Structural Transformation in Bangladesh: An Alarming State of Inequality

Transcription

1 Structural Transformation in Bangladesh: An Alarming State of Inequality Md. Mashiur Rahman 1 Bangladesh, a developing country from South Asian, is moving forward with its economic growth, political changes with democratic experiment, socio-cultural development and infrastructural changes, which indicate a structural transformation. The country has achieved its independence in 1971 through a long struggle. There was a severe thirst among the Bengalis to bring a structural change in their society. After 1990s Bangladesh has started to reform its political institutions and looked forward to bring socio-economic changes from an agricultural mode of production towards capitalism. The overall economy of the country is moving forward because of garments industries and remittance flow. The peasant economy of the country has significantly improved due to governmental and non-governmental initiatives. However, a state of inequalities exist in Bangladesh society which creating sense of marginalization, exclusion and poverty. Introduction: Bangladesh is moving forward with economic mobility and changes in societal features along with its remittance, garment products, agricultural development with use of technology and pesticide. Rural agriculture and economy are growing faster with its diverse fields. However, these changes did not alter the whole economy; rather a section of total populations is getting more benefits. On the other hand large numbers of populations are still suffering with diverse social problem and deprivation. Income inequality, social discrimination and stratified social system have created a situation where the large numbers of population are deprived of the facilities and major social services. Objective of the paper: The aim of this paper is to analyze the background and the process of structural transformation and to explore the state of inequalities which is considered by the scholars as an alarming situation for the country. A qualitative approach will be followed for the paper concentrating on observation, interviews, and in-depth dialogues with key informants. 1 Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka 1

2 Conceptual Framework: Structural transformation of a society indicates a upward mobility that brings change or alteration in the economy, mode of subsistence, culture, norms, values, changes in the work place and in its overall environment, even changes in the family patterns, activity, use of different tools and technological devices and even the birth control devices as well. That is, the structural changes indeed alter the society as a whole. Historically, such changes happened in the human history throughout the evolution of the society. There are many thinkers and philosophers who worked on such changes and alteration. Karl Marx 2, Gerhard Lenski and Jean Lenski 3 are some prominent evolutionary thinkers who have formulated different phases society s evolution where each of the strata have some common features that mainly focused on their vital mode of subsistence or mode of production. According to the evolutionary thinkers, the mode of subsistence or mode of production changes gradually based on its internal production forces, relation of production and on the use of technology. For this paper, structural transformation is an eventual outcome of economic and socio-political changes within a given society. Though, for Szirmai 4 (2005), structural transformation is a process in which factors of production are transferred from the sector with the lowest productivity, agriculture, to the industrial sector where productivity is much higher and the pace of technological change and productivity growth is more rapid. Szirmai also argued that, Structural transformation involves more than changes in the sector alone. It also refers to increase in savings and investment rates, rapid urbanization, demographic transitions with declining death rates followed by later decline in birth rates, epidemiological transitions, changes in income inequality and changing social institutions, attitudes and beliefs which modern economic growth would be impossible. 5 Moreover, in 2007 Timmer pointed out the features of structural transformation as it involves four main features: a falling share of agriculture in economic output and employment, a rising share of urban economic activity in industry and modern services, migration 2 Edles, Laura Desfor, and Appelrouth, Scott (2005:18-31), Sociological Theory in the Classical Era, Pine Forge press, Sage Publication, Lenski, Gerhard and Lenski, Jean, Human Societies: An Introduction to Macrosociology, MacGraw-Hill, Inc Szirmai, A. The Dynamics of Socio-Economic Development: An Introduction. Cambridge Ibid,

