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BITTER TRUTH

Women's emancipation still a distant dream

Mo. Asaphllah Khan
THE picture of the country that leaders envisioned and the pledges they made to the people during all these years have turned into an illusion. In stark contrast
to the growth phenomenon manifest in the emergence of high-rise buildings, shopping malls and luxury cars in the cities, villages in Bangladesh till now are portraits of human misery. It is hard for younger generations, especially women folk, in rural areas to concentrate on any ambitious project and carve out a future for themselves. They can't feel good about their country and long for a change. Women are the most deprived and neglected segment in the society. Despite the policy framework of the past governments in the "Bangladesh Action Plan for SAARC Decade for Girl Child" towards improving the status of women, hardly anything tangible has been achieved. The action plan that sought to establish pragmatic efforts focused on the girl child and to ensure integration of women folk in the development activities of various social development agencies has fallen through.
The two core issues, namely social injustice and exploitation of the girl child, can only be tackled through motivation, policy guidelines and bold leadership exercised at the highest level of the government. Women seem to be discriminated against in ever greater proportions. And the genesis of discrimination and cruelty against women can be traced to social apathy inherent in the male population. Though the constitution of the Republic provides gender equality, the people have been governed by family customs and rules that fail to give women their due.
Till now the energy, imagination, talent and potential of our youth, especially women, could not be channelised to take the country forward. With firm commitment and effort towards halting the trafficking of women for forced labour, domestic servitude and sex exploitation, the edifice of a prosperous society could be built. Because, when women are guaranteed basic human and labour rights, the whole family and the community can benefit. More so, when women gain the knowledge and power to make their own choices, society is better able to break the chains of poverty.
Despite a growing consensus on the importance of women's work, gender disparities, inequality of opportunity and harassment persist. Too many girls are denied the right to go to school, to be qualified to take a job for which they receive equal pay. Too many are concentrated in the informal work sector, or are under-employed or unemployed. Scores are barred from access to Ioans or credit, or exercising the most basic of the legal rights. That means when the male member, either husband or father, in a family dies or becomes disabled due to accident the whole family lands in a sea of calamity and distress. The country is now bearing the brunt of depriving women of their right to education. The neglect in educating girls is doubly alarming because education almost always leads to a drop in infant mortality and reduced birth rate. This is evident from the fact that rapid improve-
ments in women's literacy in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India in the past several years has quickly brought about this virtuous circle. That only justifies the assertion that no society liberates itself that treats its women badly.
This sub-continent, especially our country, suffers because of flawed and discriminatory education system. Emancipation of women from the shackles of poverty, discrimination and humiliation within the four walls of the house or outside underscores the need for educa- tion that ultimately leads to development. Only when women are educated can they feel the importance of family planning programmes. The saying "development is the best contraceptive" faces an uphill test in poor rural Bangladesh where birth rate is the highest and children are viewed as a source of family wealth.
A somewhat happy glimmer is that the poorest in the villages are getting the message about the importance of education. But the increasing motivation of the parents to educate their children has not been matched by a corresponding improvement in schooling facilities. Parents in the rural areas are more interested in putting the male child into school. Moreover societal, cultural and religious values in the country appear to be loaded against female education. Statistics reveal that 40% of all girls are engaged in household work compared to a negligible number of boys. In spite of several laws restricting child labour, participation of girls aged between 10-14 years has increased, while the participation of boys has declined.
Moreover, these disadvantages are compounded by an apparently increasing incidence of violence against girls and women -- such as torture, abduction, rape, acid throwing and trafficking. Despite existence of laws and stringent penalties, social attitudes towards women's status and work seem to permit these behavioural aberrations.
If the increasing incidents of macabre crimes in the cities are alarming, the situation is no less frightening, rather worse,
in towns and villages. In one such instance in the recent past, Laboni (18), a student of B.A. first year of Bauphal Degree College, was brutally bludgeoned by her husband because of her ardent desire to continue studies after marriage.
A report appearing in most dailies said that a housewife in a Dupchachia (Bogra) village was abducted by one Samrat (24) and his friends in the same village, taken to Dhaka and violated for two days. After the community members mounted pressure on the abuser's family, she was taken back to her village home. The saddest part of the whole episode is that the edict issued by the UC chairman in that village forced the husband to divorce the victim wife. Surprisingly, neither did the arbitration council take any notice of the abusers nor did the police make any effort to arrest them, although the report said they were moving freely in the locality.
What is most alarming in such episodes are the edicts issued by some self-styled religious leaders and influential village matabbars that subject the rape victims to trauma, humiliation and inhuman punishment like lashing and shaving of the head in public. Many such stories are not reported in the newspapers because of the sense of humiliation and stigma it leaves on the victim and her family. The important message must get to our leaders that without educating men about women, the social barriers will be harder to remove.
The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star.
E-mail: aukhandk@gamil.com