Gender gap reduction brings hearty news

The parameters for measuring women's progress include education, medicare facilities and opportunities for career advancement. These are areas where the rights of women have to be established to integrate them into the development process. Women in Bangladesh are playing an important role in a wide range of economic activities. They have also made steady progress in articulating their demands and influencing decision making through various organisations. Women in villages have succeeded in improving their economic condition through micro-credit programmes, though in general village women are lagging behind their urban counterparts.

Urban women, are competing vigorously for their share of jobs in both the public and private sectors. They are performing well as entrepreneurs and have now a very powerful presence in the electronic media, NGOs, teaching and the legal professions. Moreover, poor urban women are contributing tremendously to the garments sector.

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Political empowerment, however, is an area where women have not achieved much. They have not yet been given their due role and functions in local bodies. The seats reserved for women in parliament point to the fact that their involvement in law making is ensured through some special measure, which is not a sign of equality.

Then there is the perennial problem of repression. A large chunk of women are exposed to dowry-related crimes and their social security is still far from adequate. Elimination of gender discrimination will remain an elusive goal if repression on women is not stopped.

The report of the World Economic Forum is a sort of recognition of the good work done by both the government and private organisations to establish the rights of women. It should encourage us to remove all other forms of discrimination against women that still exist in society.