Building the Road by Walking
Experience of Bangladeshi Women
Rokeya Kabir
Executive Director
Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha-BNPS
www.bnps.org
Bangladesh:
Economy Which Doesn’t Support Women
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Neo-liberal free market approach
Dominated by profit maximizing business
entities
Financial policies heavily influenced by
International Financial Institutions (IFIs)
Agricultural productions are gradually
diverted to cater the export market instead of
supporting the local needs and protecting
ecology (e.g. shrimp cultivation for export)
Agricultural sector still provides the
livelihoods of the majority populace of the
country
Bangladesh:
Economy Which Doesn’t Support Women
cont.
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Grabbing of productive land, water bodies,
and forest by commercial ventures risking the
food security and livelihood of the poor people
Disproportionate price hike of food, fuel and
essential goods contrary to the increase of
income level of common people
Widening gap between poor and rich
Non-profit organizations exist but very limited
grassroots cooperative ventures
State of Poor and Women

Poor and women
are marginalized

Male domination
and class division
enhances the
vulnerability of
women and shrinks
the livelihood
options
State of Poor and Women

Women’s productive
potentials are confined to
household economy
State of Poor and Women

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Basic services like
education,
healthcare, water
supply, and
sanitation are almost
non-existent in
public sector
Low literacy rate of
women
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
Series1
600
400
200
0
Public Primary Private Primary
School
School
Madrasa
Growth of Public and Private Primary Schools and Madrasahs since 1973
Maternal Mortality Rate 194
117 in world ranking
th
6 in South Asia
State of Poor and Women

Gradual
environmental
degradation
threatens wellbeing
and livelihood
options
State of Poor and Women

Women’s labor are
subject to unfair
exploitation in
informal and formal
economy
State of Poor and Women

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Women became the
source of cheap
labor for export
sector (garment,
electronics,
shrimp) and
pushed to labor
intensive low end
production
Nonimplementation of
ILO convention for
minimum wage
Organized for Change:
Experience of BNPS
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600 solidarity groups
of 12,000 grassroots
women in rural and
urban areas
Network of over
100,000 support
groups consist of
community people,
professional
organizations and
cultural activist
groups
Organized for Change:
Experience of BNPS cont

Women
solidarity
groups fight the
social, political,
economic, and
environmental
odds they
experience
Grassroots women gain selfconfidence to:
Acquire skills for
local level
productive
activities
 Negotiate with
state and nonstate actors for
mobilizing financial
and non-financial
resources

Grassroots women gain selfconfidence to:
ensure access to
local market as
women producer
 create space for
participation in
community level
institutions of
governance

Grassroots Women Form the
Triangle

Economic Triangle:
developing skill on
income
generation,
entrepreneurship
an market
education
Grassroots Women Form the
Triangle

Socio-political
Solidarity:
Collective voice
for enabling
policy, resisting
VAW, dowry,
child marriage….
Grassroots Women Form the
Triangle

Ecological
Solidarity:
analysing
vulnerability,
resilience to
climate change…
Shared Values for Change
Values that groups promote
 Social & economic transformation of the
society
 Cooperation and collective power to promote
social and economic justice
 Pro poor and gender just Community
governance
 Democratic participation (economic, social &
political self-determination for marginalized)
 Ecological responsibility
 Pluralism & diversity (gender, ethnic,
religious, ability)
What Else the Grassroots Need?

Structural, policy, legal and technical
support is imperative for the survival and
revitalization of women’s solidarity
economic endeavors

Affirmative actions for women’s entry to
bureaucracy, parliament, political parties
What Else the Grassroots Need?
Policy supports required at national level:
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gender responsive national budget
laws ensuring women’s equal rights
fair wages and decent working condition
equal inheritance in property
women friendly financial policy
women’s greater participation in
economic and political domain
Our Limitations, Our Challenges
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Team up with diverse groups (profession,
trade, craftwork and skills)
Build up regional and international solidarity
to influence the global policy making bodies
which effects the lives of people
Threat of religious extremism which reinforce
the pressure on women to confine them
within the households
Making political forces, civil society groups
and social movement gender sensitive
Thank You
Merci beaucoup
Dhonnobad