Decline of female workers in workplaces does not bode well for society

It is worrying to note that gender-based violence, harassment and lack of security in workplaces are acting as barriers for the country’s females to join the workforce.

In fact, these are among the reasons for which the number of female workers in workplaces is declining.

At a roundtable titled “Investing to Prevent Violence Against Women” in the capital Monday it was revealed that women in the ready-made garments sector are becoming victims more by violence and discrimination than in other places.

The truth is on achieving gender equality Bangladesh still remains far behind. If women are not empowered through ensuring equal means of economic opportunity for women, a country cannot be strong in these modern times.

For developing a strong economy, it is necessary to invest in women entrepreneurs and provide them with access to finance and markets, not just creating an atmosphere for women workers in the workplace.

True, the growth of ubiquitous garments industries and micro credit schemes of different NGOs have lifted a great number of poor women of rural areas from the quagmire of poverty. But the flip side is not that rosy: workplaces are still to become conducive for women.

However, besides improving on that, Bangladesh now needs to fight all the barriers to women entrepreneurship.

Even now there are many families in Bangladesh, and sadly they are mostly located in rural areas that discourage, even prohibit, women’s work outside home.

It is now time to fight this backward-looking and weird mindset.

Every day in our society women are being oppressed, repressed and tortured simply because they are women.

Dowry-related violence, child marriage, rape and other forms of sexual exploitation are still very common.

These tortured women often fail to take legal redress not just because they are women but also because they are poor.

To stand beside the victims of workplace violence, the state needs to support these vulnerable women with legal support.

If this can be done, it would also deter male members of society from doing injustice and violence to women in the workplace.

It is a common perception in Bangladesh that if women get money in their hands through doing jobs outside, they become less interested in their role in the family resulting in its breakup.

This is a weird idea. A financially solvent woman is not just a great help to the family she belongs to, in such a woman’s hands, the future of her children is also guaranteed.