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| Urban Livelihood of Bangladesh |
In
the new conceptualization of poverty reduction, access to livelihood resources,
capabilities building, security against vulnerability and equality of gender
have come to be viewed as one integral process of the national plans of
macroeconomic and social policies to promote growth and reduce poverty. The
adoption of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) approach and the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has led to an increased need for systematic
analysis of poverty and its linkage with gender inequality. All South Asian
countries have ratified CEDAW (Convention for Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women), the Platform for Action at Beijing (1995) and
other major human rights instruments and have National Plans of Action on
women’s development and gender equality. Poverty is a human condition
characterized by low income, lack of voice, sustained deprivation of capabilities,
choices and power that are necessary for the enjoyment of fundamental human
rights.
It must be measured against the full range of rights, standards of
social equality and non-discrimination as well as obligation of the state and
other development actors, including civil society organizations, community management
bodies and corporations. Women’s movements, feminist researchers and numerous
civil society organizations in the region have expressed deep dissatisfaction over
the current poverty assessments for failing to incorporate women’s concerns or overlooking
gender relations of inequality. Furthermore, community perceptions are given
great weight in participatory assessments, but these reflect social norms and values
that tend to overlook gender inequalities in resources, voice and women’s vulnerability
to violence and economic risks. Measures like GDI (GenderDevelopment Index) and
GEM (Gender Related Empowerment Measures) adopted to indicate the level of
women’s development has not been able to capture the position gained by women
in accessing livelihoods. As a result, such indices have failed to grasp real
achievements and also the barriers against rural women. Poverty diagnostic data
are rarely gender segregated and likewise is the case of data on the informal
economy and macro economic policies. The systems of national accounts in South
Asia are seriously affected by statistical invisibility of women.There is poor
conceptualization of women’s economic roles and inadequate attentionto home production,
household work and unpaid family labour.
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