In Bangladesh, children are accustomed to working in industrial and manufacturing plants, small scale factories, metal works, construction, as well as in many informal sector activities. Based on a survey conducted in Sylhet city, this study found that child workers are suffering from different physical and psychological problems and that more than half of them receive their medical assistance from local health care providers who have no recognized qualifications. The study maintains that working from an early age impedes the children’s physical growth and intellectual and psychological development, which then also has negative effects on their long-term health and earning potential.
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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY: The
current issue of the Economic Update focuses on health, education and poverty.
The Update makes a reality check of the current states of the targets set out
in Vision-2021. The election manifesto of the present government pledges to
ensure 100 percent enrollment at primary level by 2010, which was 90.8 percent
in 2008 (DPE, 2009). The rate of infant mortality has decreased impressively
during the period 2000-2008. For achieving the target the government requires
to reduce the rate to an annual average of 2.04 percent. The average annual
reduction rate of maternal mortality was 0.13 percent between 1990 and 2008,
and is yet considerably lower than the required target of 0.15 percent. The
rate at which reduction in maternal mortality has taken place since 1990, the
trend does not suggest achievement of the target of 1.5 percent by 2021. The
rate of contraceptive use in Bangladesh increased from 53.9 percent in 2001to
58.3 percent in 2006 with an annual average of 0.88 percent. To achieve the
target of Vision-2021 (80 percent), the government needs to increase this rate
to an annual average of 1.45 percent. To achieve the target of Life Expectancy (70
years) as stipulated in Vision-2021, Bangladesh needs to increase annually 0.25
years. Based on the current situation, the hygienic sanitation coverage might
reach to 57.94 percent in 2013. Despite considerable thrust on poverty
alleviation in all plan documents since the independence of Bangladesh, a
significant number of population still lives below the poverty line. The
government needs to be creative in renewing and revising strategies and
approaches for implementation, responding to the current challenges by not only
resorting to old failed policies packaged in new covers.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This paper focuses on the socio-economic status of elderly women, based on 20 elderly women in the village North-Doulatpur in Phulgazi Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh. Information had been collected through in-depth interviews, and then, on the basis of interviews, seven case studies have been prepared. The major findings of this research are that poverty has an important role in the life of elderly village women and that women are more vulnerable than men in their old age, partly because of a patriarchal social structure. They expected a happy old age, which did typically not materialize. Most of the elderly women suffer from various chronic diseases like back pain, nerve disorder, insomnia, joint pain and pelvic relaxation with uterine prolepses. Despite their sufferings, most of them do not get proper care. None of the women in this study get any government allowance or other necessary services from the government. Elderly women follow various strategies for survive, though some of them could be categorized as negative coping mechanisms.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY : Abstract: Migration is a relevant phenomenon with important implications at three
different levels: local, regional and international. On the wider level, migration is
tightly related with globalization and with the workflow of human resources towards
the host countries; on a local level, rural to urban migration is one of the most
important aspects of the economy of the state. This paper analyses the situation of
Bangladesh, with a particular focus on the causes and consequences of women and
children migration, who move to big cities like Rajshahi to find work and to enhance
their livelihood. The paper looks at the role of work in acquiring dignity, the filial duty
in a traditionally hierarchically structured society and also women and children as
active-decision makers in the migration process. The paper also focuses on the
characteristics of migrant people, with sex and age disaggregated data, and
statistics about the different families’ situations and the type of work in which the
migrant people are involved in.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Migration is a relevant phenomenon with important implications at three
different levels: local, regional and international. On the wider level, migration is
tightly related with globalization and with the workflow of human resources towards
the host countries; on a local level, rural to urban migration is one of the most
important aspects of the economy of the state. This paper analyses the situation of
Bangladesh, with a particular focus on the causes and consequences of women and
children migration, who move to big cities like Rajshahi to find work and to enhance
their livelihood. The paper looks at the role of work in acquiring dignity, the filial duty
in a traditionally hierarchically structured society and also women and children as
active-decision makers in the migration process. The paper also focuses on the
characteristics of migrant people, with sex and age disaggregated data, and
statistics about the different families’ situations and the type of work in which the
migrant people are involved in.
1.1.
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Human Rights
