Assaignment 102

8/7/2019 Assaignment 102

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Gender issue in South Asia represents a complexchallenge. There has been a greater recognition of the problem across the

region. In most countries women have experienced improved access to

services and credit markets. However, despite the recent economic

growth and changing social norms, dramatic gender inequalities persist in

South Asia. Addressing the inequalities will require greater voice of

women in the political decision-making of communities and states.

World Banks role in womens development:

The World Banks countries Gender Assessments provide cutting edge

analytic work that in collaboration with clients- heightened awareness and

in- country debate as well as enhancing political implementation. For

outcomes to be successful, however, analysis findings must be

operationalized. The Bank projects and other policy support leading are

guided by the insights of analysis and the preparation process continues

to fuel debate that helps prioritize interventions.

However, these efforts require complementary government actions i. e.

creating appropriate institutional frameworks to support womens training,

market linkages, access to credit and child care facilities and schooling

infrastructure. Ultimately, sustainable improvement of womens welfare

requires strengthening their ability to influence decision-making both within

and outside the household.

Unless women are integrated into the political sphere as critical actors,

progress in south Asia will remain slow. This integration can occur by:


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facilitating empowerment programs that seek to build womens

networks and solidarity around issues such as micro-credit.

integrating womens voice into local governments.

World Banks report on Bangladesh:

Maternal and child morality:

Bangladesh has made rapid progress on child morality in the last two

decades. There are now only 66 infant deaths per thousand births. The

decline is mainly due to adult female schooling, delayed child bearing

among women and expanded measles immunization coverage.

Girls in school tripled in BD:

Girls enrollment in secondary school in Bangladesh jumped to 3.9 million

in 2005 from 1.1 million in 1991, including an increasing number of girls

from disadvantaged or remote areas. This has enabled BD to achieve one

of its Millennium Development Goals ahead of time gender parity in

education.

World Banks report on India

Challenge

India has some of the poorest social indicators in the world. In the state of

Andhra Pradesh, these indicators are lower still: In 2000, 30 percent of

the population lived below the poverty line; malnutrition among

children aged 0-6 years was about 30 percent; and the female literacy

rate was 33 percent, one of the lowest in India. Decades of

government anti-poverty programs had failed.

Approach

The Andhra Pradesh District Poverty Initiatives Project and the Andhra

Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project were designed to enable the

rural poor to improve their livelihoods and quality of life and to reduce

their vulnerability to shocks like illness, a death in the family, crop


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failure, livestock disease etc. To this end, the projects facilitated small

group organization and self management within rural communities,

with a particular focus on women. The design also envisaged

increased financial access for the poor by attracting private sector

interest to this potentially large but overlooked market. Key to the

management of risk was that poor women in self-help groups act as a

guarantee both for each other and for banks.

Result

Incomes increased for close to 90 percent of poor rural households,

including around 8 million women, in the state of Andhra

Pradesh.

Highlights:

- The number of households with access to credit increased to more

than 6 million in 2006 from less than 500,000 in the year 2000.

- A financial sector for the poor is emerging in rural Andhra Pradesh as

banks, now lending 20 times more to the rural poor than before the

project, have identified a vast new client base. Annual credit flow to

poor households increased from less that US$23 million in 2000 to

US$445 million in 2006. The cumulative credit flow from commercial

banks since 2000 is US$1.1 billion.

- Cumulative savings of poor households reached US$292 million in

2006.

- More than 1.2 million rural poor have death and disability insurance

coverage, up from less than 1,000 before the project.

- Nearly 8 million poor women in rural areas have been organized into

629,870 self-help groups and 28,282 village organizations. The project

is expected to organize all rural poor households by 2008.

- Some 20,600 young people were trained and offered placement in

the service and construction sectors through partnerships with private


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companies.

-The projects helped community organizations get better market

prices for their produce and services.

Idea contribution

- US$261 million since 2000.

- The strategy for IDA investments in Andhra Pradesh is to leverage

investments from the public and private sectors to enable the poor to

be risk-, credit- and investment-worthy. The projects invest on average

US$140 per household but this small amount leverages about

US$3,450 of investments in loans from commercial financial

institutions.

- IDA has provided technical assistance for institution building,

development of financial products, facilitating market linkages,

monitoring and evaluation;

- These programs build on the UN Development Programme South

Asia Poverty Alleviation Project and the State governments decade-

long experience with women self-help groups.

Next steps

The implementation capacity of self-help groups strengthened by theseIDA projects has swung into action in areas of need outside the

immediate project. For example, about US$20 million were channeled

to help restore livelihoods affected by the tsunami, within six months

of the disaster, using community targeting and micro planning

established under these projects. Similarly, self-help groups serve as

franchises for various public programs including AIDS awareness.

To lift most poor households out of poverty and ensure that Andhra

Pradesh achieves the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by

2015, about US$600 million is needed. This will help develop good

quality institutions and leverage more resources from commercial

banks and other financial agencies. Due to the success and scale of

these projects, there is a demand for similar operations in South Asia,


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particularly from the poorer states in Eastern India, Pakistan,

Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Poor Womens Role in Global Trade:

To assist poor womens producers organizations to upgrade their

capabilities, access credit, and penetrate global markets, the World Bank

supported a consultation entitled Poor Womens Role in Global Trade

between Indian government officials and representatives from womens

grassroots organizations from across the country.

The consultation, held in New Delhi on August 21, 2006, was jointly

organized by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Self Employed

Womens Association (SEWA), a union of poor self-employed women with

over 700,000 members mostly from the rural areas.

Participants in the consultation included representatives from the

Commerce Ministry, the corporate sector, producers organizations,

womens self help groups, and development experts.

Deliberations from the conference will form part of the wider civil society

discussions on September 15, 2006 as part of the World Bank-IMF Annual

Meetings at Singapore.

Today, globalization has drawn millions of women across the developing

world into paid employment - especially in laborintensive industries. In

India, poor women make up more than half the workforce that turns the

wheels of Indias expanding export sector.

However, most of these women work in unorganized, informal sector jobs.

Unaware about the real value of the goods they produce, how and where

to market their products or secure fair prices, they are open to exploitation


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from traders and middlemen at all stages of the production and marketing

process.

With no access to bank credit, they finance the purchase of raw materials

with loans from moneylenders and traders at exorbitant rates of interest. If

unable to repay, they often part with their produce at throwaway prices,

ending up with little income or none whatsoever.

Influence of micro- credit in women development:

Micro- finance programmes targeting women have become a major plankof donor poverty alleviation strategies in the 1990s and funding is set to

further increase into the next country under initiatives by CGAP and

member donor agencies this expansion is dominated by the financial self

sustainability program. This program is dominant inspiration behind the

micro-credit summit campaign in competition with other private sector

banking institutions and able to raise funds from international financial

markets rather than relying on funds from development agencies.

Consonant with the financial sustainability, accumulating evidence of

womens higher repayments rates has led many programmes to target

women. Increasing womens access to micro- credit id assumed to initiate

a series of various spirals of economic empowerment, increased well

being for women and their families and wider social and political

empowerment . The underlying assumption is that these mutually

reinforcing spirals of empowerment can occur following womens access

to micro- finance without explicit support for women to increase their

incomes to defend their interests within the household or for wider social

and political changes in gender or class relations.

Political Participation:


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The region of South Asia has had the largest number of women leaders

who have been heads of the nation (Indira Gandhi, Sheikh Hasina,

Benazir Bhutto, Srimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga). The

first female head of any nation in the world, as early as in 1960, was from

South Asia, in Sri Lanka. The general level of political participation among

the South Asian women does not reflect similar trends. Even in pockets

where the political awareness among women may be higher, their actual

participation is often limited by the constraints laid on their mobility and

roles based on the socio-cultural perceptions. Therefore, in spite of the

visibility of women at the higher echelons of government, the overall public

participation of women remains low for the region. There is no data on

female membership for most political parties and only a few of them are

given tickets to stand for elections.

