State still dithering about equal rights for women

Eminent human rights activist Sultana Kamal yesterday said the state is dithering about recognition of equal rights for women even after four decades of independence.
Delivering a memorial lecture in honour of Prof Bashira Mannan in the Dhaka University auditorium, she said the country's women are an example of what “poorest among poor” denote.
“Women of Bangladesh have been demanding equal rights since 1972 but this has not been recognised by the state even today,” said the executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra.
“Although the constitution reads about equal rights for women, in personal lives, they are forced to live in a 'lawfully' unequal society,” she added.
“Bangladesh has ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) but has reservations about article 2 and 16.1(C),” she said, adding that the first article is fundamental to the state's adaptation of other articles of the convention while the latter guarantees equality in areas like marriage and divorce.
“As a result, the lives of women are still male-dependent and undervalued,” she said.
Her remarks came against the backdrop of increasing incidents of violence against women in a new form using information and communication technology.
She said although several bills ensuring rights of women have been enacted, those could not be implemented due to inequalities in society.
She said, “For their achievements, women had to fight fundamentalists, opportunity seekers and those who do not believe in freedom of women.”
“In the RMG sector, 85 percent of the total employees are women. However, the most significant inequality in terms of wage structure is apparent in this sector,” she said.
Sultana Kamal, also former adviser to a caretaker government, said women's participation in politics is directly related to their empowerment.
The number of women politicians in Bangladesh has increased in recent years, which is nearly equal to the global average of 18.6 percent and higher than that of India; nevertheless, economically and politically empowered women are still facing discrimination in their personal lives, she said.