Women in Bangladesh
Begum Rokeya, was a prolific writer and a social worker in undivided Bengal . She is most famous for her efforts on behalf of gender equality and other social issues.
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| Gender Inequality Index | |
|---|---|
| Value | 0.518 (2012) |
| Rank | 107th |
| Maternal mortality (per 100,000) | 240 (2010) |
| Women in parliament | 19.7% (2012) |
| Females over 25 with secondary education | 30.8% (2010) |
| Women in labour force | 57.2% (2011) |
| Global Gender Gap Index | |
| Value | 0.6848 (2013) |
| Rank | 75th out of 144 |
The status of women in Bangladesh is defined by struggle to massive improvement over the years. The Bangladeshi women have made massive gains since the country gained its independence in 1971. The past four decades have seen increased political empowerment for women, better job prospects, improved education and the adoption of new laws to protect their rights. As of 2018[update], the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the Speaker of Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition and the Foreign minister were women. Bangladesh has also not elected a male as Prime Minister since 1988.
Available data on health, nutrition, education, and economic performance indicated that in the 1980s the status of women in Bangladesh remained considerably inferior to that of men. Women, in custom and practice, remained subordinate to men in almost all aspects of their lives; greater autonomy was the privilege of the rich or the necessity of the very poor.
Most women's lives remained centred on their traditional roles, and they had limited access to markets, productive services, education, health care, and local government. This lack of opportunities contributed to high fertility patterns, which diminished family well-being, contributed to the malnourishment and generally poor health of children, and frustrated educational and other national development goals. In fact, acute poverty at the margin appeared to be hitting hardest at women. As long as women's access to health care, education, and training remained limited, prospects for improved productivity among the female population remained poor.
About 82 percent of women lived in rural areas in the late 1980s. The majority of rural women, perhaps 70 percent, were in small cultivator, tenant, and landless households; many worked as labourers part-time or seasonally, usually in post-harvest activities, and received payment in kind or in meager cash wages. Another 20 percent, mostly in poor landless households, depended on casual labour, gleaning, begging, and other irregular sources of income; typically, their income was essential to household survival. The remaining 10 percent of women were in households mainly in the professional, trading, or large-scale landowning categories, and they usually did not work outside the home.
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