Empowerment of Rural Older Women and Access to Basic Human Rights
By Ferdous Ara Begum, Board of Trustees, HelpAge International
A version of this paper was presented at the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women on the theme: ‘Rural Older Women: Beyond Poverty and Violence’
On International Women’s Day 2018, the UN Secretary-General said in his message, “Women’s empowerment is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Investing in women is the most effective way to lift communities and even countries. Women’s participation makes peace agreements stronger, societies more resilient and economies more vigorous.”
But it is evident in Asian economies that there is still much left to do. Women tend to be paid less than men, even in the same jobs, and gender-based discrimination throughout women’s lives has the cumulative impact in old age of disproportionately lower incomes and pensions than men.
Although Asia has experienced large-scale migration to its cities, a significant part of its population still lives in rural areas. The majority of those who remain in rural communities are older women. In Bangladesh, these women play an important role in changing the country’s social fabric and are pioneering adopters of economic models such as micro finance and micro entrepreneurship. Empowering women is essential, not only for the well-being of rural communities, but also for overall economic productivity.
Most rural women who work do so in in the informal economy and are extremely vulnerable to job insecurity, exploitation, and violence. First, working outside the formal economy, which is monitored and taxed by government, excludes these women from social security schemes and collective bargaining processes in many countries. Weak to nonexistent infrastructure for workplace protection also remains a key risk factor for women workers, creating conditions — such as inadequate market facilities, instability and insecurity of work, unsafe working conditions, low earnings, and insufficient access to capital — that collectively prevent women from lifting themselves out of poverty.
Empowering women is essential, not only for the well-being of rural communities, but also for overall economic productivity.
To accommodate more rural women in the workforce, appropriate planning for fiscal measures, budget allocations, and policies to combat gender-based discrimination are necessary. Governments and institutions can improve conditions for women by providing access to non-discriminatory trainings and credit facilities, access to land and inheritances, and the facilitation of markets and seed money. Other accommodations should include part-time work, flexible retirement age, and the reduction of the pay gap to ensure that women can accumulate pension benefits that are on par with men.
The composition, quality, and participation of the workforce depends on a number of socioeconomic factors, including income levels, education, and gender equality. In regions across Asia and Africa, under-employment and unemployment are very common due to limited job opportunities, lack of training, and discrimination based on age and gender. Fiscal choices for investments in skill-building, training, technological advancement and collateral free microcredit is necessary to strengthen the workforce. In rural parts of Asia, rapid expansion of micro-finance has supported women’s employment in the poultry and livestock sector.
To compensate for the shortage of skilled labor, many Asian countries are welcoming migrant workers. However, most receiving countries do not have appropriate laws or bilateral agreements with the sending countries to protect the safety, security and human rights of their migrant workforces. Women migrant workers often become the victims of gender-based violence during transit to or in the destination country.
Older women, although a vital part of a country’s workforce, face ageism, gender discrimination, and many of the risks that come with working in the informal economy. For governments to institute effective economic support programs, the empowerment and protection of older women must be part of their plans. Only by considering the implications of gender and aging in fiscal measures and coordinated policy adaptations can we hope to maintain a steady and productive workforce for all ages.
About the author:
Ferdous Ara Begum is a gender and aging issues specialist and former member of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. She was the first woman to lead Bangladesh Television as Director General and the first female Commissioner of Taxes in Bangladesh. Ferdous previously served as a board member of the Grameen Bank and currently serves as a board member of HelpAge International. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University and is CEO of the Active Aging and Research Center in Dhaka, Bangladesh
