Written evidence submitted by One World Action

 

1. One World Action has been working in Bangladesh since 1989 and currently works with Nagorik Uddyog, Partnership for Women in Action, Bangladesh Dalit Human Rights and Gonoshasthaya Kendra. These programmes support excluded communities in Bangladesh, and advocacy on gender justice and democratic reform. The following comments and recommendations are based on consultation with these partners and on input provided by the International Dalit Solidarity Network.

 

2. DIFD's Bangladesh programme provides critical support to the country and has the appropriate size and scope given:

- Bangladesh's extreme poverty and inequality.

- The vital need for continued and targeted pro-poor programmes if the country is to continue to make progress on the MDGs, particularly on maternal mortality.

- DFID's focus on urban poverty, gender equality, adapting to climate change and aid effectiveness.

 

Re: DFID's strategy for reducing poverty and inequality, including gender inequality

 

3. Women's Rights

DFID's Country Strategy should explicitly state how gender inequalities and discrimination will be addressed within each objective and how it will relate to DFID's Gender Equality Action Plan. Many donors are lagging behind in promoting gender equality, and women's leadership is also low amongst civil society organisations in Bangladesh. DFID should always try to ensure a good gender representation in any group they engage with and keep pushing for gender disaggregated data, within their own programmes, as well as the multilaterals and NGOs with which they work.

As well as developing a new generation of women leaders it is essential that DFID recognise that violence and religious laws are major barriers in preventing women's political participation. Development will not be effective if women are excluded from decision-making processes and that is why One World Action's More Women More Power campaign is recommending that properly resourced strategies to increase the numbers of women in power (electoral reform, gender quotas, democratising political parties) become a key component of DFID's wider work on governance and aid effectiveness.

 

DFID should focus on issues of reproduction; focussing on women's livelihoods, incomes and employment and an analysis of gender implications of budget priorities and public spending. It is also essential to integrate the non-economic dimension of poverty - vulnerability, powerlessness, voicelessness and male-dominated governance systems - within economic dimensions.

Zakir Hossain, Director Nagorik Uddyog

 

4. Social Exclusion

As DFID has recognised, social exclusion keeps people poor and is a major cause of why women and men in Bangladesh fall back into poverty. Women, men and children experience social exclusion when they are discriminated against, based on their gender, age, caste, religion, sexual orientation, disability, HIV status, migrant status, where they live etc. In Bangladesh these forms of discrimination exist within public institutions, legal systems and in access to public services, and keep people in poverty and excluded from decision-making processes that affect their lives.

 

There are specific areas in Bangladesh that are lagging far behind national averages in terms of poverty and inequality and which DFID should focus on - these include urban slums, hill tracts, coastal belts and other ecologically vulnerable areas.

 

5. Caste Discrimination

More than 250 million people worldwide experience discrimination based on their caste. Caste systems divide people into social groups where assigned rights and occupations are potentially determined by birth. Caste based discrimination is usually associated with India but there are an estimated 3.5-5.5 million Dalits in Bangladesh (or about 2.5 to 4% of the population).

 

The majority of Dalits in Bangladesh are landless and live in chronic poverty in rural areas or urban slums. They are deprived of, or actively excluded from schools, hospitals, adequate housing, water and sanitation, employment and participation in public and political life. Dalits even encounter discrimination when trying to bury family members in public graveyards. Approximately 96% of Dalits in Bangladesh are illiterate. Dalit communities experience daily insecurity and violence from the public, police and officials, with usually no recourse to justice. Dalit women face the heaviest burden of both gender and caste-based discrimination and violence from both men in wider society, and from men within their own communities.

 

DFID's country strategy should make direct reference to supporting Dalits and the organisations which represent them. Measures to mainstream Dalit concerns must be an integral part of all health, housing, gender and education programmes (caste disaggregated data is essential to monitor this). This is particularly crucial within DFID's urban poverty programmes as many Dalits live in segregated colonies in cities. Vulnerability of Dalits should be properly identified and greater research is needed. Assessments should also take place to ensure caste discrimination is not occurring within existing DFID funded projects and programmes.

 

DFID and other multilateral and bilateral agencies should raise this issue in dialogues with relevant ministries both as a cross cutting issue and as a human rights matter, that needs to be dealt with. A process towards legal reform to protect and promote the rights of Dalits would be a crucial step forward. Also the donor community could influence the PRSP process and co-ordinate among themselves to bring caste affected groups into planning and implementation. We recommend that in policy planning and programming, the draft UN principles and guidelines for the Effective Elimination of Discrimination Based on Work and Descent be used as a guide and discussion point for governments and other development actors http://idsn.org/international-advocacy/un/un-principles-guidelines/ 

Rikke Nöhrlind, International Dalit Solidarity Network

 

6. Policy Coherence

Despite billions in aid and countless anti-poverty initiatives, 84% of Bangladesh's 137 million people still live on less than $2 a day. In particular, marginal farmers and agricultural labourers are facing crisis as they become more exposed to international markets, climatic changes and are forced to sell their land and migrate to cities to seek work. We would encourage DFID to, wherever possible, use its influence with other UK Ministries and with international partners, to ensure policy coherence so that trade, investment and energy policies, or the investments of UK companies (particularly in relation to mining, agriculture, fisheries and energy) do not further exacerbate poverty, inequality and/or lead to people being displaced from their land.

