Women deserve equal economic opportunities
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Md Nurun Nabi
FEMALES constitute over one half of Bangladesh population. In the electoral roll women voters outnumber men. The male-female ratio calls for special efforts to integrate nearly or more than half of the population with productive activities. It would boost the national economy.
There can be no justification to restrict women to household activities. With their output, the national economy would gain, the country's GDP would go up. It would make a positive impact to cut down poverty.
Women do not get a fair deal at work place in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world. The situation has to change. An FE report, quoting an International Labour Organisation (ILO) survey, stated that a typical female factory worker earns, on an average, 21 per cent less than her male counterpart in Bangladesh. Work place discrimination is seen more glaring at menial jobs. The picture could be different for better paid white collar jobs.
But more women do menial work than office jobs. A striking development is, more and more women are breaking the barriers to go out and earn for their families. From brick breaking to construction everywhere one can see women at work. They work to supplement their family income, besides taking care of themselves. In insolvent households women provide invaluable support to family budget.
How can one justify paying women less than men for the same work. Elimination of such and other work-place discriminations call for making a law for strict enforcement. A sustained awareness campaign would make the employers conscious of their law-bound obligation to pay equal wage to women workers.
Bangladesh also needs to adopt a well-defined policy to enable women make their contribution to the national economy. Women's contribution would benefit the economy immensely. The social barriers, that limit their initiative must be broken. The remnants of the much weakened taboo that home is the best place for women has to go.
For a modern economy, needing equal participation of male and female workers in production, it is an antithesis to pay one half of the population less for their work. The cultural practice, that discourages women from working outside their homes, needs to be reversed.
The practice of marrying minor girls, wherever it exists, must be discarded as an evil that destroys their aspirations for education and for becoming productive citizens. Early marriage and motherhood and the burden of household chores destroy their initiative and ability to contribute to the national economy. The social and cultural barriers, that keep them out of the mainstream of the national economy, have to be pulled down. Positive social awareness, backed by a pro-active government policy, can change the picture.
FEMALES constitute over one half of Bangladesh population. In the electoral roll women voters outnumber men. The male-female ratio calls for special efforts to integrate nearly or more than half of the population with productive activities. It would boost the national economy.
There can be no justification to restrict women to household activities. With their output, the national economy would gain, the country's GDP would go up. It would make a positive impact to cut down poverty.
Women do not get a fair deal at work place in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world. The situation has to change. An FE report, quoting an International Labour Organisation (ILO) survey, stated that a typical female factory worker earns, on an average, 21 per cent less than her male counterpart in Bangladesh. Work place discrimination is seen more glaring at menial jobs. The picture could be different for better paid white collar jobs.
But more women do menial work than office jobs. A striking development is, more and more women are breaking the barriers to go out and earn for their families. From brick breaking to construction everywhere one can see women at work. They work to supplement their family income, besides taking care of themselves. In insolvent households women provide invaluable support to family budget.
How can one justify paying women less than men for the same work. Elimination of such and other work-place discriminations call for making a law for strict enforcement. A sustained awareness campaign would make the employers conscious of their law-bound obligation to pay equal wage to women workers.
Bangladesh also needs to adopt a well-defined policy to enable women make their contribution to the national economy. Women's contribution would benefit the economy immensely. The social barriers, that limit their initiative must be broken. The remnants of the much weakened taboo that home is the best place for women has to go.
For a modern economy, needing equal participation of male and female workers in production, it is an antithesis to pay one half of the population less for their work. The cultural practice, that discourages women from working outside their homes, needs to be reversed.
The practice of marrying minor girls, wherever it exists, must be discarded as an evil that destroys their aspirations for education and for becoming productive citizens. Early marriage and motherhood and the burden of household chores destroy their initiative and ability to contribute to the national economy. The social and cultural barriers, that keep them out of the mainstream of the national economy, have to be pulled down. Positive social awareness, backed by a pro-active government policy, can change the picture.