Rights, equality and empowerment: Accelerate action for women

Infographic: TBS

Every year, 8 March is celebrated across the world as International Women's Day with a selected theme. This year, the United Nations has selected the theme "For all women and girls: rights, equality and empowerment" to observe the day. 

Over the years, I have had problems with the themes selected by the world body for the successive International Women's Day. I found them flat, timid, traditional, and rhetorical. Furthermore, it always seemed to me that the chosen themes were conservative, non-inspiring and not action-oriented. 

This year's theme is no exception. It means anything and everything – it lacks focus and action-orientation. In contrast, the slogan chosen by many civil society organisations, "Accelerate action", is more inspiring and action-driven.

Focusing on the three dimensions – rights, equality and empowerment – included in the UN's theme, we realise that despite considerable progress, these issues are yet a mirage for the majority of women across the world. 

Today, 49 countries still lack laws protecting women from domestic violence. In 32 countries, passport application procedures differ for women and men. In 18 countries, women need their husband's approval to work. Early marriage remains widespread, especially in low human development countries, where 39% of women aged 20 to 24 marry before turning 18.

Globally, the labor force participation rate for women is only 50%, compared to 77% for men. About 72% of working-age men (15 and older) are employed, compared to just 17% of women. Annual economic losses due to gender gaps in labor force participation and education are estimated at $60 billion in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

The hard truth is that men dominate paid work while women dominate unpaid work. Of the 59% of work that is paid, mostly outside the home, men's share is nearly twice that of women – 38% compared to 21%. Of the 41% of unpaid work, women perform three times as much as men – 31% compared to 10%. Every day, African women spend 200 million hours simply fetching water for their families.

Even though women carry out the major share of global work (52%), they face disadvantages in both paid and unpaid work. When their work is remunerated, they earn 24% less than their male counterparts. 

A professional "glass ceiling" means that women still hold only 22% of senior leadership jobs in businesses and fewer than 25% of senior political and judicial positions. An estimated 60 million people worldwide ages 15 and older are in domestic work, of which 83% are women, accounting for about 8% of female employees. Many are migrants, both within their own countries and across borders. Migrant workers may find better-paying jobs abroad but can also be trapped in abusive, exploitative conditions with limited access to assistance.

Globally, 48% of men are self-employed, compared to 41% of women. Women are often concentrated in low-paying, low-productivity agricultural jobs and unpaid work. Nearly half of employed women are in vulnerable employment. Despite making up more than half of the global population, less than 10% of women own land.

Some 42% of women worldwide do not have bank accounts, and for the developing world, it is 50%. Out of the 22 countries surveyed, in eight countries, women do not enjoy the same legal access to property as men. In a third of these countries, women's access to public spaces is restricted either through legal provisions or discriminatory practices.

Going beyond the economic arena, issues of rights, equality and empowerment are biased against women in terms of information and communication technology (ICT) or in a shorter term, the digital revolution. The gender divide in digitisation is quite stark. 

More than 50% of women worldwide are offline. In the developing world, the internet user gender gap is 23%, and in the least developed countries, it is 43%. Women remain 7% less likely than men to own a mobile phone and are 16% less likely to use mobile internet. This means that there are still 264 million fewer women than men accessing mobile internet.

Violence against women is a global phenomenon that cuts across boundaries of age, socioeconomic status, education and geography. Estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women and girls worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

Globally, about 200 million women and girls living today have undergone genital mutilation. Worldwide, more than 4.5 million women and girls are used for sexual exploitation, and more than 5,000 women a year are murdered in honour killings. 

However, these numbers – shocking as they are – only tell a part of the story. Yet, globally, we still do not know very much about its extent. Even when data is available, it is likely that the figures are an underestimate as it is notoriously difficult to collect sensitive information on violence against women when the victims can fear coming forward or feel ashamed.

In the context of Bangladesh, women are still disempowered on many fronts – economic, political, social and cultural. In Bangladesh, only 14% of the working-age women (aged 15-65) are in active employment and are earning. A little than 10% of Bangladeshi women hold managerial positions, while the comparable numbers for men are 88%. 

Furthermore, about 92% of employed women work in the informal sector with high gender wage gaps and lack of benefits. Although the female entrepreneurship rate has been growing, women make up only 7% of the 7 million entrepreneurs in the country. 

Women are concentrated in low-paying, low-productive agricultural activities and also in unpaid work. About 30% of employed women are involved in unpaid work. These may adversely affect women's economic decision-making ability and thus might not contribute to economic empowerment.

The social disempowerment of Bangladeshi women is quite stark. Patriarchy controls the lives and livelihoods of Bangladeshi women. The majority of them hand over most of their earnings to their husbands or other members of their family. Women in Bangladesh have less access to finance as men do not allow them to be involved in finance. 

