Empowering women in Bangladesh is really tough due to such male
dominated society; but it is not impossible. The development and involvement of
women in social and business arena is gradually increasing. Hundreds of NGO’s
and Development organizations are working for the women. But there are only a
few organizations who are dedicatedly working with the grassroots women.
Association of Grassroots Women Entrepreneurs, Bangladesh (AGWEB) is one of the
unique associations who are working for them as well as for others.
Now-a-days, women are
overcoming many social problems with the help of many development
organizations. In the South Asia, the development of women empowerment is
remarkable. Women are now playing many major roles in different sectors with
success. In Bangladesh, there are many examples of its success. Now, there is
no area or sector in Bangladesh in which women are not present. From SME to the
leader, women are everywhere. And Association of Grassroots Women
Entrepreneurs, Bangladesh (AGWEB) is continuously working for the establishment
of women empowerment in every sector.
Bangladesh is often
cited as a global model for sustainable economic development. Despite being one
of the world’s largest in terms of population, and most prone to natural
disasters as a result of global climate change, the country has maintained an
impressive 6% plus annual economic growth trajectory during the past decade.
According to a number
of reports, the country’s focus on giving women better health and more economic
autonomy has had a significant impact on rural household incomes, poverty
reduction and increased educational enrolment, particularly for females who
usually lag behind males in the Global South. The Economist (Nov 3, 2012) notes
that “both the boom in the textile industry and the arrival of microcredit
have, over the past 20 years, put money into women’s pockets—from which it is
more likely to be spent on health, education and better food.” The textile
industry in Bangladesh, regarded as the key to its economic growth, employs
nearly 4 million people, most of whom are women. There is an abundance of
literature supporting the relationship between women’s empowerment in the
economic sector in Bangladesh and the country’s sustained economic development
trajectory.
Women in Agriculture
Despite their routine
work, women are very actively involved in agricultural production in
Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, around 120 millions of people are involved in
agricultural sector. Among those people about 53.25% are male and 46.75% are
female. The agriculture sector accounted for nearly 17.3% of GDP which provides
19.36 billion USD. Women contribution in GDP is USD 11.81 billion.
Women in RMG
(Ready-Made Garments)
In 2011, out of 4
million manpower employed in garments industries, 3.12 million are women (78%);
majorities of them are disadvantaged and economically poverty stricken women
folk. With the growth of RMG industry, linkage industries supplying fabrics,
yams, accessories, packaging materials, etc. have also expanded. Many women are
getting opportunities to work in those industries. Contribution in GDP: Approx.
12.5% of total GDP.
Bangladesh is a
developing nation, rich in human resource, where women constitute slightly less
than a half of the population. The majority of them are underprivileged, under
nourished, illiterate and poor. Moreover, without the garment sector, there are
not enough employment opportunities for women. Therefore economic activities
through self-employment have become essential for potential working women. As a
matter of fact, women entrepreneurship or women in business has gained
importance and acts as a very recent phenomenon in Bangladesh. Although women
are taking entrepreneurship in many challenging fields, their activities in
Bangladesh are not that extensive. However, in spite of fewer opportunities,
many women have successes in business although; they are very small in number.
In Bangladesh, women
entrepreneurship started developing in fact after the liberation of Bangladesh.
Very few women entered the profession of business before seventies. Bangladeshi
women entrepreneurs need to have an extra quality in form of dogged
determination and resilience since this is needed to fight with adverse
situations which seem to confront female entrepreneurs than their male
counterparts in the present-day context.
0 comments:
Post a Comment