3 of rural workers to urban settings, and a demographic transition in birth and death rates that always leads to a spurt in population growth before a new equilibrium is reached. 6 Bangladesh: An overview The geographical location of current Bangladesh once was depicted as an unchanging village economy at the pre-british era and also was renowned as a location of self- sufficient economy with its oriental features which is similar to Asiatic mode production pointed by Karl Marx. However, the gradual changes in economy and society has occurred and after independence Bangladesh gained alteration in infrastructure as well in other basic sectors. Bangladesh as a developing country, which is located in the Southern part of the Indian Subcontinent, is now trying to upgrade herself at the level of middle income country. In 1947 the Indian Sub-continent was divided into two parts namely India and Pakistan. Again, East Pakistan and West Pakistan were the two parts of Pakistan and the present Bangladesh was the part of the then East Pakistan. Through a long struggle Bangladesh achieved independence from its counterpart in 1971, which is known as the Liberation war of Bangladesh. After achieving independence from Pakistan, Bangladesh has experienced various phases of military rule. Several governmental systems have been experimented in this small country such as executive government to military rule to parliamentary system. Thus in 1991 Bangladesh restored democracy as its governmental system. In Bangladesh the democratic government system runs by the elected Member of Parliament (MPs) or legislative body and the prime minister becomes the chief of the administration or government. This is why national parliament is treated as elected legislature of Bangladesh. Based on the background, this paper aims to analyze the overall political system upon which economic changes appeared and social problems emerged. In other words, this pattern of transition in three areas- such as political, economic and social- may further conceptualized as the structural transformation. Firstly, the paper argues that the changes that brought out in political system have an elongated history, which changes from executive to core military rule to democratic transition. Secondly, this upliftment in political system leads some economic success, where we find: only 24 percent poverty rate, above USD1100 per capita income, more than USD3000 PPP, more than 30 percent contribution to GDP by the industrial sector, massive 6 Timmer,P.2007.TheStructural Transformation and the Changing Role of Agriculture in EconomicDevelopment,Wendt Lecture, American Enterprise Institute 3

4 remittance flow, enormous private enterprise, adequate amount of foreign currency reserve, etc. Thirdly, this economic gain is eventually creating some social pathology such as inequality, poverty, exclusion and marginality. Finally, it can be argued that the present state of inequality in Bangladesh is the repercussion of unhealthy political and economic competition among the top elite section of people. The Report of Asian Development Bank (ADB) notes that, Bangladesh has made impressive socioeconomic gains with a steady rise in its gross domestic product, a decrease in overall rates of poverty, boost in social development, and steady movement toward achievement of the Millennium Development Goals 7 The Sixth Five year plan of Bangladesh states that, Over the past 40 years since independence, Bangladesh has increased its real per capita income by more than 130 percent, cut poverty rate by sixty percent, and is well set to achieve most of the millennium development goals Some of the underlying specific achievements include, reducing total fertility rate from 7.0 to 2.7; increasing life expectancy from 46.2 years to 66.6; increasing the rate of economic growth from an average rate of 4% in the 1970s to 6% in the 2000s; increasing the savings and investment rates from below 10% to each in the 1970s to 24 percent (investment rate) and 30 percent (saving rate) in FY10; achieving gender parity in primary and secondary education ; and more than tripling of the production of rice (from 10 million tonnes in FY73 to 32 million tonnes in FY10) thereby achieving near self-sufficiency in normal production years. 8 Bangladesh achieved some significant progress within copious internal and external constraints. In spite of some mentionable progress, especially since two decades the Government recognizes that Bangladesh is still a low income country with substantial poverty, inequality and deprivation. According to FY6, An estimated 47 million people are living below the poverty line with a significant proportion living in households which are female headed, in remote areas, and consisting of socially excluded and other vulnerable people. Most of the labour force is engaged in informal low productivity and low income jobs retrieved on 12th March Sixth Five Year Plan( FY 2011-FY2015), Accelerating Growth and Reducing Poverty, Part 1, Strategic Direction and Policy Framework, General Economic Division, Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Government of the Republic of Bangladesh. ( Page:1) 9 Ibid, Page:1 4

5 Self-dependency is absent in the economy of Bangladesh. Overpopulation, lack of domestic capital, scarcity of natural resources, poor industrialization and unplanned urbanization are the reasons for which we failed to reinforce our economy. From Agrarian economy towards capitalist mode Nazmul Karim 10 (1996:27), a prominent sociologist of Bangladesh stated that, the major change in the social structure of the South Asian sub-continent (i.e.. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) began with the British capitalist enterprise. He refers that the subcontinent contained a feature of feudal social system and land was the principal form of wealth. He also pointed out that the British rule in India introduced an element of social mobility while the Indian society once was a highly rigid society in its nature. Indeed, the British capitalist enterprise because of its own interest introduced sort of trade, credit and money economy as well as infrastructural development that ensured their profits, and enhanced market mobility. Thus, the traditional social system was bound to cheers with the new epoch social changes that contained obviously a significant dimension of structural alteration. The vital transformation of the Indian subcontinent including current Bangladesh was a drive from agricultural civilization towards trade, market, commerce economy which gradually forms a capitalist mode of subsistence. Technology, which is marked as the key factor of social change according to Lenski, played a vital role to break through the pre-british Indian mode of subsistence. The British has introduced such new technology as they were advanced at that period than the Indian technology. However, the Muslim period also contributed to alter the Indian society, but was not technological expansion in Indian subcontinent as the Muslim were arrived there from a pastoral stage of civilization. However, the Muslims were introduced techniques of large scale use of money mainly in a self-sufficient village community feature of the pre-british Indian society ( Nazmul Karim, 1996:29) 11. The above mentioned regime and their activities have played to change the Bangladesh economy, society and culture that have gained a formal shape in the upcoming period which would be analyzed in the latter discussion. 10 Karim, A.K. Nazmul, Changing Society in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Nawroze Kitabistan, 5, BanglaBaazar, Dhaka-1100, Bagladesh Ibid,Karim

6 Political Transformation through the Democratic Experimentation/ From military dominance towards democratic experiment Azad and Crothers 12 in their article Bangladesh: An Umpired Democracy (2012: pp ) argued that since the birth of Bangladesh as an independent nation it has been experiencing an incessant political conflict between two prominent political parties. Different views regarding secularism, liberation and nationalism are predominantly responsible for this political confrontation. This confrontation has divided the country into two sections such as Bangladesh Awami League and opposite forces of Bangladesh Awami League (such as BNP, JAPA, Jamate-Islami, etc). Due to the unremitting distrust in the midst of these two conflicting forces a new interim governmental system named Caretaker Government begun in Bangladesh in This unique system was a medium for transferring governmental power in a democratic way from 1991 election to But this system was abolished by the fifteenth amendment of the constitution. Though Bangladesh is a democratic country it has failed to fulfill the basic principles of democracy. Azad and Crothers (2012) termed this type of democracy as an Umpired Democracy 13. The literature on Bangladesh politics predominantly focuses on political volatility and secondarily on democratic transition. Maniruzzaman 14 (1992) argued that at the end of 1990 the autocratic government of General (Rtd.) Hussein Mohammad Ershad fell because he could not maintain proper association with the army, scholars, students and prominent political parties. Accordingly, Kochanek 15 (2000) identified some reasons behind the fall of Ershad s autocratic government such as student movement, unavailability of military support, mass upsurge, political movement and the constant threat of the foreign donors regarding corruption. Moreover, civil society played a significant role for reforming the country s political institutions by uniting the politicians during the crucial periods of 1987, 1990 and 1996 (Wilkinson, 2000) 16. In this vein, 12 Azad,Abul Kalam and Crothers, Charles; 2012 Bangladesh: An Umpired Democracy. Journal of Social and Development Sciences Vol. 3, No. 6, pp , June 2012 (ISSN ). 13 Ibid, Azad, Maniruzzaman, T The fall of the Military Dictator: 1991 Elections and the Prospect of Civilian Rule in Bangladesh. Pacific Affairs, 65(2), Kochanek,S. A Governance, patronage politics, and democratic transition in Bangladesh. Asian Survey, 40, Wilkinson, S. I Democratic Consolidation and Failure: Lessons from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Democratization, 7(3),

7 Lee (2002) 17 argues that political protest is a prime reason of transforming government system in Bangladesh from military rule to democracy. Though, political instability is a main phenomenon in this country that impedes democratic system and good governance, which is the root cause of political confrontation among the political parties in recent Bangladesh (Kochanek, 2000) 18. By investigating this political unpredictability Hossain (2000) 19 shows that two leading political forces namely Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are mainly responsible for creating confrontational politics in Bangladesh. They represent a political culture in which both of them want to capture state power (Hossain, 2000) 20. Moreover, Ahmed (2003) 21 shows that the unique system of Caretaker Government, international donors, international election observers played prime roles for democratization in Bangladesh. But because of the dominant nature of the BAL and BNP chief, democracy in Bangladesh failed to reach to the level of excellence. In their study Azad and Crothers (2012) 22 also explained that democracy in Bangladesh as a by-product of the longstanding political confrontation between these two leading political parties. They found that economic development has a low effect on the democratization in Bangladesh. Political changes in Bangladesh during different periods can be explained by drawing discussion in the subsequent steps. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the Nation, was repatriated in the newly born independent Bangladesh on 10 th January The constitution of Bangladesh was enacted in 16 th December, 1972 involving four key principles namely nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism. On 7 th March 1973, the first parliamentary election was held in Bangladesh following the basic principles of constitution and Awami League won that election. Mujib s government gave importance on the rehabilitation, assistance, aid and restoration of the 17 Lee, J Primary Causes of Asian Democratization: Dispelling Conventional Myths. Asian Survey, 42(6), Kochanek,S. A Governance, patronage politics, and democratic transition in Bangladesh. Asian Survey, 40, Hossain, A Anatomy of Hartal Politics in Bangladesh. Asian Survey, 40(3), Ibid, Hossain Ahmed, N From monopoly to competition: Party politics in the Bangladesh Parliament ( ). Pacific Affairs, 76(1), Ibid, Azad and Crothers;

