SDG5: Problems and Opportunities.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a set of seventeen aspirational “Global Goals” with 169 targets between them. Spearheaded by the United Nations, through a deliberative process involving its 193 Member States, as well as global civil society, the goals are contained in paragraph 54 United Nations Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25 September 2015.
Sustainable development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet.
For sustainable development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonize three core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These elements are interconnected and all are crucial for the well-being of individuals and societies.
I discussed here only the sustainable goals number 5,
i.e. Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (লিঙ্গ সমতা অর্জন এবং সব নারী ও মেয়ের ক্ষমতায়ন করা)
Facts and figures of goal 5:
- About two thirds of countries in the developing regions have achieved gender parity in primary education
- In Southern Asia, only 74 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in 1990. By 2012, the enrolment ratios were the same for girls as for boys.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and Western Asia, girls still face barriers to entering both primary and secondary school.
- Women in Northern Africa hold less than one in five paid jobs in the non-agricultural sector. The proportion of women in paid employment outside the agriculture sector has increased from 35 per cent in 1990 to 41 per cent in 2015
- In 46 countries, women now hold more than 30 per cent of seats in national parliament in at least one chamber.
Targets of Goal-5
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere (সর্বত্র সবধরনের এবং সর্বস্তরের মহিলা এবং বালিকাদের প্রতি বৈষম্যমূলক আচরন এবং মনভাবের বিলুপ্তি/অবসান/নির্মূলকরণ)
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation (নারী এবং বালিকা কেনা-বেচা, যৌন হয়রানি, যৌন নির্যাতন, শোষণ, হিংস্রতার মতো বিষয়সমুহ সমস্ত ধরনের ব্যক্তিগত বা প্রকাশ্য পরিসর থেকে উৎপাটন করা অত্যন্ত জরুরি)
5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation (বাল্য বিবাহ, অপ্রাপ্ত বয়স্ক বিবাহ, বলপূর্বক বিবাহ এবং স্ত্রী যৌনাঙ্গ ছেদনের মতো সহিংস্র এবং ক্ষতিকর প্রথা/রীতি/নিয়মের বিনাশ)
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate (বিভিন্ন দেশের প্রথার রকমফের অনুযায়ী সংসার ও পরিবারের সদস্যদের মধ্যে অবৈতনিক এবং গার্হস্থ্য কাজের দায়িত্ব ভাগ করে নেওয়ার মাধ্যমে এই ধরনের কাজকে স্বীকৃতি দেওয়ার পাশাপাশি কদর করার বোধ তৈরি। এই প্রেক্ষিতে প্রয়োজনানুসারে জনহিতকর পরিষেবা, পরিকাঠামো, সামাজিক সুরক্ষা নীতির প্রণয়ন এবং সার্থক প্রয়োগ)
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life (রাজনৈতিক, অর্থনৈতিক এবং জনজীবনের প্রতিটি স্তরে সিদ্ধান্ত গ্রহণের পদ্ধতিতে মহিলাদের সমান সুযোগ এবং কার্যকরী অংশগ্রহণ সুনিশ্চিত করা)
5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences (Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population এবং Development and the Beijing Platform for Action এবং সেই আলোচনার ফলাফলের সঙ্গে সাযুজ্য রেখে যৌন এবং প্রজনন সংক্রান্ত অধিকার এবং স্বাস্থ্য পরিষেবার ক্ষেত্রে বিশ্বজনীন/সার্বিক অধিগম্যতা আশ্বাসিত করা)
5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws (জাতীয় আইনের ধারা লঙ্ঘন না করে অর্থনৈতিক সম্পদের ওপর অধিকার, জমি ও অন্যান্যর ওপর মালিকানা ও নিয়ন্ত্রণ, প্রাকৃতিক সম্পদ, আর্থিক পরিষেবা এবং উত্তরাধিকার সুত্রে প্রাপ্ত সম্পত্তির ব্যবহারাধিকারের ব্যাপারে মহিলাদের অধিগম্যতা সুনিশ্চিত করার লক্ষ্যে প্রয়োজনীয় সংস্কার সাধন)
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women (নারীর ক্ষমতায়নের লক্ষ্যে প্রযুক্তি, তথ্য এবং যোগাযোগের আধুনিকতম পদ্ধতি ব্যবহারের ওপর গুরুত্ব আরোপ এবং উৎসাহবর্ধন)
5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels (লিঙ্গ সমতা, নারীর ক্ষমতায়ন নিশ্চিত করার জন্য দরকার মতো নীতি ও আইন প্রণয়ন করার পাশাপাশি সেগুলির প্রায়োগিক দিকটি শক্তিশালী করতে হবে)
Challenges of SDG 5:
Goal-5 include ending all forms of gender discrimination, eliminating violence against women and harmful practices like early, forced or child marriage; recognising the value of unpaid care and domestic work; and ensuring equal participation of women in leadership positions. Meeting these targets will be an uphill task in Bangladesh because of the social realities, citizens’ outlook and value systems in society. The ministries of women and children affairs, home affairs, labour and employment, and social welfare are relevant for realizing these targets.
Major challenges identified in achieving SDG are as follows:
- The challenge for country like Bangladesh would be how to contextualize the goals and the indicators and allocate among concerned agencies to plan and implement.
