Education and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh
Education and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh Nashid Kamal *and K.M Zunaid**
*Professor and Head, Department of Population-Environment Independent University, Bangladesh **Graduate student, Sydney
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Abstract: In Bangladesh the latest BDHS, 2004 finds that only twenty percent women work for cash. Among them only 48 percent are able to spend their money on their own, the rest are dependant upon spouses or other family members to take joint decisions on spending. Defining this variable as a measure of empowerment, this analysis investigates correlates of empowerment using logistic regression analysis. The model finds that marital status is the most significant predictor of empowerment in Bangladesh. Unmarried women are six times more likely to be empowered. Secondary education is another major determinant of empowerment, along with the woman’s mobility and decision making scores. The paper recommends strengthening women’s secondary education in Bangladesh and also taking measures to encourage late marriage for women.
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INTRODUCTION The participation of women in the labour market in Bangladesh has increased in the recent years. One of the major areas where women have found employment has been the garment sector. This industry employs around 10 million persons directly or indirectly, of which ninety percent are women workers. In the 1993-94 BDHS the percentage of women who reported cash income was only 14.4 percent. After the garment industries were set up in Bangladesh, in 1996-97 a major increase is documented in the percentage of women employed for cash (Figure 1). However, this percentage fails to increase, in fact it decreases to 19.2 percent in 1999-2000 DHS and finally the most recent BDHS (NIPORT, 2005) reports only 17.5 percent women working for cash. The rise and fall of women cash earners in Bangladesh has been simultaneous with the changes in the garment industries. After 12 percent growth in the year 2000, economists noticed a significant
*Professor and Head, Department of Population-Environment Independent University, Bangladesh **Graduate student, Sydney
1
Abstract: In Bangladesh the latest BDHS, 2004 finds that only twenty percent women work for cash. Among them only 48 percent are able to spend their money on their own, the rest are dependant upon spouses or other family members to take joint decisions on spending. Defining this variable as a measure of empowerment, this analysis investigates correlates of empowerment using logistic regression analysis. The model finds that marital status is the most significant predictor of empowerment in Bangladesh. Unmarried women are six times more likely to be empowered. Secondary education is another major determinant of empowerment, along with the woman’s mobility and decision making scores. The paper recommends strengthening women’s secondary education in Bangladesh and also taking measures to encourage late marriage for women.
2
INTRODUCTION The participation of women in the labour market in Bangladesh has increased in the recent years. One of the major areas where women have found employment has been the garment sector. This industry employs around 10 million persons directly or indirectly, of which ninety percent are women workers. In the 1993-94 BDHS the percentage of women who reported cash income was only 14.4 percent. After the garment industries were set up in Bangladesh, in 1996-97 a major increase is documented in the percentage of women employed for cash (Figure 1). However, this percentage fails to increase, in fact it decreases to 19.2 percent in 1999-2000 DHS and finally the most recent BDHS (NIPORT, 2005) reports only 17.5 percent women working for cash. The rise and fall of women cash earners in Bangladesh has been simultaneous with the changes in the garment industries. After 12 percent growth in the year 2000, economists noticed a significant