For women, the long road to equality

Women in Bangladesh: From Inequality to Empowerment
Professor Nazmunnessa Mahtab
A.H. Development Publication House

The tragic fact of life is that women, in most parts of the world, are second-class citizens and they still face inequality in all spheres of life. They are discriminated against at birth, subordinated and exploited throughout their life despite their valuable and noteworthy contributions to society and national development process, and end their life as being dependent on their sons. This fact has been eloquently noted by the author when she writes that 'the index ranking of 151 countries on gender inequality in addressing poverty, education, basic health, employment, violence, political participation' contained in various Human Development Reports prepared by the United Nations Development Programme between 1995 and 2003. These reports show that no country treats its women population as equally as it does its men.
Bangladesh being a Least Developed country is no exception in this regard. Women in Bangladesh constitute 50% of the population but in terms of life expectancy, participation in the work force, economic empowerment, legal protection (against male desertion, divorce and physical abuse) women in Bangladesh are most severely affected. In spite of the fact that there have been some improvements in certain indicators such as mean age at marriage, and female participation in the labour force, the condition of women, according to the population crisis committee, is the worst in the world.
The situation of women in Bangladesh, thus, deserves due attention nationally and internationally so that proper and timely steps can be taken in order to alleviate their predicament. It also calls for academic research and other activities like seminars and conferences. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of scholarly books on the subject. Professor Mahtab's book, in this regard, will be able to fill that lacuna.
Women in Bangladesh: From Inequality to Empowerment is a collection of papers written by Mahtab for important seminars, conferences and workshops, which cover the entire gamut relating women's issues. She has given a very precise and clear picture about the situation of women, the progress they have made, the problems they face and has given suggestions towards addressing the concerns.
The book begins with an introduction about the potentials and challenges of women's studies and the establishment of the Department of Women's Studies of Dhaka University. It is to be noted that no other university of Bangladesh has a women's studies department. The author emphasises he need for such departments in other universities. She then discusses the initial problems encountered by the department as well as the challenges that lie ahead.
In the following chapter, the overall conditions of the country's women have been elucidated. It portrays global gender inequality and various forms of gender discrimination in Bangladesh. The author in this regard analyses the policy issues of the state and challenges of gender equation in Bangladeshi society, polity and economy.
The chapter on women and education is an analysis of female education in Bangladesh, national education policy and state intervention in female education. Needless to mention that education for women should be of supreme importance as it is a vital ingredient for the advancement of multi-sectoral development and especially in the context of women's dismal literacy rate. The author points out various steps taken by the government of Bangladesh to advance the education of women and concludes that despite the progress achieved by women at the primary level, they have not yet achieved equality at the higher level.
In the subsequent chapters the author deals with the problems encountered by working women and the prospects of their entrepreneurship development. The author thus brings forth such contemporary issues as the role of micro-credit and other efforts for poverty alleviation. The role of micro-credit is specifically highlighted to demonstrate that it not only plays a role in poverty alleviation but also helps women to be empowered. As a case study, sustainable livelihood of the women in the coastal fishing community has been selected that describes the sectors of employment generation, and sustainability.
Chapter seven is about the political participation of women. The author is absolutely right in her analysis that empowerment of women lies through effective political participation. She makes it quite clear that it is a pre-requisite in achieving gender equality. In this context, she emphasises a meaningful role for women in the national legislature, political party structures, and their leadership positions in urban local bodies and rural self government tiers. The author, in the course of her analysis, stresses the humanitisation of politics and strengthening women's organisations to uphold their cause.
Women's participation in local governance has been discussed in chapter eight. Introduction of direct election in both urban and rural local bodies certainly enhances their electoral status and involvement in the local decision-making process. However, as the author points out, the non-cooperative attitude of their male colleagues and a lack of appropriate facilities stand in the way of their effective role playing.
Lastly, Dr. Mahtab highlights various international and national efforts taken in order to rectify the persistent inequality between men and women. Efforts by the United Nations, like the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, declaration of Decade of Women, and various world conferences on women have been analysed in details. The author also outlines specific women's issues under the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and emphasises gender budgeting to address gender inequality.
Professor Mahtab deserves our special thanks for bringing a wide range of women's issues under one cover. She has focused throughout the book on the issues concerned and has recommended suggestions that will alleviate the situation. The book is informative and is a noteworthy reference work for a wide range of readers. The volume is thus required reading for academics, researchers, students and others both at home and abroad.
Dilara Choudhury is Professor, Government and Politics, Jahangirnagar University and columnist, The Daily Star.