Gender inequality is a consequence of the constant discrimination of one group of people based on gender, and it manifests itself variously according to social race, culture, politics, country, and economic situation. It is furthermore considered a devious factor of violence against women. The world today is distinguished by rapid transformations in all spheres of life that is globalisation. In this time of globalisation, competition for gender equality is a matter of concern also.
Gender imbalance in educational institutions is conspicuous. Compared to their male counterparts, girls experience discrimination on a variety of fronts. Participation is the main area where gender disparity is commonly felt. Gender inequality is more prevalent since girls are given fewer opportunities for engagement than their male counterparts. In contrast to metropolitan areas, this issue has been more severe in rural areas. Gender inequality in education is regarded as the major obstruction within the course of the overall system of education.
Bangladesh has made some strides in the health field and has been effective in raising its population's average life expectancy. Still, the situation of female health is poor. The difference in child mortality between males and females is very high, where female child mortality is higher than that of their male equivalents.
It is well recognised that encouraging female education lowers reproduction rates, lowers child mortality rates, and advances the education of future generations. A basic justification for gender inequality in education, according to theoretical literature, is that it lowers the average level of human capital in a society, which has a negative impact on economic performance. By artificially limiting the talent pool from which to pull students for education, it does this by rejecting girls who are highly talented and choosing boys who are less qualified in their place. Keeping girls' education at lower levels while raising boys' education to higher levels would result in a marginal return to teaching females.
Women are not equally treated in the workplaces based on the dominance of the patriarchal social system and traditional norms. In the RMG sector this is starkly noticeable. Women are neglected when it comes to issues of promotion, wage, safety, and security. In the RMG sector, women do not get proper respect from men. Women are being harassed and male supervisors force women subordinates to stay at work for a longer hours. The company executives think that females are more passionate about taking care of their children and family, so it might not be worth fulfilling the aim of the company. Another factor that adds to the discrimination is that since most girls in the garment factories are uneducated and hail from rural areas, they are not aware of being victimised by discrimination.
Increasing violence against women is a major problem today. Parents are more likely to keep their girls inside their house in these conditions. Because they think it can ensure their girl's safety and focus on early marriage. They train the girls on how to move into the in-law's house. For that reason, recycling dependency on girls prevents them from breaking free of social norms and prejudice and moving toward development. They are not able to participate in education, health, employment, or other sectors.
One of the critical obstacles to the schooling, health, and employment of women and girls is early marriage. Early marriage has traditionally restricted access to education and job opportunities for young women and created a precarious health condition for them. Most young married girls are often disconnected from the education system and are engaged in informal jobs at home or other forms of employment.
Households are the primary spot of gender socialisation, passing along information, abilities, and social desires. Children get their gender identity from socially defined worthy exercises for males and females and the relations between them. When girls reaches puberty, they are commonly expected to put more energy in household errands such as cooking, cleaning, collecting firewood and water, and caring for children, which is not the case with boys.
Gender discrimination affects most of the social and economic norms in Bangladesh. Gender inequality has a female face so it affects mostly women/girls. Gender inequality affects women's health, education, employment, and political views, and violence against women is typically caused by the social atmosphere around a woman in the society.
Ulfatara Bejori, Research Assistant, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University.
ulfatarabijori@gmail.com