THE social structure of Bangladesh has taken a paradigm shift in line with the economic development of the country for the benefit of the growing middle class. Recently we have graduated from a least developed country which is undoubtedly a great achievement. Now it is no longer a dream for us to achieve women empowerment, female education, implementation of equal rights for both men and women, and the right of women in decision making and family planning, though there are exceptions in certain cases.
Now it is widely recognized that women are participating in every sector, including education and armed services. Thanks to relentless efforts of the government in providing both financial and non-financial incentives which have encouraged them to be self-reliant. Bangladesh is also doing very well in social services sector which is indeed praiseworthy. The literacy rate is now 72.76 per cent and per capita GDP is $1372. But despite remarkable achievement in some social indicators we still have some fundamental problems which create impediments on our way to achieving targeted growth rate. Rising incidents of rape, looming unrest among political parties, sexual harassments of women in workplace and public palaces, corruption, rapidly declining moral ethics and values, lack of trust and harmony among people etc are among the prime factors that disrupt societal cohesion and movement and also stand as major obstacles to development. Declining rule of law, over politicisation of public institutions, improper policy formulation, aggression of foreign culture, reticence of law enforcement authorities, and above all poor corporate governance in all institutional level are the prime factors behind the collateral damage of our social capital. We are committed to achieve sustainable development goal and become a middle-income country by 2021 but it will be difficult for us to achieve the goals without resolving the fundamental problems which are ingrained at grass root levels in our society.
There is a positive link between societal development and economic development. We cannot achieve development without ensuring good governance in every sphere of our social structure. Good governance ensures transparency, transparency creates trust, trust enhances credit and enhanced credit means more investment and more investment enhances more economic development. It is true that without ensuring transparency, accountability and rule of law, social cohesion and sustainable economic development will remain an illusion. The policymakers and concerned authorities will take bold initiatives to establish a stable society to facilitate sustainable development in every sphere of the country.
Md. Parvez Alam
Department of Finance
University of Chittagong
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