Redesign gender budget framework: Experts

Experts during a budget dialogue said that ensuring gender development and preventing gender-based violence requires increased collaboration between ministries as well as collaborative data-based monitoring of budget expenditure.

Ahead of the national budget, the international development organisation Plan International Bangladesh and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organised the dialogue titled “National Budget Addressing Gender Based Violence” on Monday at Pragati Insurance Building in Karwan Bazar, reads a press release.

The discussants said women’s development is at the core of the overall development plan of Bangladesh. In the national budget, the gender budget is allocated to a number of ministries.

Collective data on the specific expenditure of the ministries on preventing child marriage and violence and proper monitoring will play an effective role in reducing gender-based violence through further planning.

CPD Programme Associate Nadia Nawrin made an introductory presentation at the programme on “Budget Framework Analysis on Challenging Fear of Violence”, a recent report produced by Plan International Bangladesh and CPD.

While presenting the analysis, she said that Bangladesh has made significant progress on several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This progress is also evident in SDG 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Despite Bangladesh’s remarkable economic progress, violence against women is still widespread and unstoppable, said the paper.

In addition, other factors remain including lack of adequacy, monitoring and reporting mechanism and lastly, the relevant budget does not address the fear of violence.

The analysis recommends that in order to address and eliminate the fear of violence among girls and women, the current gender budget framework has to be redesigned.

Awami League MP Aroma Dutta said the government prioritises the gender budget. “There are 36 ministries under which the gender budget is allocated.”

“But, for monitoring its proper implementation, we must ensure collective data on the expenditure. This will also support addressing the challenges of the existing laws and acts against gender-based violence,” she added.

The MP also urged a greater campaign against gender-based violence.

Girls’ Rights Director of Plan International Bangladesh, Kashfia Feroz, said the fear of violence exists everywhere—from home to public space.

A recent survey of Plan International Bangladesh found that 35 per cent of the survey participants believe sexual harassment is one main reason behind child marriage, while 25.6 per cent believe parents marry their daughters off at a young age due to fear of violence. 62 per cent of parents said that they fear sending their daughters to school picnics, while 54.1 per cent of fathers fear sending their daughters to private tutors due to the same fear.

CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun said, “Fear is an intangible thing, which makes it difficult to reflect on in the budget. Fear is increasing everywhere in the world. This impacts not only the individuals but the entire society and the state, affecting the economy.”

She also called for ensuring budget allocation to ensure the strengthened implementation of existing laws and acts preventing gender-based violence.

Among others, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad General Joint General Secretary Shima Moslem, Dhaka University Women and Gender Studies Faculty Prof Dr Tania Haque, Brac Gender, Justice and Diversity (GJD) Director Nobonita Chowdhury, and Sharmind Neelormi, associate professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University, were present as discussants.