 

7. Informal Sector

Bangladesh's economically active population is around 60 million,[1] but unemployment and, more significantly underemployment, remain a huge problem as the economy is unable to absorb new entrants to the labour force. 90% of Bangladesh's labour force work in the informal sector[2] and the contribution of the informal sector to Bangladesh's Gross Domestic Product is around 40%.

 

There is a lack of reliable data, but current estimates put the number of women working in the informal sector in Bangladesh at around 10 million. These women work in unregulated jobs such as farming, vending, shrimp cultivation, rag picking, brick breaking, sex work, tailoring or domestic services. The majority of these women are poor, excluded and vulnerable. They share a common experience of low pay, long working hours, dangerous and unprotected working conditions, inadequate shelter and health care, and the constant threat of eviction from homes and workplaces. Their lack of political power, organisation and engagement in local and national political processes further increases their invisibility and isolation.

The Constitution of Bangladesh recognises the basic rights of workers however existing labour laws[3] are outdated, are not enforced, and do not recognise informal work. Despite the number of informal women workers and the massive contribution they make to the economy, their role and needs have been ignored or excluded from public policy debates.

 

DFID's strategy should mention informal workers and include programmes that support organisations working with informal sector workers (to organise and improve their skills so they are able to compete more effectively). They should also use their influence and technical expertise to help develop national legal frameworks that will support informal workers. For example a Social Security Act for Informal Workers (similar to the Act passed in India in May 2008).

 

Re: DFID's support for more effective governance and institution building in Bangladesh

 

8. Engaging with Civil Society

The consultation and inclusion of people and communities in local and national decisions that affect their lives is central to decreasing poverty. DFID must seek to broaden the range of constituents with whom it consults, in the design, delivery and evaluation of its programmes, and encourage its partners to do the same. This is a key strategy to change the nature of political dialogue and political processes in Bangladesh, while still remaining politically neutral. It is currently difficult, if not impossible for the majority of Bangladeshi NGOs to engage with DFID.

- It is difficult to see how DFID will strengthen community-led initiatives and civil society in practice, as more funding is channelled through multilaterals. This is of particular concern in DFID's aspirations to provide information, support and platforms to demand change.

- DFID should look beyond larger NGOs and connect with wider civil society in a more tangible manner - e.g. women's organisations, community organisations of excluded groups and other non-state actors such as journalists. Clear and transparent mechanisms are needed for engagement to be possible. Issues such as when and where consultations are held, how far in advance they are planned, remuneration for time and travel, issues of language, who is invited, is consultation pitched at an appropriate level so that organisations can productively engage, are all aspects that need to be considered to ensure that groups are not unintentionally excluded. One World Action could help facilitate these wider connections.

 

9. Governance

Poor governance, corruption, weak democracy and violation of human rights all contribute to, and exacerbate, poverty and inequality in Bangladesh. Good governance includes impartial rule of law and transparent, participatory and democratic decision making, even for the most excluded. One World Action is supporting Nagorik Uddyog to implement a national campaign to publicise and implement the recent Right to Information Ordinance which is an important first step in increasing accountability and transparency, and decreasing corruption.

 

DFID should work with civil society to develop and promote practical ways to improve the capability, accountability and responsiveness of local and national government, develop decentralisation policies, develop political will for participatory divisional plans and promote education to enable citizens to become active and able participants in improving governance. In this context DFID could provide more support to political decentralisation, to political party reform and the Election Commission.

 

At the heart of urban poverty are issues of social and economic exclusion. Key in responding to these is the strengthening of inclusive democratic governance both in municipal political structures and in service delivery. DFID should target more support to interventions specifically aimed at strengthening good urban governance and include clear benchmarks and indicators for how good governance will be mainstreamed and evaluated. DFID can draw on best practice and expertise of successful mechanisms from other countries in this area. Unless those who have been traditionally excluded from urban decision-making processes are included, decisions will continue to discriminate against them and ignore their needs.

 

10. Additional Information

 

- Dalits of Bangladesh - Factsheet from International Dalit Solidarity Network

http://idsn.org/fileadmin/user_folder/pdf/Old_files/asia/pdf/FACTSHEET_BANGLADESH.pdf

- Paving the Way to Justice - The report outlines a groundbreaking model of resolving disputes and justice delivery at the local level in Bangladesh.

http://www.oneworldaction.org/Resources/One%20World%20Action/Documents/Democratic%20Governance/pavingtheway.pdf

- Getting it Right - Struggles, Stories and Strategies from Dhaka's Informal Women Workers, Partnership of Women in Action and One World Action

http://www.oneworldaction.org/Resources/One%20World%20Action/Documents/PDF/AB%20Bangladesh.pdf

 

 

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[1] According to the latest Labour Force Survey in 2000 done by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (the total estimated civilian labour force of the country is 60.3 million of which 37.81% female.

[2] International Labour Organisation (ILO) Bangladesh Overview - http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/arm/bgd.htm

[3] Such as Industrial Relation Ordinance 1969, Workers Compensation Act 1923, Payment and Wages Act 1936, Maternity Act 1939, Factory Act 1965 and Employment of Labour 1965.