8 community, society and financial system. The whole economy, basically industrial and banking sector became nationalized which made a massive downfall within the economic system in that time. Thus unrestricted corruption and dishonesty amongst the party associates, members, sections and higher-ranking leadership accompanied the dearth and devastation for the development. In order to control this economic corrosion and rising civil turmoil Sheikh Mujib took some robust actions during the month of December Following the proclaim of a state of crisis, he used his parliamentary mainstream for winning a constitutional amendment that limits the supremacy of the legislative and judiciary, establishes an executive administration and introduces. In 15 th August 1975, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members were killed by a tiny group of mid-echelon junior army officers. Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, two daughters of Sheikh Mujib, were in Germany during that time and therefore they saved. Then the country was ruled by military till 1990 by several rulers including Ziaur Rahman and H.M. Ershad. In 1991, parliamentary democratic system was initiated in Bangladesh. In 1991 an election took place and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won that election. Begum Khaleda Zia became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and ruled the country till In 1996 another election took place where Bangladesh Awami League succeeded as a wining party. Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister and ruled the country till In 2001 a general election held in Bangladesh in which the Four Party Alliance headed by BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia won two thirds of majority in the parliament. In that election Bangladesh Awami League got 62 seats in the parliament. Khaleda Zia became the prime minister of Bangladesh for the third time. Sheikh Hasina refused the election result and boycotted to participate in the parliament. But in 2006 Awami League joined the parliament and demanded some important changes in the electoral procedure and caretaker government system for the following election. On 29 th December 2008, the ninth general election was apprehended in Bangladesh. Grand Alliance of fourteen parties including Bangladesh Awami League won that election having a two- thirds seat which was leaded by Sheikh Hasina. Then Sheikh Hasina s government had to tackle a crucial national crisis in 2009 due to the mutiny of Bangladesh Rifles. On 5th January, 8

9 2014 a general election held in Bangladesh which was the tenth general election. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted that election. Sheikh Hasina became the prime minister of Bangladesh for the third time. Political instability, overpopulation, lack of good governance, poor educational quality, corruption, lack of proper law and order are responsible for producing social inequality and marginalization in the social structure of Bangladesh. Since independence political volatility is present in this country; and presently the state is facing a serious political crisis. The politics of Bangladesh is mainly hostility between two political parties namely Bangladesh Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist party. Hartal is a very common fact of this rivalry politics. Hartal refers to locked marketplace and transportation system which has a serious impact on the economic, social and political life of people. Hartal hinders the commerce, business, trade and economic productions. During hartal the activists demolish huge numbers of buses and other vehicles which indicate an irreparable loss of our national assets and state economy (Hossain, 2000) 23. Less economically solvent, poor and middle class people suffer mainly in hartal because they cannot earn in those days. Hartal has also negative effects on education, foreign investment and people s personal life. It can repatriate numerous foreign investors from Bangladesh. The export oriented readymade garments industries of Bangladesh are struggling for these detrimental hartal politics. Price hike in daily necessaries is a consequence of hartal, which is undermining the economic growth of Bangladesh. At present blockade has also been a common part of this political culture. The use of Petrol-bomb during hartal is a new dimension of this confrontational politics. By using this bomb a large number of people are being killed every day. Due to hartal and blockade the economy of Bangladesh is facing a solemn crisis. The country is losing a lot of money and potential surpluses every day because of this political instability. Thus the economic growth is decreasing continuously and it is producing poverty, unemployment, inequality and marginality in Bangladesh. Unwholesome Economic Success As an aftermath of Liberation War, large part of Bangladesh s economy was damaged and left the state on a sluggish expansion line. The economy of Bangladesh hastened from the beginning of 1990 by following multiple factors of productivity. But some factors played key role for 23 Ibid, Hossain,

