Abstract:
Bangladesh has upgraded from low income ($ ≤1045/year) country to lower-middle income country, with annual incomes of $1046 to $ 4125 according to World Bank’s (2015) latest estimates of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. Thus Per capita income in Bangladesh rose from $ 1190 to $ 1314 (BBS, 2015). The country has also made significant progress in human development in the areas of literacy, gender parity in schooling and reduction of population growth 2 . Bangladesh has been cognizant of the importance of addressing differential needs of women and the existence of gender based discrimination since its independence, and commitment have been enshrined in the national constitution. The country has therefore taken measures to in promote gender equality (GE) and women’s empowerment in a progressive manner over time. The Government formulated it first women’s development policy (WDP) in 1997, updated it in 2011 and formulated two national action plans (NAP) for its implementation. The Government of Bangladesh is in the process of developing its seventh five year plan (7FYP) considering the identified national priorities in promoting gender equality for the next five years based on the review of the progress during the sixth five year plan (SFYP) (Begum, 2014). As the continuation of development, for the first time, Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) has recognized ‘sex workers’ among the list of 15 professional groups in the country’s new electoral database and national identity cards.
