Women are drivers for growth

Women's participation in the Bangladesh economy stands at 34 per cent, as opposed to 82 per cent for men. According to the recently unveiled World Bank report titled 'Women, Business and the Law', Bangladesh can add a further 1.8 per cent to its current GDP growth of 6 per cent annually. We fully endorse this finding as our experience since the '80s has shown that the readymade garments (RMG) revolution was made possible by a largely women-led workforce. Equally important is the contribution of women to agriculture. 

The report looks at the laws which affect women's economic prospects, and include, accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, building credit, going to court and protecting women from violence. Bangladesh is the home of Professor Yunus's globally acclaimed micro credit model, which has helped uplift millions of poor rural women out of abject poverty and helped transform their lives by enabling access to credit and help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) flourish. These SMEs now form a major cornerstone of our economy and a large portion of them are owned by women.

The recommendations made by the World Bank are valid ones. Laws that hinder women's development should be reviewed by the government to ensure greater participation of women in economic activities. For instance, widows do not enjoy equal inheritance rights, professional women face discrimination at work, and availing credit from established financial institutions for women is not as easy as it is for men. These and other bottlenecks need to be addressed with some urgency.