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Women in Bangladesh
Family, and the role women play in it, are emphasized in bangladeshi society. On average, bangladeshi women are married before the age of 20. From the point of marriage and forward, a husband takes on the responsibilities that previously belonged to his wife’s father. This includes control of a woman’s education, job, and overall life. The Total fertility rate of Bangladesh is a rough average of 2.5 children born per women. Traditionally a woman’s most important duty is bear children. However, poverty is prevalent in Bangladesh and often times women are required to work in order to make ends meet. Divorce is highly discouraged however many women find themselves abandoned by their husbands or widowed. Women are expected to refrain from remarrying and most are left to support their families alone.
A majority of women in rural areas work for their families and are unpaid. They typically do housework, maintain livestock and grow small gardens. In urban areas, about half of all women are employed outside their homes. Their occupations vary, however 70% of working women are employed by the textile industry which has notoriously harsh working conditions. Recently this industry has gained worldwide attention after a garment factory collapsed killing over 1,100 people. An effort has been made to improve working conditions as well as raise the minimum wage, which is currently 3,000 Takas or 38 U.S. dollars a month. Most women however, are still paid less than their male coworkers and sometimes as little as 20% of the wages provided to men working the same job. There is also a law restricting the amount of hours a women can work per day, which is eight, but it is typically disregarded.
Domestic abuse and violence against women is widespread and underreported. Women are often beaten or even burned with acid. In more rural areas, the punishment for extramarital affairs, usually as decided by village elders, is typically death. In many cases, victims of rape have been known to commit suicide while those who do not are sometimes killed as expected by the social norms. Women in Bangladesh are also known to bear the brunt of systemic violence. There are reports of law enforcement agents killing, assaulting, torturing, and raping women both in public and private settings. Although the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act (a provision amended in 2003) has been introduced in the country, little has changed. This is because the courts in Bangladesh operate subordinate to the rest of the government, and they are reluctant to prosecute their own officers. An actual example of this is the case of Shanin Sultana Santa. Although it was determined that she had been tortured necessarily, (a crime punishable under Bangladesh’s penal code,) The judge dismissed the entire case on the basis that the intent of the police officers to cause Santa harm had not been evident as required in the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. This is not an isolated event.
The education of women in Bangladesh has improved. In 1998 the literacy rate for men of 15 or older was 59.4% versus 42.5% for women. This gap has grown smaller as the literacy rates improved to 61.3% and 52.2% respectively as of 2010. Despite progress in literacy, the average school life expectancy of both boys and girls is still only eight years.
Reference List
- "The World Fact Book: South Asia, Bangladesh". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- "Country Briefing Paper: Women in Bangladesh" (PDF). Asian Development Bank. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- Kashyap, Aruna (December 26 2012). "Laws Hurting Bangladesh Women Linger on the Books". Women’s eNews. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Absar, Syeda. "Women Garment Workers in Bangladesh". Economic and Political Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- Hossain, Farid (12 May 2013). "Bangladesh to Raise Wages for Garment Workers". Time. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- "Country Briefing Paper: Women in Bangladesh" (PDF). Asian Development Bank. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- Basil, Fernando (16 August 2006). "Bangladeshi Women The Victims of Systemic Violence and Denial of Means for Redress". Asian Human Rights Commision. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- "Country Briefing Paper: Women in Bangladesh" (PDF). Asian Development Bank. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- "The World Fact Book: South Asia. Bangladesh". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 14 May 2013.