Only 36% of Bangladeshi women have bank accounts. Women are also discriminated against in family life because of patriarchy. It makes sure that marriage, divorce, custody of children, maintenance and inheritance are determined by men. Early marriage continues to be an impediment to Bangladeshi women's socio-economic empowerment. 

Currently, almost 60% of adolescent girls are married before the legal age of 18. Despite efforts by the government and non-governmental organizations to reduce the rate of child marriage in Bangladesh, it remains the highest in South Asia at 59% of girls getting married before the age of 18.

Political disempowerment hinders the Bangladeshi women from having their voice or political agency. Women often follow the instruction of the man of the house whom to vote for on election days. Women are not traditionally expected to have active interests in politics, to be part of political movements, or have some political views, ideas or preferences. 

The lack of human security for women is a major dimension of the social disempowerment of Bangladeshi women. Domestic violence is a serious threat to them. The rates of violence against women remain high. About 70% of the Bangladeshi women experienced some form of abuse – physical, sexual, emotional or economic – at some stage.

A multi-pronged approach would be needed for ensuring the rights, equality and empowerment of women. These would encompass reducing structural barriers to women's productive economic participation, removing restrictive norms and stereotypes, and creating institutional mechanisms for women's economic empowerment.

In that context, some selective strategies may contribute to the enhancement of agency and socio-economic development of Bangladesh:

Addressing patriarchy: In Bangladesh, patriarchal power structures and social norms confine women, limiting their capabilities and opportunities and marginalising them economically. This, in turn, restricts their productivity and contributions to society. 
Addressing patriarchy is crucial, starting with advocacy, awareness, and dialogue to help men grasp its impact on women's lives. A comprehensive framework is needed to define patriarchy, its consequences, and key areas for intervention, ensuring meaningful progress on women's rights, equality, and empowerment at both local and national levels.

Ensure more women's access to assets: Women are visionary, entrepreneurial, and prudent. So, with improved access to assets and financial services and a women-friendly legal framework, their potential can be more effectively used for the advancement of society. Policies, legislation and administration must be geared towards creating an environment where women can fully use their capabilities.

Explore innovative work options: Innovative work options must be explored by women at every level. Such options may be explored in non-traditional work areas, creative sectors, and ICT-based service sectors. Women now are entering in increasing numbers, which were earlier men-dominated. Such moves must be consolidated. The enterprising trait of women should be nurtured through supporting initiatives.

Support to work: Women juggle paid employment outside the home and unpaid care work inside the home. Flexible working arrangements, including telecommunicating, can allow women to return to work after giving birth. Reducing the burden of unpaid care work among women can also give women more choices. Enlarging care options, including day care centres, could help. on work. To this end, a Child Daycare Act will allow more women to enter the labour force.

Targeted programme: Educating girls and keeping them in school longer will save them from child marriage. The World Bank Health and Gender Support Project is providing gender-based violence (GBV) clinical services and integrating these in all the tiers of the health system. The project is also strengthening system capacity for GBV services provision, including 35 Women Friendly Spaces.

Foster women's higher education: More women should pursue higher education, and more women should be in STEM, where there will be a high future demand for high-level work. Increasing women's enrolment in tertiary education and in STEM requires such incentives as scholarships, admission quotas and internships with research institutions and technology firms. Investing in girls and women has multidimensional benefits – for example, if girls complete secondary education, the under-five mortality rate would be halved.

Strengthen social protection: Women – particularly single mothers and older women – require social assistance. Social assistance provides these women with a safety net. The Rural Employment Opportunities through Public Assets (REOPA) is a classic example of such an approach.

Break the glass ceiling: Even though the glass ceiling in Bangladesh is cracked in many places, it is not broken yet. The representation of women has gone up in public service senior positions but not in senior business leadership. Women's representation at senior levels can be increased through affirmative action, such as quotas. In the political arena, particularly in local level politics and administration, women should engage more.

Enforce the laws: As indicated earlier, there are many laws for tackling the challenges that women of Bangladesh face. What is missing is effective enforcement. So, the government institutions have an instrumental role here in the enforcement of those laws.

Given all these, it is now time for accelerated action in areas of rights, equality, and empowerment for women and all girls. We have to build on what we have achieved, take note of the backlogs, identify the hindrances, formulate innovative and creative strategies, build alliances and move forward. Only such an approach can infuse some dynamism in the theme of this year's theme of the In International Women's Day – inaction in this regard is not an option.

Dr Selim Jahan is the former director of the Human Development Report Office of the UNDP, New York