As in most other agrarian societies, in Bangladesh, decision-making has traditionally been the preserve of men both in the families and in society at large. Admittedly, society and culture, meanwhile, have undergone significant transformation through expansion of education, introduction of modernity and rising awareness among women, thanks to the roles of rights activists and the social media in recent times. Even so, economic power being the determining factor in the sphere of decision-making, either in the family or at workplaces, women are evidently still on the back-foot in Bangladesh. The findings of a study recently done in Kishoreganj, a district situated in the northeast of Dhaka, by the leading think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), corroborate this view. Out of 100 adolescent girls of the district, according to the survey, 23 felt they could make their own decisions.
Among young women, on the other hand, 51 had a similar belief. Clearly, in a semi-urban and rural environment, where the study was carried out, adolescent girls are more under family and social scrutiny than their older counterparts, young women. Which is why, going by the study, due to their seniority, which gave them more power of choice, young women fared far better than girls. But personal autonomy such as the ability to travel alone (28.5 per cent) and full decision-making independence (0.8 per cent) are the areas, where the respondents' weaknesses became more evident.
The study findings, if anything, show how shy or fearful girls and women are about expressing their views in society. The only way to make girls and women confident of making their own decisions is by enabling them to contribute economically and otherwise to their families and community. Making general education and skill development training free for girls and women can help achieve this. In fact, until women join in large numbers in the labour market and are employed gainfully in the industrial, service and farming sectors, the country's economic growth at the desired level will remain a chimera. The World Bank (WB) in its South Asia update published in early October this year said that if more women could get access to jobs in the manufacturing sector alone, the nation's output would rise to 21 per cent. Bringing more women in the workforce can increase output in the manufacturing, service and farming sectors by up to 29 per cent, the WB update further went.
However, education and skill training alone won't open the women's door to these jobs. In that case, the cultural and gender-centric barriers from either the side of supply or of demand or both have to be overcome. In the demand side, for instance, the industries' recruitment culture is required to be women-friendly. Though some progress has been made in the garment industry, elsewhere in the manufacturing sector the overall picture is not reassuring. Women's labour participation rate remained at 37 per cent in 2022 and 2023 according to WB report, though a report by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) released by the end of March last year said women's participation in the labour market had increased to 42.68 per cent in 2022 from 36.3 per cent in 2017. Be that as it may, demand-side for the educated youth is restricted to both males and females if only for the requirement of previous job experience of the candidate. To get around this barrier, the industries should introduce internship for fresh graduates, both males and females. The government needs to play its part to help industries in this regard. The supply side barriers to women's participation in the labour force include conservative social norms, restrictive laws and so on. Activism by rights groups and awareness raising programmes should be strengthened to address the supply-side barriers facing women.