The experience of India's amendment to its Constitution (the 73rd and

74th Amendments introduced in 1992), reserving one-third seats for

women in its local governance structures, generated tremendous interest

in the other countries of the region. In 1997, both Nepal and Bangladesh

introduced women's reservation in local bodies. While it was 20 per cent in

Nepal, in the case of Bangladesh it was one-third seats in all four tiers of

local government. In Pakistan also, one-third seats are reserved in local

bodies, which is visible in the current figures of women's political

participation.

As an outcome of women's movements in many of the South Asiancountries, the demand for positive intervention in the form of reservation ofseats for women in the governance structures has been met to someextent. This policy has clearly assisted women's participation, which wouldhave been denied given the deep-rooted patriarchal traditionswherein men wield power.

Table: Women in Parliament (%)

Country/Region Percentage Women

Maldives 6.0

Sri Lanka 4.4


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India 9.3

Bhutan 9.3

Bangladesh 2.0

Nepal 7.9

Pakistan 20.6 Source: HDR 2003.Prior to the phase of recognizing the need for reserving seats for women,

there was an assumption about women's passivity regarding their interest

in, and understanding of, political matters. Subsequent to the amendments

and provisions being made, the debates have focused extensively on the

inabilities of women, given their illiteracy and lack of understanding

regarding political matters (Mazumdar, et al., 2001). In India, as

elsewhere, there is substantial propaganda against such reservation on

the pretext of misuse (Buch, 2000; ISS, different years). Women also face

a backlash in the form of violence,

Participation and representation of women in politics:

In National Politics:

Historically, womens voting right was established long ago but womens

participation in the political and national movement has been negligible. At

present both the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition in

Parliament are women. However, their high positions in politics do not

reflect the whole scenario of womens position in politics. Both the Prime

Minister and the leader of the opposition come from political families. The

Prime Ministers father was founder and first Prime Minister of

Bangladesh, while the husband of the leader of the opposition led a

military coup and was subsequently elected as President. Women are stillsubordinated to men in many cases but they are coming out. Gradually

womens participation is increasing.

The increasing political involvement has inspired women to contest for the

Rural Union Council and Urban Municipal election (there are 1/3 seats


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reserved for women) more than before. In the last union council election

(1997) nearly 48000 women contested for the member post. Directly

elected women councilors/members are demanding for their defined

responsibilities and jobs.

Number of votes National Parliament

Year Female Male

1996 28,759,994 28,956,941

2000 36,239,491 38,436,258

Source: Election commission office

National Parliament Local Government

Year Female Male % Female Male

1960 1970 15 300 4.8 1980 32 298 9.2 1990 35 295 10.6 2000 37 293 11.2 887 2661

Source: 1. Journal of Public Administration by - PATC, Vol-15, June 2000.

Dhaka;

2. List collected from ministry of local government (Please note here four

city corporation was not included in this list). Ratio of four city corporation-

M: F=190:63 (Source: BBS 1998.)

There are 300 seats in the national parliament; out of these 15 were

reserved for women in 1970. In 1980 the seats reserved for women were

doubled to 30. The rest of the seats are contested in direct elections. In

1980 two women were directly elected, increasing the total number of

women in parliament to 32. In 1990 five women were directly elected and


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in the 2000 election seven women were directly elected, increasing the

number of women in parliament to 35 and 37 respectively.

Year

Number and

Percentage of Womenin FederalCabinet/Executive

Branch

Number of Percentage of Women Mayors

No % No %

1960

NIL

1970 02 4

1980 06 6

1990 04 3

1992 03 5

2000 04 16

The country was under military regime from 1975 to 1990. There was no

democratic practice at all during the martial law government. After the fall

of the martial law government in 1990 democracy was established in

1991. The prime minister and the leader of opposition are women. At

present Sheikh Hasina is the prime minister and Khaleda Zia is the leader

of opposition. Khaleda was prime minister in 1991 and Hasina was then

leader of opposition. Though both main political parties are under the

leadership of women, this has not as yet resulted in massive participation

by women in politics and government.

