The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The annual report on overall Human Rights situation in Bangladesh, launched yesterday by the US State Department and World Bank have surprisingly led to conflicting conclusion on vital issues.

According to the World Bank report, Bangladesh was placed above India and Pakistan in the South Asian countries for it's impressive gains in restoring women's status and gender equality. On the other hand, US State Department criticised Bangladesh for its worsening Human Rights situation, particularly due to the state of emergency and postponement of elections.

This is confusing, said human rights experts while talking to The New Nation after the WB Report launch ceremony yesterday in the capital.

"Human rights and the rights of women move parallel. It is quite impossible to move in two opposite directions, as reflected in the two reports," said the experts.

According to them when the WB reports were highly praising Bangladesh Government for their achievements in eradication of gender inequalities and women empowerment, the other report (US State Department) condemned the same authority by the name of fundamental human rights violation.

"These two reports have separated women rights from overall human rights, which is illogical," said human rights analysts.

It as also mentioned that the US State Department report portrayed a negative and gloomy picture of Bangladesh when the country was struggling hard to maintain its market share in a fiercely competitive global financial market, some WB members observed on condition of anonymity.

"This report might spoil Bangladeshi image even more, which is already starving for bad impression. Image is important for Bangladesh as Western countries determine their investment and overall business strategy considering particular country image," said the experts.

Bangladeshi RMG, textiles, manpower and other export oriented sectors would face greater hardships in coming days in reaction to this report from the Western world, analysts comments.

"Bangladesh has taken huge strides in women's progress. Now it needs to address the remaining and second-generation issues," said Xian Zhu, World Bank country director for Bangladesh.

"These include employment, extending education to all sections, strengthening the demand and supply of reproductive health services and providing for women's safety."

The report says this change has been a result of constructive policies and programmes that spurred much of the progress in gender equality.

Between 1971 and 2004, Bangladesh halved its fertility rates. In much of the country, secondary school enrolment of girls exceeded that of boys. Micro credit continued to boost women's solidarity groups and earning potential.

Vast numbers of young women were leaving their villages to work in garment factories whereas, in earlier generations, young women were rarely seen outside the home, the report went on.

It said while gender inequalities in child-health had diminished, Bangladeshi women still lacked access to reproductive health services. Almost 90 percent of Bangladeshi women gave birth at home and over 86 percent did not have a skilled birth attendant to assist.

Women's employment in South Asia was among the lowest in the world and Bangladesh was at the lower end of the South Asian spectrum. Women's role in decision-making was still small and restricted to the domestic sphere.

The report also addressed some of the issues that had dominated the popular discourse in Bangladesh. For instance, it found that there had been an increase in dowry over the last 30 years.

Australian High Commissioner Douglas Foskett, Secretary to the Ministry of Women, Children and Cultural Affairs Rokeya Sultana and Shirin Huq also spoke on the occasion.