Building the Road by Walking Experience of Bangladeshi Women Rokeya Kabir Executive Director Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha-BNPS

Bangladesh: Economy Which Doesn’t Support Women  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.  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  Basic services like education, healthcare, water supply, and sanitation are almost non-existent in public sector  Low literacy rate of women

Growth of Public and Private Primary Schools and Madrasahs since 1973

Maternal Mortality Rate in world ranking 6 th 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  Women became the source of cheap labor for export sector (garment, electronics, shrimp) and pushed to labor intensive low end production  Non- implementation of ILO convention for minimum wage

Organized for Change: Experience of BNPS  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 self- confidence to:  Acquire skills for local level productive activities  Negotiate with state and non- state actors for mobilizing financial and non-financial resources

Grassroots women gain self- confidence 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:  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  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