WOMENS PARTICIPATION IN URBAN LOCAL GOVERNANCE:

Womens participation in urban local government Before the Gazette

notification (the Pourashava Ordinance 1977, Ordinance No.XXVI of 1977

which was amended on 1998, July and Gazette Additional copy

22/3/1999) for municipalities and city corporations respectively, female

ward commissioners were appointed by selection. For the first time Dhaka

City Corporation elected 19 female ward commissioners (elected by male

commissioners) for reserve seats in 1994. With a view to promote

womens participation in urban local government, the Pourashava


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Ordinance and City Corporation Ordinance have been introduced which

are mandatory for every Pourashava and City Corporation. These

ordinances stipulate that whatever the number of ward commissioner,

depending on the area of the

Pourashava and City Corporation; there should be reserved seats,

exclusively for women equivalent to one third of the number of

commissioners fixed by the government. The women ward commissioner

will be elected directly. The span of responsibilities for ward commissions

has been well defined in the government gazette. But there is no definite

responsibility narrated in such a Gazette for women ward commissioners.

The government Gazette notification has described the nature ofmeetings, panel chairpersons etc. So the status of women ward

commissioners (reserved seats) has been undermined. Still there is some

confusion and misunderstanding between commissioner and women ward

commissioners.

Every political party has a women wing to encourage women to join

politics either at national or local level. Womens participation in politics

has no doubt increased tremendously. All NGOs, womens organizations

and civil society organizations are very active in this regard. Recently

there has been a phenomenal change. During the last 1998 local

government election (Union Parishad) more than 12,000 women members

were elected directly for reserved seats. In the near future, after

completion of municipal election, another 887 women ward commissioner

will be directly elected.

Contesting for reserved seats, womens participation in elections will have

a positive Bangladesh Report impact on womens political consciousness.

Beside this, the media are playing a vital role educating women. The total

number of women voters enrolment has increased compared to the

previous enrolment.


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Women & ICT

Information technology (IT) has become a potent force in transforming

social, economic, and political life globally. Without its incorporation into

the information age, there is little chance for countries or regions to

develop. More and more concern is being shown about the impact of

those left on the other side of the digital divide- the division between the

information "haves" and "have nots." Most women within developing

countries are in the deepest part of the divide further removed from the

information age than the men whose poverty they share. If access to and

use of these technologies is directly linked to social and economic

development, then it is imperative to ensure that women in developingcountries understand the significance of these technologies and use them.

If not, they will become further marginalized from the mainstream of their

countries and of the world. It is essential that gender issues be considered

early in the process of the introduction of information technology in

developing countries so that gender concerns can be incorporated from

the beginning and not as a corrective afterwards. Many people dismiss the

concern for gender and IT in developing countries on the basis that

development should deal with basic needs first. However, it is not a choice

between one and the other. IT can be an important tool in meeting

women's basic needs and can provide the access to resources to lead

women out of poverty.

Women Entrepreneurship:

Credit for Women

Governmental and NGO programmes which provide collateral free loans

have assumed tremendous importance in providing credit to poor women

in Bangladesh. A few examples are:


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1. The Bangladesh Rural Development Board's Women's Programme

covers 190 thanas and has provided credit to 100,830 members

through 5,915 societies. 200 million Tk. was disbursed in 1996 of

which 120 million was from the bank and 80 million from the

women's savings (up to end 1996).

2. . The Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) has disbursed

about 600 million Tk. through 100 NGOs, which has reached

167,027 women and 22,293 men (up to June, 1994).

3. The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) has

disbursed a cumulative amount of 11,714 million through 4.25

million Tk. loans to 45,542 women and 3,364 men (up to June

1996).

4. Grameen Bank (GB) has disbursed a cumulative amount of Tk

65,509.8 million to 1,937,348 women (as of December 1996).

