In cooperation with the Research and Evaluation Division of BRAC, Copenhagen Consensus Center organized roundtable discussions with an aim to figure out smarter solutions to the most problematic issues facing Bangladesh.

1. Gender Equality
Research Ideas
Dhaka
June 18, 2015

2. Bangladesh Priorities
WORKING WITH 30-50 economists including Nobel Laureates, 100+
sector experts engaging major development organizations, NGOs,
government, businesses, youths, rural and urban Bangladeshis to
identify, analyze and prioritize interventions that will deliver greater
benefit per taka spent, helping move Bangladesh towards Vision 2021
and a more prosperous long term future.

3. In cooperation with the Research
and Evaluation Division of BRAC,
Copenhagen Consensus Center
organized roundtable discussions
with an aim to figure out smarter
solutions to the most problematic
issues facing Bangladesh.
These roundtables are
one of several sources
for research ideas.
Sourcing ideas and solutions
Smarter solutions for Bangladesh
Complete set of papers
on 30-50 solutions
PRIORITIZATION
Government NGOs
Academia Pvt sector
Think tanks
Development
organizations
Eminent Panel
Assessment
Government and
donor seminars
Rural polls
Newspaper polls
among readers
Youth forums
across the country
Private sector
meetings
Social, economic and
environmental benefit-cost
research by top Bangladeshi,
and international economists
Extensive peer review by sector
experts and academics
100+ ideas on
policies & investments
20162015 Continuous
engagement with
the public via
electronic, print
and social media
Working with
civil society,
government and
sector experts
Widely
advocating
results of
prioritization
exercises
OUTREACH

4. Research Ideas

5. Gender Equality;
(1 of 10)
• Implementing existing laws and acts against domestic
violence, dowry.
• Design and implement sexual education for the youth.
• Accessible and affordable tertiary care.
• Ensure maternal and ante-natal care for pregnant
women.
• Ensure post-natal care for both mother and child.
• Expand reproductive health care services including
counselling.
• Ensure availability of geriatric care at the upazila level,
which may include introduction of health voucher for
elderly women.

6. Gender Equality;
(2 of 10)
• Use mobile and electronic health technologies to bring
all mothers and children under a universal vital events
and health information system [MOVE-IT Bangladesh].
• Scaling up prevention of mother to child transmission
(PMTCT) services for HIV infected women.
• Continue ongoing iron acid (IFA) supplementation for
pregnant mothers.
• Provide postpartum vitamin A supplementation.
• Expand maternal health vouchers and allowance to
cover women’s/girls’ nutritional deficiencies
particularly in the calamity/poverty prone areas.
• Promotion of homestead gardening and poultry for
increased protein and vitamin consumption.

7. Gender Equality;
(3 of 10)
• Continue community based family planning services to
cover urban poor women and men.
• Increase use of modern contraceptives in urban slums
and remote areas.
• Ensure availability of modern contraceptives at a low
cost.
• Include elements of reproductive health care in
education curriculum.
• Scale up government’s maternal health voucher
schemes to100 upazilas with a 20% increase each year.
• Strengthen girls’ and women’s proficiency in ICT.

8. Gender Equality;
(4 of 10)
• Increasing girls participation at the tertiary level
through scholarships, special quota provisions,
infrastructure including accommodation, transport and
such support.
• Expand access to safe water for drinking and household
to facilitate women’s healthy participation in economic
activities.
• Include penal provisions for both guardians and
registers under the revised Child Marriage Restraint Act
2013.
• Support female education at secondary levels.
• Extend social protection measures to cover physically
disabled girls and women.

9. Gender Equality;
(5 of 10)
• Implement transient safety net programs for women.
• Setting target for short-term employment
opportunities under construction and development
projects.
• Filling up existing women vacant positions in the public
sector.
• Addressing safety and security concerns for public
service women at field levels.
• Increase existing quota of 10% to 15% for women
officers and staff in public service.
• Expansion of business incubator services by women
chambers and associations.

10. Gender Equality;
(6 of 10)
• Identify women at different value chain levels to
disseminate relevant technology and inputs.
• Provide safe and affordable transport system to increase
women’s mobility.
• Offer incentives to public and private sector to run more
buses with reserved seats for women or women only
buses during peak period.
• Increase bus services for girls’ schools and colleges in
all cities.
• Introduce commuter train services between Dhaka and
nearby cities, like Narayanganj, Gazipur, Tongi,
Narshingdi with ladies compartments at peak hours.

11. Gender Equality;
(7 of 10)
• Reaching women with support for training on
technology, market information, etc through
government’s extension services.
• Increasing women’s share in government’s field-level
extension workers.
• Distribution of seeds and fertilizer through women
farmer groups.
• Distribution of khas land in the name of both spouses.
• Combine micro-finance operations with vocational
skills training.
• Prioritize housing or land support to women displaced
by river erosion or other natural disasters.

12. Gender Equality;
(8 of 10)
• Strengthen a2i’s gender initiatives, such as Joyeeta, to
reach young girls.
• Increase women’s access to solar power, bio-gas,
improve cook stoves.
• Expand women’s electricity access - both grid and off-
grid areas.
• Expand women’s access to rural market corners in
collaboration with the local government institutions.
• Enforce sexual harassment directives in work places/
educational institutions and other public places.
• Increase enrolment rates for female across all skills
development programs.

13. Gender Equality;
(9 of 10)
• Set up separate wash rooms for male & female students.
• Regular collection, collation and analysis of sex
disaggregated data on different sectors by BBS.
• Inclusion of the third gender in all national level data.
• Implement the lifecycle based social protection
strategy.
• Equipping adolescent girls with knowledge and skills to
build their confidence.
• Continue community awareness raising programs and
actions involving men, women and youth against the
existing harmful practices, such as dowry, VAW, Child
Marriage.

14. Gender Equality;
(10 of 10)
• Highlight the social significance of household care work for
society’s development and productive work.
• Highlight contribution of women to society e.g. using media /
movie / soap opera campaigns.
• Expand legal services and access using paralegals and admin.
• Establish one-stop crisis centers for women to seek legal
advice.
• Use Union Digital Centers (UDCs) for rural women’s
empowerment by increasing access to information services
[such as agriculture, education, employment, health, legal,
etc].
• Use of Union Digital Centers by the government to connect
with women migrant workers [for G2G migration].

15. Full List of Attendees
Rokeya Kabir, ED, BNPS.
Mahmuda Rahman Khan, SPD Specialist, USAID.
Roshni Basu, Gender Specialist, UNICEF.
Dr. Julia Ahmed, SRHR Specialist, Independent
Consultant.
Hosna Ara Begum, Program manager, GJD, BRAC.
Toufica Sultana, RED, BRAC.
Md. Shohel Rana, Program Coordinator, UN Women.
Amy Regger, Research and Coordination, UN Women.
Frederic Jeanjean, 2nd Secretary, Australian High
Commission.
Md Reazul Haque, Professor, Department of
Development Studies, DU.
Nasra Mire, Junior Professional Consultant, Poverty
Reduction Centre, UNDP, BD.
Sara Bumsted, Gender Policy Advisor, UNDP.
Marielin Mridha, Program Officer, Australian High
Commission.
Barrister Sara Hossain, Executive Director, BLAST.