Bangladesh
Flag of Bangladesh
Population (in Mil.)	158.1
Sex Ratio (m/f)	0,93
Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)	1.03
Fertility Rate	2.36
Income Ratio (f/m)	0.51
Literacy Ratio (f/m)	n/a
Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)	0,5
Women in Parliament (in %)	14,8
SIGI Rank	90
More information on variables
Did you know that Bangladesh ranks number 90 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index? To learn more, see the official country note "Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Bangladesh" at genderindex.org:

Social Institutions

Bangladesh is a highly patriarchal society and gender discrimination is present at all community levels. Women are dependent on men throughout their lives, from father through husbands to sons. While there are constitutional affirmations of gender equality, state legislation and institutions frequently overlook the rights of women. For example, women and young girls are more disadvantaged than men in their access to education, health care and financial assets. Traditionally, women were often discouraged from participating in public life and mainly recognised only for their reproductive role. However, due to increased poverty and an increased demand for labour, female employment has risen since the mid 1980’s. Most of the information below concerns the Muslim population, which makes up over 80 percent of the total population. Where information is available for Bangladesh’s Hindu and Christian populations, this is mentioned as well.

Family Code

Half of all girls between 15 and 19 years of age are currently married, divorced or widowed in Bangladesh (UN, 2004). This is the highest rate of early marriage in Asia and among the highest worldwide. By marrying their daughters young, parents decrease the economic burden on the household. A more encouraging trend, however, is that of increased contraceptive use and declining fertility rates.

Polygamy in Bangladesh has decreased over the past 50 years, particularly in the cities, but still there are over 10 percent of married men in a polygamous union. The practice, however legal, is considered by many to be outdated. This was reflected in a law passed in 2006 in Bangladesh’s fourth-largest city, Rajshahi, which introduced a so-called polygamy tax; any man taking a second wife will be asked to pay a one-time amount of 10 000 takas (142 US dollars). The tax rises to 30 000 takas for a third wife and 40 000 takas for a fourth wife (Islamic Republic News Agency, 2007).

The issue of parental authority is treated differently depending on religion. Women are not regarded as legal guardians under Islamic law, something that may lead to children being taken away by in-laws in the case of a father’s death (in the case of divorce, women can retain custody of sons until age seven and daughters until puberty). Similarly, under Hindu law, fathers are viewed as the natural, legal guardians of children.

Inheritance practices, too, differ between religions. According to Islamic law, daughters inherit half as much as sons and, in the absence of a son, daughters can inherit only as a residuary (i.e. only after all debts and other obligations are settled). A wife is in principle entitled to half of the assets when her husband dies. Under Hindu law, a widow, or all widows in a polygamous marriage, inherits the same share as a son. For Christians, the Succession Act of 1925 provides equal inheritance between sons and daughters.

Physical Integrity

Female genital mutilation is not practiced in Bangladesh.

Early marriage and dowry customs are major factors in the continuation of domestic violence against women. Laws that have been passed against these practices have proven difficult to enforce, especially in rural areas where traditions and family laws tend to govern social life. A report released by the U.N. Population Fund in 2000, asserted that 47 percent of adult women had reported physical abuse by their male partner. The government, the media, and women’s rights organisations have fostered a growing awareness of the problem of violence against women.

Gender-based violence outside the home includes sexual harassment in the workplace, assaults, rapes and acid attacks. Revenge by a rejected suitor and land disputes are common causes for acid attacks against women. Insufficient shelters for victims of abuse have led the government to hold women who file complaints in safe custody, usually in prison. This custody frequently results in further abuses, hence discouraging the filing of complaints by other women.

The occurrence of missing women (including female infants and children) is widespread in most South Asian countries and Bangladesh is no exception. In fact, Bangladesh is one of the very few countries in the world where males outnumber females. Census data show that over 2.7 million Bangladeshi women were missing in 2001 (Hudson et al, 2005). This is primarily the result of son preference and female sex-selective abortions, or through relative neglect compared to boys in early childhood (including abandonment).

Civil Liberties

Women can move relatively freely in the vicinity of their home and local neighbourhood. To various degrees - much depending on the traditions of individual families – the Islamic system of purdah may impose some restrictions on women’s participation in activities outside the home, such as education, employment and social activities. To engage in any such activities, a woman generally needs her husband’s permission.

With regards to women’s freedom of dress, it is customary for most Bangladeshi women to cover at least their hair.

Ownership Rights

Despite women’s growing role in agriculture, there is evidence that social and customary practices virtually exclude women from any hope of direct access to land.

It is often the demographic composition of a woman’s household that determines her qualification for and access to bank loans and other forms of credit. A woman’s lack of mobility, particularly in rural areas, forces her to depend on male relatives for any entrepreneurial activities. While Bangladesh’s NGO’s provide micro-credit to a large number of women, there is a growing concern to whether or not these women actually retain control over their loans.

According to the national law, men and women have equal rights to property, but in practice women have only very limited access to property. Their situation is further impaired by discriminating inheritance laws and Bangladeshi women are not likely to even claim their share of the family property unless it is given to them.

External Link

• ASK's Bangladesh Human Rights' Report: http://www.askbd.org:80/web/?page_id=430

Sources

• Canadian International Development Agency (2001), Gender Profile: Bangladesh.
• FAO/IFAD/ILC (2004), Rural Women’s Access to Land and Property in Selected Countries: Progress Towards Achieving the Aims of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
• Hudson, V. and A. Den Boer, Missing Women and Bare Branches: Gender Balance and Conflict, ECSP Report, Issue 11, 2005.
• Islamic Republic News Agency, www.irna.ir, accessed 15 May 2007.
• Klasen, K. and C. Wink (2003), “Missing Women”: Revisiting the Debate, Feminist Economics 1/2003, Volume 9, Issue 2-3.
• OECD (2006), The Gender, Institutions and Development Database, www.oecd.org/dev/gender/gid.
• United Nations Population Fund (2000), The State of World Population 2000: Lives Together, Worlds Apart – Men and Women in a Time of Change, New York.
• United Nations (2004), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Fertility Report, New York.
• U.S. Agency for International Development (2003), Office of Women in Development, Bureau for Global Programs, Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights: Improving Lives in Changing Times, Final Synthesis and Conference Proceedings Paper.
• U.S. Department of State (2001), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh.

The Women, Business and the Law

Where are laws equal for men and women? 

The Women, Business and the Law report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. This report does not seek to judge or rank countries, but to provide information to inform discussions about women’s economic rights. Covering 128 economies, Women, Business and the Law provides data covering 6 areas: accessing institutions,using property, getting a job, dealing with taxes, building credit, and going to court.Read more about the methodology.

For detailed information on Bangladesh, please visit the Women, Business and
the Law Bangladesh page.

Sources

• Women, Business and the Law: Creating economic opportunity for women
• The Gender Law Library