As the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women today, Bangladesh is taking stock of women’s rights at a pivotal moment, just weeks after the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the global blueprint for gender equality.
Three decades after governments committed to ending discrimination and violence against women, Bangladesh’s own Beijing+30 national review reveals a landscape of meaningful progress overshadowed by persistent gaps, many of which remain painfully visible in the country’s ongoing struggle to protect women and girls from violence.
Adopted in 1995, the Beijing Declaration set out ambitious goals to transform societies and guarantee women’s dignity, freedom, and equal opportunity.
Yet, as global attention turns today to violence against women, one of the deepest and most widespread human rights violations, Bangladesh’s review shows that despite policy reforms and institutional gains, the core promise of the Beijing agenda remains far from fulfilled.
Prepared by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWCA), the 2024 national progress report highlights advances in legislation, education, maternal health and social protection, alongside expanded gender-responsive budgeting.
But it also documents entrenched structural inequalities, weak legal enforcement, limited political and economic participation, and rising digital violence – revealing the gap between commitments made in Beijing and the lived realities of women across the country.
Progress, but not transformation
Bangladesh’s efforts to reduce women’s poverty have yielded measurable results.
Stipends for girls’ education, targeted social safety nets, interest-free loans and livelihood programs have offered crucial support to low-income women.
But vulnerabilities remain acute in climate-exposed rural districts, where women face limited asset ownership, insecure informal work and recurring shocks that trap families in cycles of poverty.
Education remains one of Bangladesh’s strongest success stories, with high enrolment rates for girls at primary and secondary levels.
However, dropout rates among adolescents continue due to child marriage, social norms, safety concerns and caregiving responsibilities.
Women also remain underrepresented in technical and vocational education (TVET) and STEM fields, narrowing pathways to better-paid jobs.
Maternal health indicators have improved through community clinics and wider access to contraception.
But disparities persist in adolescent reproductive health, mental health care and nutrition, particularly across poorer districts.
Gender-sensitive healthcare remains inconsistent at the local level.
Most urgent challenge
Violence against women remains the most troubling gap in the country’s gender landscape.
Despite legal reforms, One-Stop Crisis Centres, helpline 109, and digital safety tools, domestic, sexual and cyber violence remain widespread and grossly underreported.
Cultural stigma, pressure to settle cases informally, distrust in law enforcement and delayed justice continue to deny survivors safety and accountability.
Bangladesh has played an active role in peacekeeping and humanitarian response, yet women remain largely absent from peacebuilding processes, disaster committees and security agencies.
Rohingya refugee women face severe restrictions, heightened exploitation risks and limited protection across camps.
Economic empowerment
Women’s labor force participation has grown but still falls far behind men’s.
Female workers remain concentrated in low-paid informal jobs, face persistent wage gaps and struggle with limited access to credit.
The overwhelming burden of unpaid care continues to restrict economic advancement.
Workplace harassment, despite legal frameworks, remains a major deterrent for women, especially in the private sector.
The government acknowledges that meaningful gains in economic participation will require structural reforms ensuring safe workplaces, fair wages and access to financial systems.
Bangladesh often cites its legacy of women in top political offices, including prime ministers and parliamentary leaders.
But representation remains limited elsewhere, particularly in local government, public administration, law enforcement and the judiciary.
Even when quotas exist, women’s authority is frequently undermined by entrenched patriarchal structures.
Institutional mechanisms
Gender-responsive budgeting now spans 44 ministries, and MOWCA has strengthened its policy role.
However, institutional bodies still face chronic underfunding, shortages of trained gender specialists and weak implementation, especially outside major cities.
Legal reforms targeting violence, trafficking, marriage registration and workplace safety are in place.
But the justice system remains slow, with cases delayed for years and survivors pressured to withdraw complaints.
Women with disabilities, minority women and widows remain among the most vulnerable.
More women are entering journalism and media studies, yet face increasing online harassment, misogynistic attacks and gendered misinformation.
Harmful stereotypes persist in mainstream reporting, and women experts remain underrepresented in news coverage, limiting public discourse and diversity of voices.
Gender and climate
Climate change is among the gravest gendered threats facing Bangladesh.
Women bear disproportionate burdens during floods, cyclones and displacement, yet have minimal representation in climate governance structures.
Their community-level resilience work remains undervalued and unsupported.
Child marriage continues at troubling levels despite reductions.
Poverty, longstanding norms and safety fears push families to marry off daughters early, undermining their education and exposing them to health hazards.
Limited digital access, mobility restrictions and online exploitation threaten adolescent girls’ safety and autonomy.
Achievements and unfinished work
Bangladesh’s Beijing+30 report celebrates measurable progress: increased life expectancy, expanded girls’ education, improved maternal health, strengthened gender budgeting and a widening digital footprint.
But it also warns that the core promise of gender equality remains unrealized.
Patriarchal norms, uneven law enforcement, restricted political participation and pervasive violence continue to hold women back.
The path ahead requires not just policy reforms, but deep social transformation, strengthened institutions and sustained political commitment.
In his message for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that violence against women is evolving rapidly in the digital age.
Online hate speech, harassment, deepfakes and targeted misogyny are rising at unprecedented speed, with online abuse frequently spilling into real-world harm, including stalking, physical attacks and femicide.
Guterres urged governments to criminalize digital violence, expand survivor support systems and hold technology companies accountable for safer platforms.
Communities, he said, must show “zero tolerance for online hate.”
Marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, he called for renewed global solidarity so that “every woman and every girl can thrive free of fear.”
Bangladesh’s own review echoes his warning: tackling digital violence, strengthening institutional accountability and reshaping social attitudes are essential if the country is to truly honor its commitments to women and girls in the decades ahead.
