While the country prepares along with the world to observe the International Women’s Day today, women empowerment still remains a great challenge here.
This year’s slogan is “Pledge for Parity” to promote and achieve gender equality around the world. A leading indicator in establishing gender equality is women empowerment.
There are several factors – lack of proper education, social prejudice, lack of awareness, etc – that hinder the empowerment of women in the country, especially in situations that require decision-making skills, say civil society members, political leaders and human rights activists.
According to Global Gender Gap Index 2015 published by the World Economic Forum, the female-to-male ratio in the positions of legislators, senior officials and managers is 0.06, which means women are almost absent in any policy-making process in the country.
Our political sector is a glaring example of this disparity.
At present, around 20% MPs are women – around 14% selected in reserved seats, and only 6% elected.
Due to the existing election system, the MPs in reserved seats do not have the same authority as the elected MPs. The reserved seat MPs are generally selected from the ruling party, and rarely have any accountable representation in parliament.
It is the lack of willingness in the political parties that create this division, said political experts and activists.
“This huge difference of male and female representation in politics has to be eradicated to empower women,” said Badiul Alam Majumder, general secretary of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN).
“In order to increase the number of female representatives in parliament, the reserved seats have to be contested in the elections as well,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. “Female candidates must be provided with equal opportunities so that they can compete with their male counterparts.
“To achieve that, political parties have to invest the same resources to train their female activists as they do for their male activists.”
“A social awakening is needed to achieve women empowerment,” said advocate Fazilatunnessa Bappi, an MP in a reserved seat. “It is a common phenomenon for the society to use religion whenever the issue of women’s rights is raised. It’s a vicious cycle, and it needs to be broken by creating social awareness.”
“All the political parties need to band together in the greater interest of preserving women’s rights,” said Hasan Mahmud, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Forests and Environment. “If they all stand together, the country will see gender equality through women empowerment soon.”
Ayesha Khanam, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, said the authorities concerned must align the local development in women empowerment with international agendas. “This is where the CEDAW comes in, because without it, empowering women in the country is impossible.”
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW, was adopted by the UN in 1979. Bangladesh ratified it in 1984, but it held reservations on some articles that demand equal rights for men and women in all sectors – personal and public – on the basis of possible conflict with Sharia law.
Ayesha said: “The government needs to rid itself of these reservations and fully embrace CEDAW. Only then would the government be fully bound to this convention to achieve women empowerment and establish gender equality in the country.”
Dr Mizanur Rahman, chairman of National Human Rights Commission, said the government’s intention regarding women empowerment is clear from its stance in holding reservations on the CEDAW articles.
“How can you fruitfully adopt a treaty if you have reservation on its core point?” he asked.
Fazilatunnesa said the government was working on this issue.