http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2008/04/02/index.htm
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Women's rights in jeopardy
Qumrunnessa Nazly
On 8 March 2008, the chief of the present interim government declared
a policy document on women development: Jatio Nari Unnayan Niti 2008.
Even before this policy, we got two more policies on women
development. The first one was adopted in 1997 and the other, in 2004.
The first women development policy was adopted through a comprehensive
participatory approach and was welcomed by all the relevant groups
including women's rights activists of the country as a progressive
policy document. In 2004, the successive government declared a new
policy document, they said, on women development, named Jatio Nari
Unnayan Niti 2004.That policy of 2004 was rejected by women's rights
activists of the country, as the document restricted the space for
women's rights and empowerment, and they continuously demanded for the
replacement of the policy of 1997.
In the situation, prima facie, the declaration of a new women
development policy which can be termed as the replacement of the
policy of 1997 with few exceptions in specific areas came as a good
sign of the intention of the government and at the very first hour of
its declaration, the progressive groups welcomed the initiative. Some
of the positive inclusions in the latest policy are: five months long
maternity leave, reservation of one third seats of the parliament for
women and direct election for those reserved seats and creating
employment opportunity of women in foreign labour markets.
Now, if we turn to the weak points of the new policy, most
importantly, regarding the question of economic empowerment of women,
the new policy has totally avoided the matter of ensuring equal share
and control in the inherited property which was incorporated in the
first policy of 1997. Another point relevantly comes with one of the
objectives of the policy that tells 'give due recognition of women's
contribution in socio economic spheres' (1.8). But unfortunately, in
the preface section of the policy (where the title is Women's
Situation in Bangladesh) neither detailed description is given about
the women's condition and position, nor has women's contribution in
different areas, including different socio-political movements, of the
country been recognized.
However, as a progress on the restricted women development policy of
2004, the right groups at the first hand appreciated the new policy.
But the shocking news was waiting for, just three days after the
declaration, the law adviser of the interim government termed the
policy as just a document for discussion on how to protect women from
repression and deception and on how to improve their conditions
socially. The aforementioned comment appears misleading as to the
legal position of the various state documents and papers, since so far
we knew and still believe that a state policy document is not just a
document for discussion rather guiding principle of the state upon
which concrete action plan comes for implementation of the programmes.
After that statement of the law adviser, a more grave signal was aired
that a committee has been formed to review the just declared policy
because the review committee has been formed with members from such
groups whose stand is against all kinds of progressive development
including women's equal status and rights.
This kind of compromising and flexible attitude to the satisfaction of
particular groups is inconsistent with the secular and democratic
principles and undoubtedly deterrent on the way to progressive
development of the country. Moreover, these examples raise obvious
questions on exact standing point of the government on the principle
of gender equality. In this regard, one vital point cannot be ignored-
this is the government of extraordinary kind, which took over the
charge to bring change to all kinds of anomalies existing in the
state.
As a final pointeven though, the policy does not contain anything on
equal rights in inherited property, the state cannot deny its
obligation to ensure equal rights of women in all spheres of life
including equal rights in matters of inheritance which Bangladesh, as
a state has undertaken by a considerable number of national and
international legal instruments. And the declaration of a policy on
women development is one step forward to the compliance of state
obligations to ensure gender equality. Now the time is not to get back
but to take measures to bring the policy into reality.
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