NILIMA JAHAN

The government has proposed a gender-responsive budget of Tk 3,26,059.8 crore for FY2026-27, accounting for 34.8 percent of the national budget of Tk 9.38 lakh crore and 4.8 percent of GDP.

Compiled through the Finance Division’s gender budgeting framework across 61 ministries and divisions, the allocation marks an increase from Tk 2,64,718.6 crore in the previous fiscal year, when gender-relevant spending stood at 33.5 percent of the total budget and 4.2 percent of GDP.

However, economists and gender specialists caution that the increase masks persistent weaknesses in institutional funding for women’s empowerment, particularly in ministries tasked directly with delivering gender-focused outcomes.

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, for instance, has been allocated Tk 5,196 crore for FY2026-27, down from Tk 5,371 crore in the revised budget of the previous year.

Although 94.7 percent of its spending is classified as gender-relevant, nearly 92 percent is absorbed by salaries and administrative costs, leaving just Tk 428.5 crore for development activities.

Of this, only 57.4 percent is earmarked for gender-focused programmes.

STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS IN THE SYSTEM

According to the Finance Division’s Gender Budget Report, spending has been grouped under four strategic themes.

Theme 1, covering women’s empowerment and social status, rose to Tk 83,076.9 crore, accounting for 25.5 percent of the gender budget. Theme 2, focused on economic participation and equality, saw the strongest growth at Tk 1,03,738.7 crore, or 31.8 percent.

Theme 3, women’s access to public services, declined to Tk 34,439.2 crore, while Theme 4 -- education, health and women’s wellbeing -- remains the largest category at Tk 1,04,804.9 crore, or 32.1 percent.

Despite this distribution, disparities persist across ministries.

Several ministries linked to long-term human capital development saw declines.

The Primary and Mass Education Ministry fell to 59.3 percent from 67 percent, while Secondary and Higher Education declined to 46.4 percent from 48.4 percent.

The ICT Division dropped to around 33 percent from 36.9 percent, and the Health Services Division to 40.8 percent from 45.2 percent.

‘NOT A SEPARATE FUND FOR WOMEN’

Dhaka University Economics Prof Sayema Haque Bidisha said the gender budget is frequently misunderstood as a standalone allocation for women, whereas it is in fact a classification of existing public expenditure.

Operational spending reflects the share of female staff, while development projects are scored between 0 and 100 by the Ministry of Finance through the Budget Call Circular. These scores are then processed through the “If

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