This happens every month, every week, everyday. Again and again and again. Brutality in the form of torture, sexual abuse, rape and murder has become epidemic in our society. Some cases get coverage in the media and spark reaction among citizens for a while, but most remain unreported and unknown. The ones which hit the headline in the media indicate the scale and depth of the dark side of our society.

Source: patch.com

Gender empowerment is not only about increasing school enrolment of girls, higher participation in the labour market, lower mortality rate, access to micro-credit, getting jobs in the readymade garment industry, or holding political positions. Therefore, such indexes and scores do not reflect the real plight of majority of the girls and women in our society. Beneath such spectacular progress of women in so many fields, there are also stories of humiliation and shame, discrimination and cruelty. The girl who goes to school or college or university does not know what awaits her on the way. From stalking to harassing to physical abuse to murder – she may encounter any of these that can put her dreams on pause in seconds. The RMG worker, who returns home in the evening after a long work day, cannot be assured whether she will reach home safely. Even a minor girl is not safe to play outside or inside her home. They all fall prey to the ugly desires of the men in their own surroundings – relatives, teachers, co-workers, neighbours, classmates and local boys and men. They can be from any age group – starting from teenagers to mature adults. They can be from any profession and any economic cluster. The common factor of masculine perversion brings them together. But is masculinity about committing violence? How does this crime develop in some and not in other men?

Social scientists argue that violence against women is the result of the structure of gender relations in the family, society and state. In this structure, men are considered superior to women and more powerful and capable than them. Women are to be their subordinates. Hence, in this day and age whenever there are incidences of sexual abuse and rape of girls and women, the patriarchal mindset of even high profile people would try to justify the behaviour of the perpetrator as natural and even blame women for having a ‘loose’ character. The so-called shalish in the villages of Bangladesh, where a group of local powerful men decide and determine the punishment of such crimes, are often only a derision that harasses women. In many cases, the victim herself is humiliated instead of the criminal being punished and handed over to the law enforcement agency. Sadly, the law enforcement agencies sometimes cannot do much due to apparent political connection of the perpetrators.

Social and cultural factors are thus intrinsically linked to the development of violent behaviour and abusive actions of people. Within the family, men are the controlling point and take on the role of domination, whereas women are dependent on them for decision making. Their role is determined by the division of labour and allocation of resources. Outside the family, the society does not like women who are not submissive or have ‘minds of their own’. The stereotypical mindset of even the highly educated section of the society hold the view that girls should maintain so-called ‘decency’ in their outfits and movements. If that is so, then what type of indecency can a five-year-old girl display in her clothes and demeanour? Are girls who wear hijabs spared by these monstrous men?

We do not look at the root cause of the problem. Violence against girls and women should not be explained in isolation. This is about the power relationship between men and women, between rich and poor, between influential and vulnerable. Economics plays a crucial role here. It determines the position of people in the family and society. The exploitative environment that is created through money and power takes advantage of the weaker sections of the society. Girls and women are surely the vulnerable segment. But exploitation also takes place against men who are poor and helpless. Also, the same woman who herself may be dominated by male members in her family can often feel that she has the power to torture impoverished girls and other weaker female members in the family. Mistreating, beating and killing of female house-helps and daughters-in-law by women are not uncommon in our society. Thus, the problem cannot be solved in a piecemeal basis. It needs increased social awareness, stricter laws and their proper implementation, and stronger institutions that can function smoothly to take measures against the perpetrators.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

Bangladesh had an exceptional six days this month. Starting with the visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and ending with that of the World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, the country went through a period of euphoria. During those days, ministers, politicians, experts, business leaders, media personalities and development partners from South Asia and beyond gathered to discuss the region’s economic prospects at the Ninth South Asia Economic Summit organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue. Everywhere Bangladesh’s achievements got prominence. Based on what Bangladesh has done so far and what more potential the country can have, visiting leaders have committed to support the country in various forms. The Chinese President offered a package of investment and trade worth nearly USD 40 billion. Soon after his departure comes the World Bank President with a bag full of praises and promises for Bangladesh. For its spectacular success in reducing poverty, Bangladesh was chosen to observe this year’s End Poverty Day. Kim also committed to increase financial support for improvement of child nutrition by USD 1 billion in the next three years and to invest another USD 2 billion on climate change projects for the same length of period.

Illustration: Michael Morgenster

In one sense, the Chinese and the World Bank money complement each other from Bangladesh’s vantage point. While the Chinese have targeted physical infrastructure, the World Bank has chosen soft infrastructure, both crucial for the country’s development. Infrastructure deficiency is blamed for poor investment-GDP ratio in Bangladesh which is still below 30 percent. Indicators such as Global Competitiveness Index, Doing Business and Global Corruption Perception Index reveal structural weaknesses of the economy. As opposed to the feel good factors about the progress of the country, one cannot also ignore the distributional aspect of such development. Income inequality is high with the top 5 percent of the population enjoying 24.6 percent of total national income and the bottom 5 percent only 0.78 percent, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

High income inequality can perpetuate inequality in other areas, in case of social and political opportunities, for example. While access to education and health has increased by a large number of people, the quality of these services vary significantly across economic strata. The quality of education received by the poor is not the same as that of the rich children. Hence youths face unequal competition in the job market. The number of stunted children is very high; they are children from deprived families who cannot afford nutritious food and medical bills when their children get sick. One would not see these children in the class room or in the cricket field. Unequal access to opportunities in turn leads to income inequality. It creates inter-generational poverty. The poverty cycle goes on if the government cannot create equal opportunities for everyone.

Those who have crossed the extreme poverty threshold are vulnerable to shocks – economic, social, environmental and political. There are poverty pockets in Bangladesh such as coastal areas, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Char and Haor areas where the concentration of the extreme poor is higher than other areas. Social safety net programmes for these people and other extreme poor will have to be expanded both in terms of number and amount. At the same time poor working population have to be brought into the employment market. The challenge of providing employment to the two million new entrants into the labour market every year is not an easy task. The structural change of the economy from a predominantly agricultural to an industry and services based one, has not brought adequate jobs and higher income for all. The dual challenge of creating better jobs ought to be addressed through transformation in the whole knowledge ecosystem. Technology and innovation can create opportunity. Education and skills development can provide access to opportunity.

Poverty is an absolute concept and is defined mostly in income terms even though economists have attempted to develop multi-dimensional indices of poverty. Inequality, which is measured in relative terms indicates the need for distributive justice. This has to be ensured through strong institution and good governance. How the efficiency of both external support and domestic resources will be utilised will depend on the effectiveness of institutions. How higher growth will benefit people across the board will depend on how just the governance system is. After all, benefits of Chinese infrastructure development and World Bank’s child nutrition improvement and climate change projects have to reach the poor by way of creating more jobs, higher income and reduced vulnerability. As Bangladesh is upbeat on taking the growth to a new height to reach a middle income country by 2021, it should not lose sight of making growth equitable and inclusive by creating opportunities for all.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh