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Women's unpaid work must be recognised

MJF-roundtable told

Staff Correspondent
A woman's worth in the society is likely to be recognised once their contribution to the economy in both paid and unpaid work is valued, said speakers at a roundtable yesterday.
Terming the culture of undervaluing women's work the root cause of domestic violence, they viewed economic recognition of unpaid work including housework as one of the ways to reduce violence against women.
The roundtable titled "Highlighting Contribution of Women to Raise Their Status" was jointly organised by The Daily Star and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.
Tariq-ul-Islam, secretary at the women and children affairs ministry, said they had already notified the Statistics Division to evaluate women's contribution to the economy through domestic work.
On policymaking, he said the new Child Marriage Restraint Act would be placed
before the cabinet next Monday.
Shaheen Anam, executive director of MJF, said since the majority of the women work within the walls of their homes, their work was not assigned with a monetary value.
Even the work done by women in sectors such as agriculture is undervalued, she said.
'Tn most places of the country, male agricultural labourers get Tk 280, while female labourers get Tk 180 for the same work,' said Shykh Seraj, an agriculture activist and director and head of news, Channel i.
However, in rice production women carry out 17 out of 23 activities from sowing seeds to marketing the final product, he said highlighting women's contribution to the country's food security.
Fahmida Khatun, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), who is currently conducting a study to estimate women's economic contribution to the country, said more than 50 percent of the
women interviewed want to work formally and gain respect of their families.
The research commissioned by MJF, which is at its final stage, launched a campaign titled "Equality through Dignity" in March 2014 aiming to create awareness about women's contribution, sensitise the media to portray women in a positive way, and initiate research on women's unaccounted work.
Shaheen Anam pointed out the importance of monetary recognition of unpaid work through citing a study carried out by Shamim Hamid in 1996 that mentioned that Bangladesh's GDP in 1989-90 fiscal year, calculated at US$17.83 billion, would have increased by 29% to US$23.05 billion if unpaid work was included.
Ayesha Khanam, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, said dignity of women could not be ensured if they did not have right to property and equal rights over economic resources.
"Women can never achieve dignity without equality in the family," said Salma Khan, former chairperson, UN CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) Committee.
Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher at The Daily Star, reiterated the newspaper's commitment in promoting women's issues particularly economic recognition of women's work.
Noted economist Mostafizur Rahman, executive director of CPD; Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, editor in chief and CEO of Boishakhi TV; Priya Powell, counsellor (development cooperation) of Australian High Commission in Bangladesh; Sarah Cooke, country representative, the Department for International Development (DFID); Tahmina Huq, manager (women's rights and gender equity) of Actionaid; advocate Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers'Association, among others, spoke.
The programme was moderated by Shahedul Anam Khan, editor, op-ed and defence and strategic affairs ofThe Daily Star.