Violence against women stunts our economic growth

This year, Bangladesh celebrates its 50th birthday. These 50 years have been marked with several achievements and promises in economic and social areas. From a war-affected poor economy with low income and high population, Bangladesh now stands on a strong footing in terms of many economic indicators. Not only has the size of the economy expanded, resulting in higher per capita income and lower poverty, our social progress has also been noteworthy. Success is noticeable through reduced maternal mortality, lower child mortality, and better access to water and sanitation.

On the gender front, achievement has been visible in case of higher participation of women in the labour force over time. According to the Labour Force Survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, women's participation rate in the labour force increased to 36.3 percent in 2017 compared to 23.9 percent in 2000. Of the total female labour force, 59.7 percent are engaged in agriculture, 16.8 percent in industry, 15.4 percent in manufacturing and 23.5 percent in the services sector. Many women have joined non-traditional and emerging service sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, hotel and restaurants, transport and real estate services. Higher education and improved skills have contributed to this rise as well. It is undeniable that women's economic empowerment has helped the improvement of their social status. Within their families, they are valued for their financial contribution and can express their opinions on family issues on that basis. Their income has contributed towards improving the nutritional status of their families, bettering the education of their children, reducing the number of child marriages, and lowering maternal and child mortality rates.  

Bangladesh has achieved substantive progress in terms of various targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This progress is also evident in case of SDG 5, which calls for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Compared to South Asian countries, Bangladesh has been doing better on many gender-related indicators. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 of the World Economic Forum, Bangladesh ranked 65th among 156 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI). Though Bangladesh has slid downwards from the 50th position in 2020 to the 65th in 2021, it is still ahead of all South Asian countries. The GGGI takes into account four indicators: economic participation opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment. One of the reasons for Bangladesh's drop could be the impact of Covid-19 on women.

Despite Bangladesh's impressive economic progress, violence against women is still prevalent and unstoppable. All types of violence—from verbal to physical to sexual—are present in all places. Women and girls of all ages face risks of abuse, harassment and violence in homes, educational institutions, workplaces and public places. At home, they fear facing violence from their family members. After marriage, girls often face domestic violence at their in-laws' house. At educational institutions, girls experience physical and verbal harassment by their male classmates, teachers and other officials. In workplaces, women are at risk of being harassed and violated by their supervisors and other male colleagues. And of course, in public places, including open places and on public transport, sexual harassment, assault and even rape are too common.

When it comes to addressing such challenges, we often emphasise the need for proper laws and policies. However, what is needed is the implementation of laws and the carrying out of justice. This will not be automatic and requires a holistic approach. It is also a matter of lifelong learning and mental-shaping since the outlook and perception towards women and girls are developed from a very early age. Families have an important role to play while raising children. Schools have even more responsibility to instill values in children which teach them gender equality.

Violence against women takes place due to the unbalanced power relations between women and men. This is a bigger and structural issue, and economic empowerment of women and the formulation of laws and policies are not enough to stop it. There are social, cultural, psychological, economic and political factors behind such violence. In many social spheres, women and girls are viewed as weak and less important. The cultural circumstances within which we live are unfortunately all about displaying power and undermining weaker sections. The powerful feel that they have a right to harm those they consider weaker. No one can protest if powerful people torture the weak and vulnerable ones—and this holds true across genders. Poorer men and women are in the same boat in many ways. But power relations determine one's behaviour and attitude towards other people in society. Violence against women is performed within the mental framework of them being weaker than men.

Political factors play the most important role in shaping power relations among people. In the absence of the rule of law in a society where perpetrators are not punished, crimes will continue to increase. Rapists or murderers tend to take shelter within political parties. They often find safety under politically influential members of society after committing crimes. The law enforcing agencies cannot take any action against them in that case, unless they are instructed to do so by the supreme authority. Even those who do not have any connections with powerful people commit violence against both women and men, as they believe that they can get away with their crimes. It is this same culture of impunity which encourages men to torture and violate women.

If women do not feel safe, they will be hesitant to work outside. Their families will not allow them to go out to work, in order to protect their dignity. This is a backward move. The achievements made during the last five decades by Bangladeshi women will be lost if remedial measures are not taken. If the growth momentum of Bangladesh is to continue, women must take part in the labour market at an increasing rate. They will have to engage in new opportunities. This will require education, appropriate training and technological knowledge. In case of education, gender parity at the primary school level has been achieved. The number of female students has also increased at the secondary level. However, at the tertiary level, female students' participation rate is still much lower than that of male students. This is reflected in the type of work women are engaged in as their participation in administrative, managerial, technical and professional jobs is low. Most women work in lower-paying jobs. About 91 percent women work in the informal sector. Those who are entrepreneurs, lack adequate finance, training, marketing opportunities and information to scale up their business and also survive during crises, such as the ongoing pandemic.

Therefore, ensuring women's safety at home and outside and reducing violence against them is critical not only for their own development but also for their families and for the country. Violence and fear of violence limit women and girls' mobility, their freedom, and their rights. It pulls them behind in terms of taking part in educational and economic activities, which in turn creates further inequality between men and women. Economic growth is meaningless if an enabling and encouraging environment for women is not created and if women's rights and safety are not established.

Dr Fahmida Khatun is Executive Director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

Views expressed in this article are personal.