- Infrastructural development, renewable affordable energy and its security, skill development, technology adaptation, policy framework, long term strategies are meant to be essential to meet SDGs.
- Financing $45 Billion per year will be a key challenge for Bangladesh.
- The seventh five year plan endorsed the SDG goals but marked no clear indications on sourcing fund, allocation and explicit roadmap with plan of actions to implement the goals.
Gender empowerment and equality
- While MDG 3 was a standalone goal for gender, it was narrowly focused on representation and quotas. Behaviours, attitudes, and the social and structural dimensions which affect gender relations in society and create gender disparity were not captured in MDG 3. The economic and social costs of inequality between genders, and violence against women, are significant. It is estimated that gender equality can add USD $12 trillion to global growth. In Bangladesh, the World Bank estimates that the economic consequence of violence against women alone equals to 2.05percent of GDP (or USD $1.8 billion).
- Women and girls are drivers of transformative change. But gender equality is not just an economic or development imperative but foremost a moral one. The empowerment of women and girls affects the attainment of development ambitions, and any gender goal should take into account overcoming the barriers that limit women and girls’ participation in social, political, economic, and cultural life. Violence against women, child marriage, and other forms of discrimination and exclusion, limits the rights and freedoms of women and girls, which all people should be afforded regardless of gender or how one identifies.
The key challenges for Bangladesh in implementing the SDGs are: Integration in the national planning process; Financial and non-financial resources; Institutional mechanism for implementation; Data for Monitoring; and Participation and accountability.
Opportunities:
The SDG Fund response
The SDG Fund has placed gender equality and women’s empowerment at the heart of its efforts to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. By directly empowering women and by bringing a gender perspective to all development work, we can build a more equitable, sustainable future for all. All SDG Fund programmes mainstream gender into their implementation and monitoring plans.
For example,
- In Bangladesh, the labor force participation of rural women is only 36.4% compared to 83.3% of men. Creating employment and income generating opportunities for women and enhancing their access to social protection will help reduce gender disparities.
The following diagram provides a visual presentation of a framework for women’s empowerment and gender equality. The framework identified 4 areas of strategic objectives. These are:
1. Improve women’s human capabilities
2. Increase women’s economic gains
3. Enhance women’s voice and agency
4. Create an enabling environment for women’s advancement
The proposed framework draws from other frameworks and strategies that have been used by development practitioners and encompasses the key aspects of women’s empowerment and gender equality. The areas are closely interlinked, and are not mutually exclusive. Gender equality results in one area may have an impact on progress in others such as, quality education supports access to employment and decision making. Similarly achieving result in one area may require work in more than one area. Actions in all areas is required to empower women and in promoting gender equality. The key aspects of the four strategic areas are highlighted below.
Human capabilities:
Deals with women’s and girls’ access to health care, life expectancy, nutrition, reproductive health, education, information, training, and other services that enables women to achieve better health and educational outcomes. This also includes women’s freedom from violence and coercion. A comparison with men or boys through use of sex disaggregated data is necessary to plan and address women’s greatest needs for human capabilities.
Economic benefits:
Deals with women’s access to or control over productive assets, resources, services, skills, property, employment, income, information, technology, financial services, and other economic opportunities including community resources like land, water, forest etc. Consideration of barriers to women’s economic participation, facilitation of support services and a comparison with men’s access to these resources, services, and assets is essential for better planning.
Voice and agency:
Women’s role as decision makers in public and private spheres including politics and promotion of their leadership is considered here. Changed attitudes on women’s and girls’ rights, women’s enhanced knowledge of their rights and increasing their bargaining power are reflected on. The understanding and support for women’s rights among men and boys are also part of this area.
Enabling environment:
The socio-political environment, legal and policy support, and congenial social norms are the key in this area. Oversight, enforcement of laws, regular collection of sex-disaggregated data, gender and social analysis skills including the capacity to develop, implement, and monitor gender strategies, understanding of gender issues in the sector are the key areas.
Seven action areas have been identified, which will contribute in achieving results in these four areas.
1. Increase access to human development opportunities
2. Enhance access to and control over productive resources
3. Increase participation and decision making
4. Establish conducive legal and regulatory environment
5. Improve institutional capacity, accountability and oversight
6. Increase protection and resilience from crisis and shocks
7. Promote positive social norms
Conclusion
Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it is also crucial to accelerating sustainable development. It has been proven time and again, that empowering women and girls has a multiplier effect, and helps drive up economic growth and development across the board. Since 2000, UNDP, together with other UN partners and the rest of the global community, has made gender equality a central point of concentration. We have seen remarkable progress since then.
The SDGs aim to build on these achievements to ensure that there is an end to discrimination against women and girls everywhere. There are still huge inequalities in the labour market in some regions; with women systematically denied equal access to jobs. Today there are more women in public office than ever before, but encouraging women leaders will help strengthen policies and legislation for greater gender equality. Inclusion of every single person of the society is equally important. The government has set up a SDG cell. There are also different platforms for SDGs. If we all do not work for that or almost half of our population who are women do not work then the progress is impossible. For our breakthrough we should involve all and work together to achieve the SDGs, this will expedite our journey towards Middle Income Country.
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