10 limiting this growth shoot such as: small individual capital, weak infrastructure, failure of markets, and failure of individual manufacturing, unemployment, poverty, price hike, corruption, and poor levels of international trade as well as clumsy trade regulations. During the last few decades Bangladesh made affirmative achievements in some sectors such as poverty reduction, health and nutrition, transportation, ICTs, infrastructure, agriculture and so on. There were raises in non-farm earnings, from 42 percent in 1988 to 56 percent in 2004, and per capita income (Cherdchuchai and Otuska, 2006) 24. Poverty is declining in Bangladesh especially in rural and urban areas. Sen identified that, in 1991 rural poverty was 53 percent and urban poverty was 34 percent. But Bangladesh exhibits a remarkable decline in rural poverty in During this period rural poverty decreases in 44 percent and urban poverty decreases in 26 percent (Sen, 2003) 25. In 2000 Bangladesh became second within a regional comparison among Bhutan, India, Maldives and Nepal regarding lowest child and below-five mortality rate (Grant,et al. 2004) 26. MDGs Bangladesh has acquired a reasonable accord of optimistic assessment on its growth and development. The country has also received more praise for its overall presentation on improving people s quality of life. Among these achievements the most prominent are given in the following. At present Bangladesh has attained sturdy improvement and is trying to achieve MDGs on the reduction of poverty and others. Dreze and Sen (2013) 27 praised Bangladesh for achieving improvement in several social indicators rather than India. Though, the per capita GDP and rate of economic growth is lower in Bangladesh comparing many other countries. Dreze and Sen 28 also argued that Bangladesh has undoubtedly developed its rank in the midst of six South Asian states regarding 11 indicators. Bangladesh has also received a positive progress regarding 24 Cherdchuchai, S. and Otsuka, K Rural Income Dynamics and Poverty Reduction in Thai Villages from 1987 to Agricultural Economics, 35(Supplement to issue 3), Sen, B Drivers of Escape and Descent: Changing Household Fortunes in Rural Bangladesh. World Development, 31(3), Grant, U., Hulme, D., & Moore, K The Chronic Poverty Report, Retrieved January 25, Drèze, Jean and Amartya Sen An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 28 Ibid, Dreze and Sen,

11 the indicators of fundamental human needs, welfare and opportunity amongst 132 nations. This country ranked 99 th position in the Index of Social Progress that was published in GDP: GDP in Bangladesh geared both in the industrial and service sectors. Changing Trends of GDP Fiscal Year Growth of Gross Domestic Product Source: Author Compilation from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics from to Economic Growth: In their article Economic Growth in Bangladesh: experience and policy priorities Jyoti Rahman and Asif Yusuf briefly discussed these factors.it is argued that specific policies are essential for enhancing the economic growth of Bangladesh and the policymakers must dedicate themselves for reducing the constraints of economic growth. For example, tackling poverty, tackling infrastructure obstructions, opening newest export zones, opposing protectionism, diminishing rigid and strict load on non-governmental organizations, plunging bureaucratic load on the private enterprises and opening new job fields are some of the ways for improving the economic growth of Bangladesh (Rahman and Yusuf). 29 Besides, these realistic anticorruption 29 11

12 strategies, proper industrial management, interaction among education, culture, social structure and economic consequences are also effective policies. Role of Remittance: Remittance is a vital force of Bangladesh s economy and it is playing a significant role for increasing the economic growth of this country. Remittance is popularly known as the overseas currencies that are impending from the skilled and unskilled Bangladeshi workers who live abroad. It is helpful for maintaining the optimal reserve of the country s foreign coinage, improving the capital flows and reducing the unemployment problem of Bangladesh. During financial year abroad employees remitted $ million which is 30% extra than the preceding financial year (Bangladesh Economic Survey, 2011) 30. Bangladesh obtains the utmost remittance from the Middle East countries. Saudi Arabia is the primary source of the remittance of Bangladesh. The second position goes to USA and third one goes to UK. The government of Bangladesh has undertaken several steps for escalating the remittance flows. Government is stirring the abroad Bangladeshis for sending their currencies throughout the representative channels. Moreover, the extension of the banking amenities, implementing latest array for getting the remittances promptly to the recipients etc are beneath contemplation of the government. Again, remittance has some affirmative effects on the economic growth of Bangladesh. For example it increases the supply of domestic capital and investments, reduces poverty, accelerates the rustic economy, creates various work scopes, decreases the problems of unemployment, and ensures the store of the foreign coinages and the overall progression of the national economy. Unequal growth rate of employment and Income: Income inequality, social discrimination and stratified social system have created a situation in Bangladesh that a large portion of populations are deprived from the facilities and from the accessibility into the mainstream economic activity. 30 Bangladesh Economic Survey,

