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International Women's Day

Labour Lost

Ekram Kabir
***Ekram Kabir takes a look at the economic status of women, their contribution to the labour force and government initiatives to empower women***
WOMEN are compelled to work longer for lower wages. both as a result of their fewer marketable skills as well as perceptions governing their productivity Women's wages in agricultural and non -agricultural work arc consistently lower (by about 50-60 per cent) than for men. Women face a number of uncertainties in their terms of unemployment: i.e their status as casual (daily) apd informal (non-contractual) workers, the intermixing of patron-client relations between themselves and their employers, and inadequate safety measures In most industrial units. Women's high illiteracy and tHeir low education attainment almost predetermine their placement in low-paid unskilled jobs.
In urban Industries, women form 34 per cent of the total labour force, and were involved mainly in work that require manual dexterity (cotton textile. wearing apparel and leather industries) in 1985-86. They comprised 51 per cent of the labour in food, beverage, and tobacco. In wood and wood products they comprised 45 per cent, and 22 per cent of the labour force in minerals and metal products. In other sector Industries they comprised less than 20 per cent.
Women in rural Bangladesh have always been Intimately involved in the agricultural production process. Their involvement in homestead culti -vation (fruit and vegetable production) alone contributes between 28 to 46 per cent of family income. Alternate studies question these data, however, suggesting that for about 43 per cent of women, agriculture was the primary occupation, while
for about 15 per cent it was a secondary' occupation. In rural industries, women work both in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs. In rural enterprises, a clear division of labour is seen: women rarely perform any managerial, supervisory or en-trepreneurial functions. Women are also confined mostly to home-based production while their work is charac -terised by low labour productivity and profits. Only three out of a thousand women are in
professional Jobs. Poor women take on a larger role in Income earning activities tor their households and their earnings Is a critical input for household survival among the poor.
The government, however, has not been sitting idle. In an effort to improve women s posi -tion and to enhance women s role in the process of development, it has tried to break down norms segregating men and women over the past two decades. A policy decision was
taken by the government to In -tegrate women into the process of economic development: efforts were made to Increase utilisation of rural hospital ser -vices and Improve maternal and neonatal healthcare, in -eluding training activities, and development of a human resource plan under several projects: there has been budgetary Increases to the education sector. particularly primary education; and there has also been significant progress in recent
years In school enrolments, especially that of girls, at both , primary and secondary levels.
due to the Implementation of compulsory primary education stipends for female secondary school students.
Even when the women are working lull time. Just as much as their male counterparts, they face wage discrimination. This has nothing to do with how much they work, but societal attitude towards women working. Modernisation has not been able to bring about a change whereby women will be accepted professionally as well And for this we have the women themselves to blame. If nobody helps themselves, no one else can do II for them. Government policies and NGOs cannot re -alisc women s rights. For them, this is what they do for a living. They may not have the sincerity to really bring about any changes, because once achieved, they would have to find new Issues. Why would they want to move away from the status quo? Also, why do the women have to depend on others to achieve something they should be able to do themselves?
It is Individual efforts that can really rock the boat. Each and everyone, male or female, should stieak up If they feel that their rights have been Impinged upon.
Even today, women are being set apart from men. At bus terminals. at crowded shops and streets they are being harassed. To save themselves from shame' they hide behind smiles and lead oh life as though noth -Ing happened. In fact, many have taken these things In their stride. The modern male does try to understand, yet cannot come out of tradition. Even if not consciously, they take women to be fragile and often meant only to look good. It would be difficult to come out of such behaviours.