The Hindu Business Line : `Bangladeshi women were ready for micro-credit'

In Bangladesh there has been a long tradition of women's movement... It is not always that women get economic opportunities... They have to be ready for such opportunities, look out for them and say we need this.

MS Ayesha Khanum, General Secretary, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad

One of the reasons why micro-credit programmes succeeded in Bangladesh was the widespread women's movement in the country that made women aware of their rights and look out for economic opportunities, says Ms Ayesha Khanum, General Secretary, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, in a recent interview to Business Line.

Excerpts from the interview:

How do you look at gender issues and women's position in Bangladesh in the South Asian context?

A lot of positive things have happened on the gender front. There is a general mass movement of women; they are becoming more and more conscious of their rights, their dignity and status in the family and society, and also in running the state. In the family, women try to make decisions and in the last few years have taken on challenging professions too.

What about women in the rural areas?

Rural women are asking basic questions about their political empowerment and the women's movement is playing a role there. With my exposure in South Asian women's organisations, I can say that the rural women are raising pertinent issues, asking questions and demanding equal citizenship rights. It is not the very high class enlightened, educated women who are doing all this, but the masses.

Compared to Pakistan I find the gender movement has a wider base in Bangladesh...

That is the point; the educated can do all this, but ordinary women with little education or economic exposure are demanding these things.

Do you think micro-credit has played a role here?

It is not only micro-credit — though I do appreciate micro-credit. In Bangladesh there has been a long tradition of women's movement though the role, impact and result of such a movement cannot be measured; it is not visible.

Would you say because of such a wide based women's movement, micro-credit succeeded as women were ready to absorb credit?

Yes, it was reciprocal. It is not always that women get economic opportunities and then come up... They have to be ready for such opportunities, look out for them and say we need this and we can't always stay in the house. And micro-credit is good opportunity, but not the only one. Different kinds of intervention other than micro-credit are going on. And hundreds of thousands of women are joining activist organisations such as ours. Our membership is the largest around two lakh.

But in your society too patriarchical attitudes remain...

Oh yes, women do face patriarchal attitudes, and in Bangladesh some politicians use religion to divide people. But women are smart; they listen to such propaganda but make their own decisions and choices as they become more conscious of their social status, socio-economic position and the need for political empowerment. Today, women are demanding equal treatment and political representation from political parties... even within their own parties they're raising such issues and saying we should be treated fairly. This is a very strong indicator of women's awareness and the basic gender issues on the ground.

But things are not easy for them; in the present political turmoil hundreds of women in the streets are badly assaulted by our law enforcing agencies. We are ashamed at that and have launched a strong protest against such treatment.

What kind of role are women playing in the political system?

We do have women in policy-making roles in parties but the ratio is very low.

And women at the top have come in on the back of family connections...

Yes, but they've been in this position for 15 years and I'd like to differentiate between the two leaders. Sheikh Hasina did a lot of gender sensitisation when she was in power; she took a lot of important steps...

Such as...

She developed a very progressive women's development policy...

But did she implement it? Isn't violence against women a big issue?

Not fully, but partially because five years is not enough; it takes time. There have been a lot of negatives and violence against women is also a very big issue. But many organisations are seriously trying to address this issue on which several laws on marriage, divorce, dowry, etc, have been enacted but of course there are implementation problems. And the strong patriarchy comes into the picture.

Also the confrontationist type of politics has ruled here for many years... sometimes the state violence is so much, extra judicial killings, rape, and killing people without any trial goes on. Hundreds of innocent people can be killed by the special forces and serious violation of human rights have taken place, aggravating the law and order situation and violence.

Is dowry a big problem here?

Yes, and there is a law too against it...

But does it work?

When parents — both you and I — are ready to give and take dowry, who can do anything?

In India too we have the same problem. But are women burnt for dowry here as happens in India?

Not burnt but there are killings. A few weeks ago a young girl from a poor family near Dhaka was killed by her husband. He admitted he had killed her but said she had had an affair with another man. But the real reason, it was learnt, was dowry; he had demanded 7 lakh taka.

How would you assess the performance of the outgoing government?

It was very poor in every respect. There was zero security, absence of law and order, state violence, grenade attacks, killing of journalists and rising fundamentalism.

Why is fundamentalism rising in a country like Bangladesh — the Bengali is normally very secular?

We were a secular society for a long time, but fundamentalism was promoted by the politicians. The Jamaat-e-Islami, who were against our liberation, they joined with the government and unleashed a lot of violence.

Do women vote for such parties that are normally against women's empowerment?

They should not, but the politicians use religion and confuse the people. They have taken the monopoly of religion and pretend as though they are the only guardians of Islam... attacking the Hindu minority.

What is the status of minority women?

In such a situation their security becomes a concern. For the last five years, there was discrimination in promotions, employment and not only with Hindus but also with Ahmediyas. They closed their schools, burnt their publications and many women and children died. All this was done in the name of Islam, but this is not Islam. I'm sorry that the last government was silent on this.

Do you expect the elections to be fair?

We're trying our best... Political parties must have good intentions because we have limited resources. Yes, we have governance issues, yes, we have corruption, and yes, you have a strong election commission, we don't.

What do you think of the debate about Prof Muhammed Yunus of Grameen Bank entering politics?

Every citizen has a right and he is a capable and serious person. If he thinks enough has been done for micro-credit, they why not? We need more educated, qualified leaders. Has the clergy in Bangladesh interfered in women's emancipation, equal rights?

The mullahs of Bangladesh are more strategic, they talk of women being needed in the house! And purdah, which they advocated, is becoming a fashion all over the world. A few years ago things were different; I saw a picture of a demonstration in England where women said hijab is our civil right.

What is the general feeling here towards India?

We are not anti-India because people think it is a big, stable democratic country and why not have good relations with such an important neighbour. We get many commodities eggs, pulses, vegetables, beef etc from India. But some politicians instigate feelings against India, because they have their own agenda, and create confusion among people. Begum Khaleda Zia says if you want your country's sovereignty vote for us, or do you value your religion, or do you want to pray in the mosques. The message is that if you vote for the Awami League then this country will be subjugated by India. Such things are dangerous.

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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