13 Income Inequality Monthly Household Nominal Income by Residence HIES to 2010 Changing trends of Average Income (Monthly Taka/BDT) Residence National Rural Urban Employment Inequality According to the Government report, the number of government employee throughout the country up to 2014 are 14, in which 11, are male and 2, are female. The total percentage of female government employee is 24.18% in The recent data demonstrates the total participation of male and female in government sector up to 2014, incorporating Female (24%) and Male (76%) that is slow progressing and huge gap between male and female. 31 Table-4.3: Unequal Growth rate of major occupation from to 2010 Major occupation LFS LFS 2010 Growth rate Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Professional, Technical Administrative, Managerial Clerical worker Services worker Sales worker Agri, Forestry, Fisheries Production, Transport laborer & others Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Report on Labor Force Survey Ahmed, Moshtak The Daily Protom Alo, March 07 13

14 State of Inequality in Bangladesh Under the records of World Development Indicators, World Bank found that Bangladesh is a nation with diminutive inequality rather than most other countries of the world. However, data show that income inequality is significantly higher than expenditure or consumption inequality in Bangladesh and this type of inequality mounted gradually. The proportion of earnings to consumption disparity has been increasing in the course of time. That means the reduction of income and consumption poverty is very difficult for this country to sustain its growth. Poverty: The incidence of poverty is still very high in Bangladesh. Huge numbers of Bangladeshi people are passing their lives within the adversity of poverty. According to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 32, approximately one-third of the country s population is living below the poverty line and the percentage is 31.5 (HIES, 2010) 33. In addition, the persistence and pattern of poverty has also been afflicted by inequality. Moreover, price hike and food inflation has a negative impact on poverty by plunging around 0.04 million people below the poverty line (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011) 34. The attenuation of poverty and inequity is an elementary challenge for Bangladesh. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and fostering global partnership for development by 2015 are primary goals of MDGs; and Bangladesh is trying to achieve these goals. The current government has a commitment regarding the reduction of poverty in their election manifesto which is known as Vision This commitment represents that the government should reduce the poverty rate to 25 percent by 2013 and 15 percent by 2021(Titumir and Rahman, 2011) Report of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) Dhaka: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Planning Division, Government of the People s Republic of Bangladesh. 33 Ibid, HIES, Ferdaush, Jannatul and and K. M. Mustafizur Rahman Gender Inequality in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Unnayan Onneshan- The Innovators. 35 Titumir, Rashed Al Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman Poverty and Inequality in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Unnayan Onneshan- The Innovators. 14

15 In 2010 the national poverty rate has lessened to 31.5% having a yearly decreasing rate of 1.32% from It has been found that the incidence and depth of poverty is higher in rural areas rather than cities or urban areas. The HIES 36 shows that the decreasing rate of poverty is lower in urban areas rather than rural areas and the percentage is 1.13 and 1.24 respectively. Since the decade of 1990, Bangladesh has noticed a modest improvement in the reduction of poverty. Nevertheless, there is limited room for satisfaction because still around 31.5 percent of Bangladesh s population is living under the poverty line (BBS, 2010) 37. The rate of poverty varies in different parts of the country. Transformation of Rural Poverty Head count rate (CBN) of incidence of poverty Upper Poverty Line Lower Poverty Line Residence National Rural Urban Source: Household Income and Expenditure Survey (2010) The country's poverty rate is now 25.6 percent having fallen by.8 percent over the past year. The present rate of ultra poor is 12.4 percent. These are the updates till June this year. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Sunday published this data on poverty. This estimate was made on the basis of a household income and expenditure survey carried out in According to the survey, the rate of poverty in 2010 was 31 percent Preliminary Report on the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) Dhaka: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Planning Division, Government of the People s Republic of Bangladesh. 37 Ibid, BBS Prothom Alo, Staff Correspondent, July 28,