5. The Association for Social Advancement (ASA) has disbursed a

cumulative amount of 3,411 million Tk. 495,423 women and 348

men as of June 1996.

6. Women's Entrepreneurship Development Programme (WEDP) The

objective is to develop women as entrepreneurs by providing themtraining and credit facilities to establish small scale manufacturing

and service units. The project has so far assisted thousands

women entrepreneurs to set up independent business enterprises.

Employment for Rural Women:

Several ministries of have programmes targeting rural women and

employment. Below is a sample of the activities in this area.

The Agro-Based Development Programme for Women aims at developing

women's skills in poultry raising, vegetable cultivation and small scale


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fisheries through practical training. Women are also given training in family

planning, literacy, child care, health and nutrition etc. and credit support

for income generating activities. The programme is implemented by the

Department of Women's Affairs

a. The Rural Maintenance Programme employs over 50,000 rural women

to maintain 60,000 miles of earthen roads. In the programme, women are

employed as laborers and supervisors for a period four years, during

which they are given training and assistance for self-employment after

completion of the contract. Implemented by the Local Government

Engineering Department, in collaboration with CARE International and

Union Parishads, the programme has contributed to improved ruralcommunication and marketing.

b. The Population Control through Women's Cooperative project began in

1974 to develop rural women's cooperatives. The project, implemented

through the Bangladesh Rural Development Board, offers family planning

motivation and services integrated with income generation activities. Ten

training cum production centres have been established to develop

women's vocational skills, where women cooperative leaders are trained

at thana (sub-district) level, and then act as trainers for their group

members. By 1992, the project covered over 3,000 women's cooperative

societies.

c. Started in 1975, and popularly known as the "Mothers' Club", the Use

of Rural Mother's Centres for Population Activities project integrates

population activities with human development efforts. The project involves

women in self-employment activities and seeks motivate women towards

establishing a small family norm. Skill development training to help women

develop self-employment opportunities, functional education on maternal

and child care, nutrition and family planning are all integrated parts of the

project, which is administered by the Ministry of Social Service.


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Women entrepreneurs not banking on loans:

According to Times Report on18 Mar 2004 by Vandana Shukla

CHANDIGARH region may top many indexes when it comes to using

consumer goods, but the graph take a dip as far as promoting

entrepreneurial skills goes.

At least thats so in case of women. Compared to states like Maharashtra

and Tamil Nadu, the states of Punjab and Haryana and also Chandigarh

have not done well in distributing loans to women entrepreneurs.

They do not even stake claim to the mandatory 5 per cent of the total

money advanced to entrepreneurs. In 2002, of the total Rs 9,788 crore

advanced by banks, only Rs 25 crore was given to women beneficiaries in

Haryana. In Punjab things are worse. This despite the fact that women

have proved to be better payers than their male counterparts in many

countries, including Denmark, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya and in rest of

India.

Compared to women customers share in the total bank deposits, the

share offered to women beneficiaries as loans is significantly low in the

region, says an RBI official. So, where lays the problem? The first reason

is people are relatively well off in the region.

Secondly, women do not get family support when they think of starting a

business. Parents and spouses believe women should work in secure

environs of an office, rather than visiting places to market their product,

says SN Yaligar, manager, Canara Bank. I tried getting a loan from many

banks but all of them asked for guarantor and collateral. If I had security of

Rs 1 lakh why would I apply for a loan of Rs 50,000? No one would stand


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guarantee these days, says Anupam Puri, a beneficiary of Can Mahila

scheme. Anupam is one of the few entrepreneurs from the city who has

taken advantage of special loan schemes for women.

Anupam was finally helped by CED, a special cell to help aspiring women

entrepreneurs at Canara Bank.

