Women in Bangladesh

All the info gathered from 1980 about Bangladesh women's health, education,
nutrition and economic power has indicated that women in Bangladesh are still
inferior to men. In custom and practice, women in Bangladesh have an inferior social
status than the social status of their male counterparts. Women's possibilities are
limited by their traditional role in the society. They have limited or no access to
markets, education, health services and government jobs.

The traditional role that women had to play in Bangladesh society forced them to have
high fertility rates. Usually, high fertility contributes to malnourishment and poor
health because too many children are challenging the well-being of a family that can
provide for a limited amount of members. Poverty rates are the highest among women
and children who are not capable of taking care of themselves because they have no
access to education, jobs and professional medical advice.

In Bangladesh, almost 80 percent of women live in rural areas, with no prospects for a
brighter future. Women in Bangladesh are responsible for most of the hard work that
is done in rural areas. They keep livestock, poultry and small gardens and they also do
all the post-harvest work. Women in cities can't advance further than a manufacturing
job. The high population rates meant less working places and more candidates.
Another discriminatory feature of the social situation in Bangladesh is the fact that
female wage rates are typically lower than male wage rates. Usually, they are between
20 and 30 percent of male wages.

Violence against women is also omnipresent in Bangladesh. In 2008 only, there were
almost 600 cases of violence against women. These victims were killed, beaten and
even killed after being raped. Many women in Bangladesh even reach the point where
they decide to commit suicide because of extreme domestic violence.