A Decade of Progress and Prosperity for Bangladeshi Women

Pranab Kumar Panday:

Sustainable development relies on several factors, one of the most important of which is the advancement and prosperity of women. Despite making up roughly half of the world's population, females experience higher rates of social isolation, discrimination, and poverty than their male counterparts. As a result, promoting gender equality and empowering women is essential for driving economic development, social advancement, environmental sustainability, and safeguarding human rights.

Empowering women may lead to tremendous economic growth and development. Increased household income, decreased poverty, and more progress towards sustainable development are all possible results of empowering women economically. The World Bank has shown that economies thrive when women are more actively involved in the workforce. This is because increased productivity, creativity, and competitiveness result from women being able to participate more fully in the economy through education, training, and work opportunities. By empowering women to reach their full potential and promoting gender equality, we can stimulate the economy. Studies show that a country's GDP may benefit from having more women in the workforce.

Improving health outcomes and decreasing healthcare expenditures are two potential benefits of empowering women. Women often shoulder the bulk of care giving responsibilities, and their health is intrinsically linked to their families and communities. Women and their families benefit significantly from increased opportunities for healthcare access, education, and information for women. This might result in better health, cheaper medical costs, and a more productive workforce. Empowering women may help society advance and reduce inequalities. When women are afforded the same opportunities as men in terms of education, employment, and political representation, they are better able to contribute to the development of their communities. Consequently, there may be less inequality and more social cohesion in society as a whole.
Education is crucial to the growth of both societies and individuals. However, women and girls often face obstacles to higher education. Literacy rates, poverty levels, and economic growth may all benefit from increased access to education, especially for women. Feminine health and empowerment are crucial to progress. The health of mothers and children, the prevalence of infectious illnesses like HIV/AIDS, and the promotion of physically active lifestyles can all benefit from gender parity and empowerment.

The participation of women in making decisions is crucial for inclusive and efficient governance. By promoting gender equality and strengthening women, we can ensure that their political interests are acknowledged and considered. Women's contributions are essential to the development and upkeep of social structures such as communities and networks. We need to increase women's empowerment and gender equality to improve social cohesion, reduce gender-based violence, and create a more welcoming society.

Women's empowerment is essential for development. It is a fundamental human right and a necessity for attaining sustainable development. Empowering women and promoting gender equality may make the world a more just, equitable, and prosperous place for everyone. For environmental sustainability, empowering women is essential. Women have a crucial role in natural resource management and environmental protection. Involving women in natural resource management decision-making processes increases the likelihood that those involved will support sustainable practices and protect the environment for future generations.

The present government of Bangladesh recognises the importance of women's empowerment for the country's progress and has launched various programmes to promote women's rights. Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh and a staunch advocate of women's empowerment and gender equality, has devoted much of her time and energy to improving women's status in her country. The topic of what measures the Sheikh Hasina government has taken to increase the agency of Bangladeshi women is a timely one. There are a lot of programmes that her government has implemented to increase the status of women in society. For example, the government has started a few programmes to help more women attend college. Examples include providing financial aid to elementary and secondary school girls, establishing women-only institutions and universities, and increasing pay for female instructors. Gender parity has been reached in elementary and secondary schools, and the number of girls attending these levels of education has risen dramatically.

Free maternity care, free access to contraception, and increased emphasis on the need for family planning are just a few of the government's programmes aimed at bettering women's health. Women and men alike have greatly benefited from Sheikh Hasina's foresight in launching a nationwide initiative to construct a community health clinic in each Union Parishad.

The government has instituted quotas for women in government jobs, provided vocational training, and established women-only industrial parks to encourage women to enter the workforce. The government has encouraged women to become politically active by giving them a more incredible voice in politics, giving them one-third of the seats in local government organisations, and boosting the female quota in the national parliament.

The government has implemented several efforts to promote women's entrepreneurship, including creating a Women Entrepreneurs Fund, expanding small and medium-sized female-owned firms, and supplying loans and training for female entrepreneurs. The government has made several reforms to the law to defend women's rights, including making sexual harassment, domestic abuse, and acid assaults illegal. The government has also set up a special tribunal to rule on allegations of violence against women speedily.

Several government-sponsored online programmes are designed to help women succeed, such as establishing women-only call centres, introducing e-commerce platforms for women entrepreneurs, and providing digital training for women. Women in Bangladesh now have easier access to educational opportunities because of the rise of digital technologies. Access to excellent education and training has increased the literacy rates, skill sets, and employability of women living in rural and isolated locations because of the use of ICT in education. In the past, women had much less access than they have now to educational resources like videos, e-books, and online courses. Sheikh Hasina's government in Bangladesh has implemented a wide-ranging plan to improve the status of women in society and the economy. Under her direction, we have seen progress towards a more just and equitable society where women have legal protections and economic opportunities on par with men. Over the past decade, women's rights in Bangladesh have made great strides forward.

However, significant problems still need fixing, such as violence against women, child marriage, and a lack of access to healthcare. Therefore, the government and civil society organisations must keep working together to solve these problems and ensure women's equality. Empowering women is essential to achieving social justice and sustainable development. Increasing women's access to resources can benefit everyone in their lives. Sheikh Hasina is well aware of this fact, which is why she is working tirelessly to improve women's status in politics, society, and the economy. Her commitment to women's equality is evident in her appointment of women to high-profile posts like national parliament speaker and minister of education. We expect women's rights in Bangladesh to advance dramatically under her leadership.

Writer: Professor, Department Public Administration at the University of Rajshahi

Courtesy: Daily Sun