SOME SCHEMES:

Banks and financial institutions offer various schemes to finance women

entrepreneurs Stree Shakti Package - For women to put up small-scaleindustry

Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme -Supported by various state governments

and banks for tiny and small scale industry

Annapurna scheme - For financing women to establish food catering units

Priyadarshini scheme -Offers up to a loan of Rs 25,000 to women

entrepreneurs

Contribution of women in food processing sector:

Women are the main workers in the food processing sector and hence

most subject to the impact of trade liberalization and globalization. In

October 2000, WIEGO (Women in Informal Empoyment: Globalizing and

Organizing), UNIFEM (United Nations Development Programme for

Women) and the Government of Nepal, organized a regional policy

dialogue on women in the informal economy with financial and technical

support from IDRC and the Aga Khan Foundation. Following up on the

workshop, this grant will allow the South Asia office of the Intermediate

Technology Development Group (ITDG) to undertake a study aimed at


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understanding the differential impact of globalization on women and men

in the food processing sector, with a view to establishing a detailed

program of research and action for the region. The study will focus on

spices, cashews, sesame products and fish/shrimps. Researchers will

highlight data and studies that show how women workers and producers

fit into global commodity chains, and how their position in these chains is

changing as a result of globalization. The overall goal of the project is to

assist women working in food processing industries in South Asia to

minimize the negative effects of globalization and to seize new economic

activities.

Womens contribution in agricultural development:

Rural women form a very significant part of the productive work force in

the agriculture sector in India and most of the developing countries.

Women are central to the selection, cultivation, preparation and harvest of

food crops. Women farmers also possess a unique knowledge of dairying,

animal husbandry and fish farming and handle most of the work

associated with it. About 80 per cent of all economically active women in

the country are engaged in the agriculture sector. Also, about 48 per cent

of Indias self-employed farmers are women. There are 75 million women

engaged in animal husbandry as compared to 1.5 million men. A pilot

Time Use Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Organization

indicates that 51 per cent of the work of women that should qualify for

inclusion in GDP is not recognized as such and it remains unpaid.

Women today are engaged in diverse farm and non-farm activities such as

cultivating cereal crops, secondary crops, dairying, animal husbandry,

fisheries, forestry, post-harvest technology, etc. However, policy and


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programmatic support is needed to improve efficiency of womens

involvement in these diverse activities. As mentioned earlier, the

contribution of women is often not recognized in computation of the GDP.

A large part of womens contribution in agriculture is unpaid. Enforcement

is required to be stepped up to ensure that women workers receive equal

wages. The lack of economic opportunities causes migration of both male

and female workers.

A specific thrust has been provided for promoting equity and strengthening

socio-economic status of women in watershed development programmes

being implemented by the government. It includes promotion of womens

groups and preferential allocation of usufruct rights over produce fromdeveloped common lands. The watershed development team a group of

technical persons to guide watershed development committee/

association-necessarily includes a woman member. Similarly, the

watershed committee is to include two women members to facilitate active

involvement of women in natural resources management.

Trends of development in ICT indicate that it is following the usual paths

towards inequality and exclusion, putting women and girls at a

disadvantage with regard to securing better livelihoods and other rights. A

few women are producers, programmers, designers, inventors, or fixers of

computers. In addition, women are also conspicuously absent from the

decision-making structures in information technology in developing

countries. It is often argued that the concern for gender and ICTs in

developing countries is not a compelling one, and should be secondary to

meeting basic needs. This contention, however, doesnt quite hold, as it is

not an either or situation, and both need to be addressed

simultaneously. Information technology is making a significant contribution

in the empowerment of women. The women SHGs and their members are

using ICT approaches in both farm and off-farm activities. The government

institutions are also engaged in the development and popularization of


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gender friendly tools and equipments. While ICTs can offer significant

opportunities for girls and women, including those in rural areas, their

ability to take advantage of these opportunities is contingent upon many

things. Extension of infrastructure, particularly wireless and satellite

communications, to rural areas and semi-urban areas is vital to increasing

womens access to information technology.

The Common Minimum Programme provides that the government should

ensure that at least one third of all funds flowing into panchayats should

be earmarked for programmes for the development of women and

children. Village women and their associations should be encouraged to

assume responsibility for all development schemes relating to drinkingwater, sanitation, primary education, health and nutrition. It also provides

that complete legal equality for women in all spheres should be made a

practical reality especially by removing discriminatory legislation and by

enacting new legislation that gives women equal rights of ownership of

assets like house and land.

