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Female life expectancy increased to 68.9 years in Bangladesh; Global Develo

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Female life expectancy increased to 68.9 years in Bangladesh; Global Development Report 2012

UNBconnect... - Female life expectancy increased to 68.9 years in Bangladesh; Global Development Report 2012

Reported on: October 15, 2011 20:18 PM

News - Female life expectancy increased to 68.9 years in Bangladesh; Global Development Report 2012
Dhaka, Oct 15 (UNB) - Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Saturday said that the emphasis put by the government in tackling gender issues is one of the major causes behind the country’s success in women empowerment.

“In gender parity, what we’ve achived .....something we should be proud of,” he said while addressing the launching ceremony of the ‘Global Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development’ held at a city hotel.

Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni and State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury spoke on the occasion. Sudhir Shetty, the lead author of the report, made an overview on the findings.

The report showed that female life expectancy in Bangladesh has increased to 68.9 years in 2009 from 46.7 years in 1960. It also showed that on primary school enrollment rate, girls possess 89.9 percent while boys 82.9 percent.

The report said that in the last 30 years, 552 million women joined the labor force where the rate in Bangladesh increased to 58.7 percent in 2009 from 56.5 percent in 1980.

Besides, the number of women in parliaments remains low in the region which is 18.6 percent in 2011 in Bangladesh.

The report reveals that gender equality matters in its own right but is also smart economics.

Worldwide, a lack of gender equality results in nearly 4 million “missing” women per year due to a preference for sons at birth, lack of clean water and sanitation in early childhood and lack of quality maternal care and the incidence of HIV/AIDS in reproductive years. This is an area where Bangladesh has done better than many of its South Asian neighbors.

According to the report, in Bangladesh, women have made rapid progress in improving girls’ education, lowering fertility levels and in increasing labor force participation. Bangladesh has achieved gender parity in school enrollment.

Since independence, the average number of children a woman will have during her lifetime fell from almost 7 to just over 2. Unlike India and Pakistan where female mortality abnormally exceeds that of males, sex ratios in Bangladesh are beginning to correct themselves as the survival chances of infant girls exceeds that of boys.

Women’s formal labor force participation in Bangladesh has grown considerably over the last decade. Bangladeshi women represent eighty percent of the workforce of the country’s thriving garment industry. The share of women employed in agriculture is now 35 percent.

Despite many progress in narrowing gender gaps, disparities remain in many areas. There still is significant disparity in men’s and women’s wage rates in Bangladesh despite the law.

Speaking on the occasion as chief guest, Muhith said that the role of the NGOs should also be acknowledged for women empowerment in the country. He said that the current government is fully committed to women empowerment.

“Concern for women and the government’s efforts for women empowerment is also incorporated in the Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP),” he added.

Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni said that in gender equality, Bangladesh performed reasonably well. “Gender dimensions should be systematically addressed in all sectors,” she added.

In her welcome address, World Bank country director said, “The most striking change that I have witnessed in Bangladesh in the past two decades has been a remarkable social transformation fueled to a great extent by female empowerment,”

The report said that the progress in the past few decades in Bangladesh is also evident in terms of reducing female barriers to education and health services and in expanding economic opportunities and mobility for women.

Women from different walks of life including union parishad councils, community-based organizations and student groups reflected on what it means to them to “Think Equal” in Bangladesh.
 
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I surely hope that we will cross the threshold of 70 years very soon.

great achievement...
 
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Yes, that's right. We are one of the most backward countries in the world despite having no civil wars, but our government will just go out and point out these useless bits of information to keep the masses happy. And nothing makes the hypocritical wannabe-Western Bangladeshis happier than a few token "women empwerment" or "microcredit" moves. Despite the fact that we're as poor as ever. And these wannabe-Westerners will sing and dance about it.
 
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