Barriers to employment and economic resources are deep rooted
Additionally, just over a third of Bangladesh’s labour force is female, with a tiny proportion — less than five per cent — holding a formal role. On average, women earn 21 per cent less than their male counterparts.
The humanitarian crisis triggered by COVID-19 has only complicated matters, putting vulnerable women even further behind – as was the case for Sunity Roy.
Like a majority of Bangladeshi women Roy married young. Pregnancy followed soon after the wedding, and her life took a sudden, traumatic turn. Abandoned by her husband before the baby’s arrival, she was left paralysed from the waist down during childbirth.
In the years that followed, she strived to support her daughter and elderly mother, taking on low-paid roles and borrowing from neighbours when necessary. In time, those neighbours would become her customers, buying clothes she made with a sewing machine supplied by the Association for Social Development & Distressed Welfare (ASDDW), a local women-led civil society organization.
A talented seamstress, Roy turned her focus to more profitable products — garlands and fabric flowers — which she sold at weddings and festivals. With a steady income, things were looking up for the 36-year-old; and then coronavirus hit.
“With the countrywide closure during COVID-19, my business came to a halt,” says Roy, who lives in a rural region of southwest Bangladesh. “My savings ran out, and I couldn’t purchase food and other necessary commodities.”
At this low point, ASDDW again stepped in. With emergency funding supplied by UN Women, the group was able to sustain Roy during lockdown, providing a cash grant of 3,000 Bangladeshi taka ($34). Now, as the threat of the virus wanes, she’s investing that money in her family’s future.
“I spent part of the [grant] to buy food, and with the rest I purchased some raw materials to produce my product,” she says. “My business has become a little bit bigger, my income has increased, and it’s now well enough to support my family.”
UN Women works with dozens of civil society and local women’s organizations to address these systemic issues, improving access to financial resources, training, and employment opportunities. For ASDDW, a group that’s long struggled to secure government funding, this assistance is essential.
“Being a local level civil society organization, we lack capacity to mobilize funds,” explains Lipika Bairagi, ASDDW’s CEO. “UN Women has helped with this, as well as building our communication, project execution, and development capacity.”
Why do we need a global inclusive movement on gender equality? To ensure that women and girls in conflict and crisis receive full funding and support. Join us at wpshacompact.org.