The National Commission on Farmers set up by the government also has

its terms of reference recommending measures for credit, knowledge, skill,

technological and marketing empowerment of women, taking into

consideration the increasing feminization of agriculture and the proposed

conferment of right to land ownership. A National Gender Resource

Centre in Agriculture (NGRCA) has been set up in the Ministry of

Agriculture as a focal point for the convergence of all issues related to

women in agriculture. The department has also taken up a programme to

revamp agriculture extension in the country based on Agriculture

Technology Management Agency (ATMA) model. It provides for setting up

a decentralized institutional set up for undertaking demand driven

extension activities. Minimum 30 per cent resources of this scheme will

have to be utilized for the benefit of women farmers. Thus, a two-pronged

strategy has been adopted for supporting womens role in agriculture. At


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the policy level the NGRCA will work towards a more favorable policy

environment for the benefit of women farmers. At the programme level,

the ATMA scheme will provide necessary resources for providing

extension support to women farmers.

Empowerment of women through agriculture:

Women, as an independent target group, account for 495.74 million and

represent 48.3 per cent of countrys total population, as per the 2001

census. Empowering women as a process demands a life-cycle approach.

The countrys concern in safeguarding the rights and privileges of women

found its best expression in the constitution of India. To make the de-jure

equality into a de-facto one, the state has enacted both women-specific

and women-related legislations to safeguard the rights and interests of

women, besides protecting against social discrimination, violence and

atrocities and also to prevent social evils like child marriages, dowry, rape,

practice of sati, etc. The local elected bodies such as Panchayats and

Municipalities provide for 30 per cent reservation for women. The

organization of women into groups and increasing their access to credit

and other productive resources will significantly contribute to social and

political empowerment of women. While the impact of various

developmental policies, plans and programmers implemented over the last

few decades have brought forth a perceptible improvement in the socio-

economic status of women, problems like illiteracy, ignorance,

discrimination and violence continue to persist event today.

Women for Women in Bangladesh:

One of the most important women's groups in Bangladesh is Women for

Women: A Research and Study Group, located in Dhaka. It is a pioneer

non=government, non-profit, voluntary women's organization, engaged in

research and public education programs on gender issues with a view to


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enhancing the status of women. It was established in 1973 by a group of

committed woman professionals, representing a variety of academic

disciplines. The Group strongly felt the need for developing a sound

information base for identifying the issues relating to the disadvantaged

status of women in Bangladesh and for creating public awareness with a

view to ameliorating the existing situation. Since then, Women For Women

has been engaged in research, information, dissemination, advocacy

awareness and motivational programs.

The objectives of Women for Women are:

1. To create awareness among people of Bangladesh, particularly policy

planners and public functionaries, about the need for enhancing women's

status and molding public opinion for action against the oppression and

exploitation of women.

2. To organize, undertake and promote research and study in all areas of

women's life in general, and to focus on the specific problems impeding

their integration in development efforts in particular, keeping in view the

national priorities.

3. To be a forum for effective advocacy for gender equity through

dissemination of policy-oriented research findings concerning women

through publications, research, seminars and exchange forums.

4. To inform and educate a wider audience about critical issues, current

concerns and to promote interaction through publications and national

conventions.

5. To establish and develop linkages and networking with similar groups at

home and abroad.


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6. To create and develop gender-sensitivity among planners, public

functionaries, development agency personnel and program implementers

through relevant gender training programs.

7. To extend cooperation and consultancy services to the government as

well as to other national and international agencies involved in the area of

women and development.

The activities of Women for Women include seminars, workshops,

conferences, national conventions, library development, and publications.


23/23

Bibliography

Times.com

World Bank report

Different research paper

Gender issues by Jan Jindy Pettman

Different web sites

Journal of Public Administration by - PATC, Vol-15, June 2000.

Dhaka;

Documents

Assaignment 102