16 People living below the poverty line are mounting rapidly. Research shows that during national poverty rate was 51.6 million but in 2005 it has augmented to 56 million having a yearly middling rate of percent. If this current rate persists, the number of population living under the poverty line might reach at 59.8 million by Moreover, in rural areas this rate might dwindle to 38.1 million by 2021 while in urban areas the number of population living beneath the poverty line might raise to 21.7 million correspondingly (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011) 39. This reflects that urban poverty is increasing promptly than rural poverty in Bangladesh. Poverty and Inequality: In addition, data evidence shows an enhancement in the diminution of both profundity and sternness of rural poverty though the rate is moderately slow. At the same time inequality is increasing both in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011) 40. Inequality and poverty is sanguinely interconnected with food expenditure, general price rises and food inflation. Food inflation increases the number of poor people in recent Bangladesh. In 2000 food inflation was 2.68 percent but it augmented to 7.91percent in During this period, the number of people living below the poverty line has mounted swiftly. Likewise, food expenditure also raises the number of people living under the poverty line. General inflation is also responsible for rising poverty and inequality. Majority of the population claims that constant and balanced economic growth inexorably escorts to the reduction in poverty and inequality because these two are closely interconnected (Titumir and Rahman, 2011) 41. The economic growth of Bangladesh is not reasonable and the recent financial crisis has additionally enlarged the hole between wealthy and deprived. This unequal economic growth increases poverty, raises inequality and disparity in the allocation of assets throughout Bangladesh. For that reason, without tackling inequality, it is extremely impossible to alleviate poverty from this country completely. 39 Ferdaush, Jannatul and and K. M. Mustafizur Rahman Gender Inequality in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Unnayan Onneshan- The Innovators. 40 Ibid, Titumir, Rashed Al Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman Poverty and Inequality in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Unnayan Onneshan- The Innovators. 16

17 The government of Bangladesh has undertaken numerous strategies for reducing poverty and inequality, but these persist. Several reasons are responsible for it. For example, poverty and inequality is a component of social rapport. Because of structural reasons the underprivileged and disadvantaged people are remaining poor. There is a limit in the reduction of income poverty that is reliant on the structure. Neoliberalism, privatization, deregulation and neo-liberal policy push people into poverty. These policies are also responsible for creating inequality, disparity, unemployment and poverty in Bangladesh. As a result the government has failed to improve the productive capability. Labor market exclusion is also present in Bangladesh. Many scholars worked on this issue. Underemployment and unemployment increase the rate of poverty and income inequality. The community expenditure in wellbeing, housing, education and health has a demeanor on poverty and inequality because in this country public expenditure is less than the subsistence level. Non-appearance of dynamic strategies, policies, preparation, planning and activities of the government of Bangladesh can create poverty and income inequality (Titumir and Rahman, 2011) 42. Moreover, the tax system of Bangladesh is biased and it produces income inequality and poverty by working in favor of the rich. The government of Bangladesh failed to fulfill the fundamental requirements of the citizens that give birth to poverty and inequality. Bangladesh is an overpopulated country. Due to high population growth the state cannot meet up the basic necessities of the people. The results are poverty, social inequality, unemployment and underemployment. Environmental pollution has directed to the scarcity of food, fresh water, housing and other necessary resources. Moreover, ecological humiliation including air pollution, water pollution, soil erosion, deforestation and worsening of the natural environment are also significant causes for increasing poverty in Bangladesh (Titumir and Rahman, 2011) 43. Male Female Gaps/ Gender Inequality A prime aim of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is ensuring identical opportunity for women. The government of Bangladesh is trying to achieve this goal by engaging women into the principal economic activities. Bangladeshi women are subjugated by a patriarchal social structure that imposes the financial and social reliance of women upon men and indicates the 42 Titumir, Rashed Al Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman Poverty and Inequality in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Unnayan Onneshan- The Innovators. 43 Ibid,

18 inferior status of women comparing to men. Though the government of Bangladesh has taken a number of initiatives for reducing gender inequality in various segments such as service, health, wellbeing, and education, etc; there still exist an enormous inequality. The involvement of women is awfully low in these different sections in contrast to their counterparts. Accordingly, in Bangladesh gender disparity has emerged as one of the main stumbling obstructions in attaining the development goals. The government of Bangladesh has taken copious positive deeds for enhancing the literacy rate of women. But there lingers a substantial hole in enrollment. The dropout of female students from educational institutions is a key anxiety for Bangladesh. In 2000 male children s national literacy rate was 49.5% and it increased to % in In contrast, female children s literacy rate was 40.1% in 2000 and it increased to 54.8% in 2010 (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011) 44. This indicates that female literacy rate increased less than male literacy rate. Rural-urban difference is also present in the literacy rate. The rate of literacy is low among the rural females rather than the urban females and their counterparts. In addition, gender inequity is considerably high in university education. Data reveals that in 2001 among the public universities of Bangladesh approximately 24.3% students were female while the 75.7% students were male. Educational Attainment by male and female Year Male Female Total Unnayan Onneshan,

