Single working women and students face accommodation problem

SINGLE working women and female students face challenges in having accommodation in the capital due to lack of such facilities and the patriarchal attitude of society, alleged women tenants and rights activists. Working women and female students alleged that they often endured strict regulations, lobbying practices at government hostels, lack of security in rented flats, excessive rent at private hostels and even harassment and humiliation in accommodations offered for them.
Rights activists said that though women in increasing number are becoming self-reliant and choose to work and study living outside of family, society was yet to honour their choice and fail to provide living facilities they need to work and study with dignity and independence. The government should ensure more quality accommodation for single and unmarried working women and female students.
Currently a huge number of working women and female students live in the capital while many of them stay in private hostels and houses besides the government facilities and dormitories for female students. Though female students have inadequate dorms at different educational institutions, working women – from office-goers to apparel workers – have only a handful of hostels for them.
According to the Labour Force Survey, Bangladesh (2016-17), 45.7 lakh employed female population lived in the country’s urban areas, including the capital city. To help this huge number the total seats in the hostels of the government is around 1000. So we can safely say that the government response is inadequate — and has been so, for some time.
But the response of the private sector is far worse. They charge high prices while providing inferior quality food and accommodation. The government can do a lot here by regulating the sector to ensure that the women get the quality that they deserve. Even worse are flat owners who are quite reluctant to rent flats to a group of single women and ask indecent questions for the sake of social propriety. Here too the government can start campaigns encouraging flat owners to let out flats to groups of women once they have been vetted.
Private businesses can make good money if they can ensure that quality services are provided for the women. Unfortunately those providing such services are like the rapacious owners of slum housing — they charge extortionate fees while not giving a damn about the quality of life of the women who live in their hostels. The poorest of the working women — the vast majority of who work in the garments sector end up living in slums because no respectable house owner will dream of giving them a flat to rent. This situation can be changed by social and media campaigns, or through regulation.