If one hand in weak of a human body, it becomes weak and less performed body,

similarly, if we think total human society is a body and women are half of that
body and half part is weak it means total society is weak and if that half part is
strong total human society it strong and more active. Development by this society
becomes easy and it will be sustainable development. Gender bias and
discrimination should avoid. Women are subjected to gender discrimination in
both legal and social aspects. In many cases men also subjected to different
humiliation by this gender discrimination. We have to establish gender equality
and equity in all aspects for the betterment for our society, proper initiative should
be taken for this concern.

Yet, Bangladeshi women continue to face numerous challenges. The recent industrial
disasters in the RMG sector, where a large majority of workers are women, highlight the
serious concerns about occupational safety and health. 

The Bangladeshi government, employers and workers organizations are making important
strides in the right direction, with the support of the ILO and many development partners,
but still a lot needs to be done. 

Women also have been getting the short end of the stick in the labour market. The
employment rate of women in 2010, at 58 per cent, was close to 30 percentage points lower
than the rate for men. 

Women are also disproportionately affected by unemployment, underemployment and

vulnerable employment. 

Moving forward, it is important to put in place gender-responsive labour market policies that
would pave the way for more equitable employment outcomes and decent work for all. 

Gender relations in Bangladesh are undergoing

transformation as part of wider processes of social
change. Increasing landlessness, localized degradation of
the natural resource base and persistent or increasing
poverty are creating new pressures and conflicts at
household level. With reduced household assets, the role
of women in homestead-based activity is diminished.
With increased poverty, women may be obliged to engage
in outside work, in spite of social restrictions.
Impoverishment may lead to household disintegration.
Important trends are: the increase in women’s visible
labor force participation, particularly that of poorer
women; the erosion in normative entitlements of women
(e.g. through marriage and extended kin networks); and
an apparent increase in female-rural-urban migration and
the number of female-headed or supported households.
Pressures of social change result in women moving into
previously male preserves, often encountering a hostile
response from men or male authorities who perceive
women as transgressing social and moral boundaries.
Harsh interpretations of Islamic prescriptions relating to
women may be one mechanism whereby male authorities
attempt to conserve existing social structures and protect
their interests in the face of rapid social change. The high
incidence of harassment and intimidation of women in
the public sphere (e.g. fieldworkers, journalists) and
increasing violence against women in the household and
wider community may be seen in this light. Until recently,
investment in human resources has been a low priority in
Bangladesh, for both government and the donor
community. Public spending on health and education and
food distribution systems has been strongly biased
towards the better off and to urban areas. Women have
benefited less from public expenditure than men. On most
indicators (nutritional status, life expectancy, maternal
mortality, literacy) women’s status in Bangladesh is very
low compared to men and compared to women in other
countries. Low investment in women’s human resources
is a major factor inhibiting women’s well-being,
productivity and development. Recent shifts in
government and donor policy emphasis towards greater
investment in human resources and also towards more
concerted poverty alleviation efforts are encouraging.
However, these efforts are highly constrained by the
framework of wider economic policy under adjustment,
which is itself tending to lead to employment and income
losses, although differentially for men and women, and
increasing poverty. Nevertheless, some efforts are
apparently being made to protect social expenditures
and to redistribute spending to benefit the poor, rather
than the better-off. These efforts must address gender
inequities in existing provision of and access to services
as well as the gender-differentiated outcomes of current
processes of social change.