A brave new world awaits our women

The women in Bangladesh have collectively triggered a radical metamorphosis over the last 2-3 decades. Their confident presence could now be felt in almost all sectors of national and social lives. To make a point, we can compare two spectacles. Imagine one in Dhaka that shows a rickshaw leisurely pedalling in a street. Unlike many other three-wheelers around, it is fully covered -- a sari or a bed sheet enclosing it from all sides. Inside are seated one or two adult women. They are assumedly from the conservative strata of society, and thus should be kept out of the view of unknown males. Come to another scenario, showing two young women clad in normal salwar-kameez travelling by an open-hood rickshaw amid a sudden spell of shower, engrossed in boisterous fun and frolic.
These are but common sights taken from two separate times in Dhaka. Although the later spectacle does not fully represent the changes that Bangladesh women have undergone in general, it speaks a lot, though symbolically, about our women's remarkable progress. Even in remote hamlets quite far from big or small towns, the womenfolk are not the same as before. Small girls studying at primary or non-formal schools are a normal scenario. So is the other, which shows grown-up girls busy doing their class works at a higher secondary school. The girl-students these days do not have to travel miles to attend a high school. Many villages close to district or sub-district towns have colleges too. Students aside, the village women have long stopped sitting idle as their husbands remain engaged in crop fields or other income-generating activities. In short, women have come out. In cases, they have an assertive presence like their husbands. Thanks to their increased involvement in scores of economic activities with financial boosts coming from micro-credit, Bangladesh women can no longer be looked down upon.
Like their counterparts in the capital and other metropolitan cities, a remarkable number of rural women can rightfully claim themselves to be fully self-reliant. In many rural communities they are remarkably 'empowered', playing significant roles in their families' decision-making. Alongside, in almost all the major cities, including Dhaka, the ready-made garment (RMG) sector may virtually go dysfunctional without women workers. Female RMG workers comprise the major segment of the apparel sector labour. Had the sector not been stuck in the present industrial imbroglio and the traumas, it would have emerged as the most potent driving force of the national economy in the last few years. Concomitantly, the RMG workers, women in particular, would have enjoyed much better socio-economic rewards.
Against the current backdrop, it is highly imperative that our women's contribution to the national economy be measured regularly basing on correct statistics. The contribution of Bangladesh women to the country's GDP (gross domestic product) is no mean achievement compared to their record in the seventies and the eighties. Recent surveys by private think tanks reveal the continued increase in our women's GDP contribution to the SME (small and medium enterprises), RMG and household sectors.
Like in the other years, International Women's Day was observed on March 08. Apart from celebrations, the special day witnessed seminars, symposiums, demonstrations, human chains, etc. that highlighted both our women's continued struggles and their impressive feats on many fronts. Compared to the womenfolk in the rural areas, those living in the big cities find it easier to get opportunities for proving their worth -- especially in education and entrepreneurship. Not long ago, women in higher education were confined to the few state-run universities. Presently, with over seventy private universities operating in the country, the percentage of female students has seen an impressive rise. The faculties, too, include a lot of women with brilliant academic careers. Coming to professional life, our urban women have long surpassed the stereotyped areas of doctors, teachers and bank officials. Nowadays, hardly a traditionally male-dominated entity could be found that do not have women. Many of them even outshine their male colleagues.
Ranging from high-ranking posts in government bureaucracy, UN and multinational jobs, the armed forces and the law-enforcement agencies to challenging entrepreneurship and businesses, our women have made their presence felt splendidly. In pre-independence Bangladesh, this scenario would have been dismissed as utopian thoughts. In free and sovereign Bangladesh, educated women have left their mark in politics, which at times is interspersed with ideas emanating from socio-economic areas. These days we have consummate women politicians. They include prime ministers, a parliament Speaker, opposition leaders, MPs, ministers, all comprising a powerful segment of the country's structure of leadership. This is a part global trend.
Since the late twentieth century, women have come forward in the international scenario to fill the posts of Presidents, Chancellors, Prime Ministers, influential Foreign Ministers, heads of global organisations and many other dignified posts. Women leaders from around the world are reportedly poised to launch a unique campaign. There is a move for picking a female UN secretary general, the first in the world body's 70-year history, after the tenure of Ban Ki-moon ends on December 31, 2016.
In different parts of the world, women human rights activists waged virtual war against injustices done to them, oppressive measures adopted by governments and social establishments and many discriminations. In the environmental protection and general rights-related movements, women now exert enormous influence. Gone are the days, those laced with Victorian moralities, when women would give in to male browbeating. With this fast-improving state of women in other parts of the world in view, those in Bangladesh are also expected to climb fast a few notches up in the not-too-distant future.
In the context of the state of women in South Asia, Bangladesh can reasonably claim for itself a special place. In a few countries in the region, women lead a miserable life. On both economic and social counts, women in these countries lag behind the predominant males. Obscurant extremist forces are fast appearing as the chief obstacle to women's progress. Women, especially girls, are doggedly prevented from attending school. On the other hand, in addition to scores of taboos and male-engineered diktats crippling women, female enthusiasts are not allowed to have their say in community forums. Sexual harassment of women and all imaginable bestialities targeting them are commonplace.
Bangladesh can deservedly take heart and look to better days for its women. But it still has a long way to go. The underprivileged women, the elderly segment in particular, hardly find the government-run or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) beside them. They are overlooked even by the neighbourhood community-based organisations and individuals. Moreover, child marriage, dowry-related violence, inaccessibility to education, the menace of village arbitration in private affairs and many other ills impair the normal, healthy growth of Bangladesh women. Besides, maternal mortality could not be banished altogether from villages. Vengeful acts like acid-throwing on young women continue. The crime could not be wiped out despite stringent laws against it being in force.  Our women play a dominant role in mitigating and managing the impacts of natural disasters. Ironically, it is them who bear the brunt of calamities in most cases. They fall victim to communicable diseases and go starving in larger numbers than males. Their woes and hardship remain unnoticed.
The resilience of Bengalee women cannot be disputed. Many of them have carved out their names and deeds in history, helping the posterity move forward. We did not have a Joan of Arc, a Catherine the Great, a Razia Sultana or a Marie Curie. But we had dauntless women like Begum Rokeya, Nawab Faizunnesa Choudhurani, Pritilata Waddedar, Ila Mitra, Begum Sufia Kamal, Begum Shamsun Nahar Mahmud and many others. All of them hold their beacons aloft to guide our present-day women into the brave new world.
shihabskr@ymail.com