The Covid-19 pandemic has affected more over 50 million people (5 crores) in the country’s informal economy. Women and adolescent girls who work in this industry continue to suffer the most. Participation in the labor market through effective skills training should be a top goal in order to help people recover. Speakers shared their perspectives at a conversation hosted by BRAC’s Skills Development Programme (SDP) at the BRAC Centre in Mohakhali, the capital, today (2 December).
As the event’s chief guest, K M Tarikul Islam, director-general of the NGO Affairs Bureau, spoke about “Tackling Covid-19 obstacles on girls and young women through skills training in the informal sector.” As a special visitor, Md Abul Kalam Azad, former principal coordinator (SDG affairs) in the Prime Minister’s Office, was present.
AFM Shahidur Rahman, director, Programme Development-Asia, PRL, and Monitoring Department, BRAC, delivered the welcome speech, followed by a keynote presentation by Nobonita Chowdhury, director, Gender Justice & Diversity and Preventing Violence Against Women Initiative, BRAC, on the current state of girls and young women in the informal sector. Tasmiah Tabassum Rahman, in-charge, Skills Development Programme, BRAC, and Dr Narayan Chandra Das, senior research fellow, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), gave another presentation on “Skills interventions for mitigating risks on girls and young women – skills training for advancing resources (star), an apprenticeship-based skills training model”.
Panelists included Veera Mendonca, UNICEF Bangladesh’s deputy representative, Shahriar Islam, senior program manager, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, chairman, Informal Sector Industry Skills Council, who was honored by the government as a Commercially Important Person.
According to the speakers, the informal sector has been the hardest hit by the country’s labor market. The scenario has a direct impact on those working in the industry, putting the livelihoods of 52 million people (5 crores 20 lakh) in jeopardy. Women suffer the most, as the informal economy employs roughly 91.8 percent of the total female labor force.
A research carried out by BRAC last year (2020) revealed that regular earning dropped by 66 percent for women involved in the informal sector, while their opportunities for work reduced by 24 percent. Apart from these, the risk of dropping out of school has seen an alarming rise due to a prolonged shutdown of educational institutions and economic crisis, which has its inevitable adverse impact on other social situations.
Another study reveals that child marriage saw a staggering rise by 220 percent between July and September last year. Experts mostly put down the causes of staying out of school and earning.
To recover from the crisis, BRAC puts particular emphasis on the re-engagement of women in the labor market and has accordingly designed its programs and activities to fulfill that aim.
NGO Affairs Bureau director-general KM Tarikul Islam said, “All the organizations are working to fulfill the aim to have 10 million (1 crore) people employed in the Mujib Borsho (Birth Centenary of Mujib). The government has created a number of industries that will provide employment to women as well. But it’s a big challenge to tackle which the non-state development actors should come forward to assist the government.”
Former principal coordinator for SDG affairs at the PMO Md Abul Kalam Azad said, “In Bangladesh, over 18 million (1.8 crores) women are employed in the labor market. We must also think about what crisis these women may face in their livelihoods in case the Omicron variant of Coronavirus spreads in Bangladesh. We have to be adequately prepared to tackle the situation.”
In his closing remarks, BRAC’s senior director KAM Morshed said, “It is a time when skills development should be a planned option. Many young people can choose skills development education instead of pursuing the path of conventional education.”
