of Women, Gov.
Bangladesh: Eradication of Violence against Women. http://www.nwec.jp/en/data/Rowshan_Bangladesh.pdf
(retrieved 14 May 2016).
[1] See Rahman, Rushidan I; Islam, Rizwanul (2013): Female
labour force participation in Bangladesh: trends, drivers and barriers. ILO DWT
for South Asia and Country Office for India. - New Delhi: ILO
No comments:
Post a Comment