19 Source: University Grants Commission In recent years it has been found that women s enrollment rate in the primary education is increasing but the rate of this enrollment is not increasing in the university level correspondingly (Ferdaush, 2011) 45. The poor people have inadequate access to private education. They cannot admit their children in English medium schools, coaching centers and private universities which represent an alarming state of social inequality in recent Bangladesh. Massive inequality in employment is a common feature of Bangladesh. Uneducated and unskilled people are facing more inequality in employment than educated persons. Data reveals than income inequality between rich and poor is increasing rapidly. Gender inequality is also present in the employment sector. Males are more employed than females and their employment rate is increasing swiftly (Ferdaush and Rahman, 2011) 46. Despite some progress in the economic sector the number of unemployed people is raising highly. Since to 2009 unemployed persons increased with a middling of o.13 million per year (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011). 47 Unemployment has now been a curse for this country and it is more evident among the educated youths. Though Bangladesh has attained a number of improvements in the health sector and has been victorious in the average life expectancy of its citizens, still the state of women s health is poor. Female child mortality is extremely higher in Bangladesh comparing to male child mortality. Inequality exists in the proportion of underweight male and female children. Data shows that over the last few decades the percentage of underweight male children has been decreasing more rather than underweight female children. Maternal mortality is also a common phenomenon for 46 Ferdaush, J Inequality in Primary Education of Bangladesh. Dhaka :Unnayan Onneshan- The Innovators. 47 Ibid, Ferdaush,

20 this country although the rate is decreasing now due to the use of modern healthcare systems (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011). 48 Several reasons are embedded behind the alarming state of gender inequality in Bangladesh. The first deals with the conventional role of women in patriarchal society. In patriarchal society women are mainly considered as housewives or home-makers. It is also believed that women are only suitable for performing reproductive role. This can be termed as structural inequality. Lack of security is also responsible for increasing gender inequality in Bangladesh. There are no effectual strategies for ensuring female s protection at house, educational institutions, organizations and thoroughfare. In addition, growing violence and aggression against women is a vital concern at present for underdevelopment in Bangladesh because parents and guardians want to keep the female child inside the house. As a result female children cannot fully partake in education, employment sector, health sector and other sectors. Eventually, inequality and disparity is currently enduring in Bangladesh. Women are subjected to discrimination since their births. The conventional society of Bangladesh prefers son over daughters that generates gender discrimination. This discrimination also takes place in the employment sectors too. Early, untimely and premature marriage is a frequent fact in Bangladesh. It is a central barrier against girl s access to health, education and employment chances (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011). 49 Accordingly, vulnerability and inequality exists in this country. Concluding remarks Structural adjustment policy, globalization and neoliberalism are also responsible for producing abject poverty and alarming inequality in Bangladesh as well. Data reveal that International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and neoliberal policies are creating marginalization, exclusion, poverty, income inequality, health inequality, educational inequality and social inequality in Bangladesh. Discrimination, deficiency, paucity and dispossession are still present in Bangladesh society. The government is still trying to achieve the targets of MDGs. Remittance and garments sector has become new sectors of economic growth in Bangladesh. Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and remittance flows are moving forward the economy of this 48 Ibid, Ferdaush, Ibid, Ferdaush,

21 country. Governmental and non-governmental initiatives have significantly improved the rural economy of Bangladesh. Both the rural and urban Bangladesh indeed are going through such a profound changes in some particular sector, while the large section of its population is not getting its benefits, rather the owners of the means of production are being benefited. The owner of garments factory, mills, mobile phone companies, pharmaceuticals and other entrepreneurs, like, stock exchange and construction and engineering firms are heavily benefited while the workers of the above mentioned fields are not getting the least benefits. The state of inequality often creates a situation like anomie, which means the loss of direction in a period of profound change in a society. The government of Bangladesh and other social forces should take effective measures for solving the problems of price hike, inflation, abject poverty, exclusion, marginalization, disparity and inequality in different sectors of public life. Therefore, sustainable and evenhanded economic growth could be achieved at the expected level. 21