Country: Bangladesh

Despite succeeding in fostering social and economic progress, as well as improving human development indicators, socio-political gaps still need to be filled to ensure the realization of the rights of women and girls. With inequalities in income and consumption increasing, malnutrition continues to pose a challenge for Bangladesh, particularly for women and girls. These and other findings will be addressed in the 65th session of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), as Bangladesh goes under review.

As echoed in a parallel report by FIAN International, with the support of Campaign for Right to Food and Social Security, Maleya Foundation and Nagorik Uddyog Citizen’s Initiative, women and children are the most affected by malnutrition in the country. This particularly affects those from marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples, Dalits and rural women. With 24% of women underweight, Bangladesh is under the “Serious” category according to the Global Hunger Index 2015. 

Although the national constitution guarantees equal rights, women and girls are not treated as equal and their roles are closely tied to their reproductive and household activities only. Women’s participation in the labor force is hindered by unequal wages, poor access to education and basic resources. This leads to higher rates of unemployment and underemployment: while the work participation rate of women is 31%, men account for 81.7%. 

On the same note, the informal sector, which accounts for 87.4% of the total workforce in the country, is mainly constituted by women. Contrary to existing regulations, long working hours seem to be the norm for the informal sector, together with lack of minimum safety conditions. Something similar happens in the context of women farmers, especially those of female-headed households, who encounter numerous difficulties to make their living.

And discrimination and exclusion escalates when it comes to women from marginalized communities, like the Dalits, who are stigmatized as “impure”. Dalit women not only face occupational segregation, but also systemic political, economic and social exclusion. 

For their part, women in indigenous communities face several hurdles due to food scarcity. Traditionally, they have played a leading role in processing food and preserving seeds, which had provided them with social standing and strength within their communities. In a context of food shortages, they are unable to perform their role and therefore disempowered.

This develops within a context of loss of access to indigenous peoples’ ancestral territory, and therefore to natural resources. Bangladesh should “review and revise laws that conflict with identity, culture and livelihood of indigenous peoples […]as well as to develop relevant policies and programs as per the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, which have emphasized the role of women in protection of the human right to food and nutrition,” recommends the report. 

Amongst some other specific recommendations, the report points to the need for equal participation of women in all spheres of public and political life and for the accountability of concerned authorities to implement the gender sensitive policies at the ground level. In particular, the Land Commission should be functional and resolve land issues through necessary reforms as per existing agreements, like the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord (CHT).

You can access the report here

“The interests of the indigenous peoples must be part of the new agenda in order for it to succeed. […] Together, let us recognize and celebrate the valuable and distinctive identities of indigenous peoples around the world. Let us work even harder to empower them and support their aspirations”. Although UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly underlined the importance of respecting and fulfilling the rights of Indigenous communities, scores of cases around the world demonstrate there is still a long way to go. It is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people spread across 70 countries worldwide. On the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, FIAN International puts their alarming plight in Bangladesh under the spotlight. 

Subjected to extreme discrimination, neglect and disadvantage, indigenous communities from across Bangladesh have witnessed how the fulfillment of their rights has been pushed back even further during the last decade. Out of the approximately 142.3 million inhabitants in the country, 3 million are indigenous peoples belonging to at least 54 different ethnic groups. These peoples are concentrated in the north, and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in the south-east of the country, and are characterized by specific practices, tied to their cultures, such as the swidden cultivation (crop rotation agriculture).  

Their practices define their uniqueness and identity. However, the current national political realm erodes any possibility for these peoples to be protected. Mrinal Kanti Tripura, from Maleya Foundation, explains to FIAN International that the government of Bangladesh does not recognize indigenous peoples as “indigenous”. The Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institution Act 2010 used the term “khudro nrigoshthhi” (small ethnic groups) when speaking of the indigenous peoples. An amendment made to the constitution in 2011 started referring to the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh as “tribes”, “minor races” and “ethnic sects and communities”. 

And what’s the trick behind these terms? “This is a sneaky way whereby the government doesn’t have to comply with the 61/295. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention no. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. If the law doesn’t make any mention to indigenous peoples as “indigenous”, the government will not be obliged to grant the rights these communities are entitled to by international law,” stresses Mrinal Kanti Tripura.  

As a matter of fact, indigenous communities in Bangladesh are increasingly facing eviction from their lands. “It is important to understand that indigenous communities have a special relation to and use of their traditional land. This is part of their identity,” Mr. Kanti Tripura underlines. On another note, the Maleya Foundation representative, highlights that a high number of human rights violations have been committed by the Bangladesh Army, which include arbitrary arrests and beatings, imprisonment without trial and burning of villages, amongst others.

FIAN International recalls that indigenous peoples are the guardians of unique languages, knowledge systems and beliefs and possess invaluable knowledge for the sustainable management of natural resources. Their rights must be respected, protected and fulfilled, disregarding that their condition as “indigenous” is not acknowledged by the national law. International mechanisms must prevent that national governments disregard international human rights principles with calculated legal provisions.