Working women to get legal right to take children to workplaces: Planning adviser

Working women in Bangladesh will soon have the legal right to bring their children to their workplaces, Planning Ministry Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud has said, adding that the interim government is working to establish the provision.

Noting that women not only shoulder the burden of unpaid household work but are also outperforming men in many formal sectors, he said, "True development can only be celebrated when women's contributions at both home and work are properly recognised."

The adviser mentioned the government initiative while speaking at a dialogue today (29 September), titled "Recognition: A First Step Towards Gender Equality", organised by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).

The discussion highlighted findings from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' (BBS) Household Production Satellite Account (HPSA) report, which states that unpaid household work in Bangladesh is worth Tk 670,000 crore – equivalent to 18.9% of the country's GDP. 

Women account for 85% of this contribution, equal to 16.14% of GDP, the report said.

Wahiduddin Mahmud stressed that women are already making comparatively greater contributions in the workplace. He added that allowing women to bring their children to work would be a progressive step that would encourage every office to establish mandatory childcare facilities.

MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam said, "We have dreamed of a society where women are respected in the home and not subjected to domestic violence. Recognition of unpaid household work was at the heart of that dream. Today, with government acknowledgement, this has become a milestone in advancing women's rights."

ADB Principal Social Development Specialist Nasiba Selim said social expectations that women will automatically perform household work must change. "We need to redefine gender roles more equally," she urged.

Stephanie St-Laurent Brassard, second secretary (Development – Gender Equality) at the Canadian High Commission in Bangladesh, said, "Today we are reminded once again that household work is not an expense, but an investment. It is essentially an investment in potential, equality, and a prosperous, just future."

UN Women Bangladesh Country Representative Gitanjali Singh stressed that joint efforts by men and women could be a "game changer" in unpaid care work.

BBS Deputy Director Asma Akhtar shared a vision for a caring society and expressed hope that more updated data would be made available in future.

Katharina Kunig, deputy team leader of the NGO Nagorikota CEF, said women's unpaid care work must be recognised with the highest priority. "We will certainly continue to campaign and raise public awareness in the future," she noted.

Meanwhile, presenting the keynote paper, MJF's Director of Rights and Governance Programmes, Banshri Mitra Neogi, noted that most surveys on unpaid work are financed by international agencies. "In the future, they may not always be able to support such initiatives. The government must step in to take them forward," she said.

MJF Governing Board Chairperson Parveen Mahmud said the acknowledgement of women's unpaid care work was a "major achievement" and the result of the foundation's long-standing advocacy. She urged society to shift its perception of gender equality.

The outcome also marks an important milestone for MJF's campaign Morjaday Gori Samata (Equality Through Dignity), launched in 2013. 

The campaign has sought to ensure recognition of women's contributions, enhance their dignity within families and society, and reduce violence and discrimination.