BANGLADESH: WOMEN'S POLICY SNEAKILY CHANGED BY GOV'T
By Qurratul Ain Tahmina

Jul 27, 2005 - (IPS) A vibrant women's rights movement in Bangladesh has much on its plate -- an ominous scale of violence against women, omnipresent social and religious prejudices and poor representation in decision-making despite two women heading the government consecutively for the last 15 years. And now activists have stumbled upon the fact that the present government had quietly changed, more than a year ago, the National Policy for Advancement of Women (NPAW), negating some of its crucial equality principles.

The original policy was formulated in 1997, following the United Nation's Beijing Women's Conference, directly involving activists and thinkers in the process. It was participatory and highly acclaimed at home and abroad. Krishna Chanda, until recently with a project of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, facilitating gender mainstreaming in development programmes, said she and others were caught by surprise by the changes. ''Last year, around March, we heard that the ministry was initiating some changes in the preamble,'' Chanda told IPS. ''But we got no hint that the essence would be tampered with''. A government source told IPS that Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moudud Ahmed was part of the cabinet committee that revised the policy. Asked by IPS if that was indeed the case Ahmed, a barrister, said,''I might have been (part of the committee) but don't exactly remember''. Ahmed added he had no idea of the policy or the changes. Pressed with examples, the minister expressed surprise that the previous government had provided for equal inheritance rights. ''No government in Bangladesh can commit to equal shares in inheritance. It's a very nice deal but will go against Quranic principles''.

The 1997 preamble eulogised the Awami League, the party then in power. It was, therefore, expected that the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), now heading the ruling, rightist coalition, would want its share of historical credits. Ayesha Khanam, general secretary of Bangladesh Mohila Parishad (Bangladesh Women's Forum), the country's largest women's organisation, first picked up the new policy in March this year. ''The government has been secretive about it and we had no idea of its existence''. ''My guess is some rightist lobby within the government did it,'' says Khanam. Activists share this view, some directly suspecting the involvement of Jamaat-i-Islami, Bangladesh, a religion-based political party in the ruling coalition.

The 1997 policy had a unique context, says Dr. Maleka Begum, a pioneering women's rights activist in Bangladesh. ''In continuity with the process initiated during the preparatory stage of the Beijing Conference, we were with the government formulating our country action plan based on the Beijing Plan of Action, devising various mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in development, and finally drafting the policy''. Others involved in formulating the policy on being informed of the changes said they thought the changes were like finding one's own baby grossly mutilated. Multilateral and bilateral donors such as the World Bank have reportedly sympathised with the activists. Seeking anonymity, one donor representative told IPS: ''We are very concerned. The 1997 policy was very progressive. This one seems very broad-based -- to some extent, vague even''. Activists say the original policy reflected the goals of the women's movement and was in tune with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Bangladesh ratified CEDAW in 1984 but had reservations on two core provisions that deal with comprehensive legislative changes and equality in marriage and divorce. The government's main problem concerns personal laws that are based on religious codes. Its recent progress report to the CEDAW committee, however, pledged efforts to withdraw the reservations.

The 1997 policy had 104 principles, grouped into 14 areas of concern. The new policy gets rid of two principles and changes others in a way that make them self-contradictory. Women's economic participation and rights see crucial changes in six principles. These drop provisions of equal opportunity or equal share in property or assets; and strike out inheritance, property or assets, and land rights from a list of prerequisites for women's economic empowerment. Of the special provisions mandatory for institutions employing large numbers of women, housing has been dropped. About half the 140 million population of Bangladesh lives in poverty and the majority of them are women. Despite a highly- praised micro credit programme, earning women are one-fourth of the economically active men and mostly, engaged in the informal sector. The government credits itself for achieving gender parity in primary school enrolment and for an incentive programme for girls up to class 12. But drop-out rates are high. Women-headed households are on the rise among the poorer sections; and wage discrimination, lack of skills and options, marginalise women. 'Equal' rights to formulating and implementing economic policies has become 'in accordance with constitutional rights'. ''Had the constitution remained in its original form, I would not be concerned,'' says Sultana Kamal, legal expert and executive director of the human rights organisation 'Ain Shalish Kendra'. ''Equality is guaranteed in our constitution as every citizen's fundamental right. But in 1977, the Constitution was amended to make 'absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah' a fundamental principle of state policy and the basis of all actions,'' explained Kamal. ''We don't know which clauses would prevail in matters of women's rights,'' said Kamal.

Then there is the practise. ''Constitution clearly says any law inconsistent with the equality rights will become void,'' said Kamal. ''The government could have easily discarded religion-based personal laws. Instead we hear all the time that discriminatory laws in inheritance, rights in marriage or divorce cannot be touched because that would hurt religious sentiments''. Right now among the 300 legislators in general seats, only seven are women, including Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina Wajed. Although Bangladesh has 10 to 15 percent reserved quota in government employment, women are very poorly represented at decision-making levels. The new policy drops the principle of placing women as ambassadors and in high posts in the planning commission and the judiciary. The 1997 policy clearly valued the role of the women's rights movement and NGOs. While sidetracking this issue, the new policy has also dropped the principle of inspiring these two groups of actors to take up campaigns for encouraging women's participation in politics. On violence against women, the 1997 policy expressed concern about state or police violence and community edicts subjecting women to public lashing, stoning, even burning to death. The 2004 policy does away with all of this though the general tone depicts a hopeful picture. Protests against the changes have begun and the leading women and human rights activists and organisations have formed a common platform. The members include the Bangladesh chapter of the international funding organisation OXFAM and a leading national daily. Said Prof. Sadeka Halim of Dhaka University, ''The new policy contradicts the government's millennium development goals (MDGs) and its strategy for meeting those. As for us women, the original policy was like a protective shield and an excellent instrument for empowerment. I would say we were one step ahead but will now be thrown two steps back''.

From: http://www.ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=29672