A brief overview of Bangladesh

Bangladesh emerged as an independent country on 16 December 1971. Geographically it is located in the northeastern part of South Asia covering an area of 147,570 square kilometres. Since 1991 the country has been ruled by a parliamentary form of government, headed by a Prime Minister; while the President remains the head of the State. The country has an estimated population of 164.7 million (PRB, 2017) which implies more than 1,100 people live per square kilometres, and thus it becomes one the most densely populated countries in the world. The country’s population has a slightly higher proportion of male as revealed in its sex ratio which is 100.25 men per 100 women. The fertility rate is 2.3 meaning that, on an average, a woman gives birth to more than two children through her reproductive ages in Bangladesh. The country’s civilian labour force is estimated to be 57.1 million of which women account for approximately 30 percent (BBS, 2015).

Bangladesh is generally a low-lying flat region with some hilly areas in the northeast and the southeast. Land is the most scarce and vital natural resource in the country. Fertile soils together with the sub-tropical monsoon climatic condition make the country especially adaptive to agriculture. The agriculture sector forms the backbone of the country’s economy and by contributing 17.22 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (BBS, 2016b) the sector stands out to be the single largest producing sector in Bangladesh. This sector accommodates around 46 percent of the country’s labour force (ibid), and in the rural areas it provides livelihood to majorities. In addition to providing employment to the largest share of the country’s labour force, the agriculture sector also strongly supports several other subsectors in the service sector such as wholesale and retail trade, and transport. In this way, the national economy of the country predominantly depends on the performance of agriculture

sector (BBS, 2010). Among the non-agricultural sectors, the ready-made garment industry makes a very substantial contribution to the national GDP.

The headcount rate of the incidence of poverty based on the costs of basic needs is 24.30 percent in the country, which is even higher (about 26 percent) in the rural areas (BBS, 2017). Although the incidence of poverty has fallen at a rate of 1.74 percent over the first decade of the new millennium (World Bank, 2013), the issue of poverty reduction and food insecurity are still central to the country’s development concerns as about a quarter of the population is unable to meet the costs of basic needs. Moreover, child under-nutrition is highly prevalent in the country as 36 percent of the country’s children aged below 5 are chronically malnourished (stunted) and about 33 percent children weigh less than the recommended weight of children of same gender and age (NIPORT et al., 2016). The higher incidence of under-nutrition and poverty poses a major development challenge for the country. Also alarming is that about 22 percent babies born with low birth weight in the country (UNICEF, 2016).

As regards the situation of women, Bangladesh has made great strides in reducing gender discrepancy in comparison with other South Asian countries (UNDP, 2011). The country’s constitution has granted equal rights for women with men in all spheres of state and public life (GoB, 2011). In the national parliament, 50 seats amounting to one-sixth of the total constituencies are reserved for female members. Not only are several ministries led by women, most importantly the country has been ruled by a female Prime Minister since 1991. Women’s noticeable presence in the political arena, a rise in educational attainment, opportunities for employment in the export-oriented garment industries, and access to microfinance have been leading to an improvement in women’s socioeconomic status in the country (discussed in section 2.6). This is also bringing about changes in people’s perception about women. Notwithstanding the progress, girls and women still face challenges in realising their human potential. The country has the third highest incidence of child marriage in the world (Asadullah & Wahhaj, 2016a). Child marriage usually precedes early pregnancy which consequently may bring about various health complications among the young married girls. About 8 percent of women’s deaths are caused by pregnancy-related complication and as many as 90 percent women give birth of a baby at home in rural Bangladesh (BBS, 2016b). The concern here is that not only does early marriage lead to a higher risk of death, but it also seriously curtails girls’ opportunities for higher education and ultimately employability. Although girls outnumber boys in primary and secondary education, it reverses at tertiary education as women account for only about one-third of the current university students

(BANBIES, 2016). This perhaps attributes to women’s less representation in highly paid jobs as well as to the substantial gender wage gap that prevails in the country. Women’s unique responsibilities for childbearing and care often cause the withdrawal of their participation from the labour market, leaving them dependent on men. In Bangladesh violence against women is also very common. About two-thirds of ever-married women in Bangladesh experience some kind of violence from the intimate partners (BBS, 2016a). They rarely have any access to productive resources, especially arable land. Their low status relative to men within the household and in society gives them little or no power to participate in household decision-making concerning resource allocation. Indeed, rights and liberty are a dream to many women in Bangladesh (BBS, 2016b).