Cost of violence against women, girls impedes economic growth in Bangladesh: UN Women

The UN Women says the cost of violence against women and girls impedes economic growth in Bangladesh, urging the government to make “stronger commitment and investments” to end what it called the world’s “worst pandemic”.

The call came on Friday during the visit of UN Assistant-Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri in Dhaka.

The UN agency said she drew greater attention to ending gender-based violence during her meetings with the stakeholders when she discussed efforts and collaborations to achieve the gender equality targets of the SDGs in Bangladesh.

This high-level visit is part of UN Women’s ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence’ under the ‘Orange the World’ umbrella that calls for robust funding to end violence against women and girls.

Puri met with State Minister for women and children affairs Meher Afroze Chumki, and Speaker of the Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and with leaders from the private sector, civil society, and heads of agencies and diplomatic missions.

During her meetings, she reiterated that the “pandemic” of violence against women and girls can and must end, but it needs stronger commitment and investments.

“Despite growing recognition that the pandemic of violence against women is a gross human rights violation and a serious obstacle to development, concrete efforts on prevention and ending violence against women and girls continue to be a low priority on the international development agenda, with inadequate funding.”

Speaking with the state minister Chumki, she highlighted, “Ending violence against women is a pre-requisite for the achievement of our shared development agenda and demands innovative solutions and the forging of new partnerships to mobilize funds from all available sources.”

Bangladesh has a high prevalence of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence and child marriage.

According to the UNFPA and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics study, more than 10 million Bangladeshi women experience physical or sexual violence every year.

Puri’s visit ends Saturday after attending the discussion at the Global Forum for Migration Development where UN Women has introduced gender-responsive employment contract for migrant domestic workers to prevent exploitations and promote safe working conditions.