Discussion Forum on Lecture 01: Concept of Gender & Sex

Gender and sex, Gender governance in Bangladesh, consequence of health for the issue of Gender and Sex

Gender and sex, Gender governance in Bangladesh, consequence of health for the issue of Gender and Sex

by Tahmina Hassan -
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1.   "Sex” refers to the biological differences between males and females, such as the genitalia and genetic differences. “Gender” is more difficult to define, but it can refer to the role of a male or female in society, known as a gender role, or an individual's concept of themselves, or gender identity.

2.  Gender governance in Bangladesh : Women’s voices in governance were not so far heard due to their under-representation and non-participation in institutional structures of decision-making. In governance, women still had limited and insufficient access to resources, public debate and political decision-making processes. Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in the last 20 years in improving the lives of women and girls. Maternal mortality rates are falling, fertility rate is declining, and there is greater gender parity in school enrolment. Gender inequality increases maternal mortality (92 per cent agree), increase fertility (88 per cent agree), increase dowry (88 per cent agree) and domestic violence (89 per cent agree). Social norms and values restricted women to participate in development activities. 

In 2015, Bangladesh was ranked 139 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index and 47 out 144 countries surveyed on the Gender Inequality Index in 2017. Many of the inequalities are result of extreme poverty and traditional gender norms centred on a patrilineal and patriarchal kinship system in rural areas. Gender is an important consideration in development. 

More women in Bangladesh now have access to low-interest loans that help them be more resilient and independent. Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to malnutrition.  For example, 36 percent of children under the age of five are stunted and 33 percent are underweight.  In addition, 31 percent of women and girls aged 15 to19 are undernourished.  USAID is helping increase women participation in the private sector and improve their access to market systems.  USAID’s Bangladesh Aquaculture and Nutrition and Livestock for Improved Nutrition activities are helping improve women’s practices around nutrition, and provide valuable sources of sustainable income for households, such as drying fish and raising livestock.  Focusing on women has led to a significant impact on malnutrition in Bangladesh, reducing stunting by over 20 percent in project areas.  USAID has also developed a mobile application that promotes social behavior change for nutritional messaging and zinc-fortified rice promotion, particularly among women.  USAID’s Agricultural Value Chain activity, which promotes access to finance, environmental compliance, nutrition, and gender equity, partnered with local organizations of empowered women entrepreneurs and business owners to help break down barriers and biases for women. In Bangladesh, few women occupy real leadership roles.  USAID supports women’s political and civic participation, cultivating women’s leadership roles in areas such elections and political processes.  Through USAID’s Strengthening Political Landscape’s activity, 309 women leaders won seats in mainstream party leadership committees.  Separately, USAID’s Workers’ Empowerment Program provided opportunities to women to be leaders in the workplace and extended their worker rights beyond the factories and into their own communities.  As a result, women workers are learning ways to engage and create a stronger social network. Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to malnutrition.  For example, 36 percent of children under the age of five are stunted and 33 percent are underweight.  In addition, 31 percent of women and girls aged 15 to19 are undernourished.  USAID is helping increase women participation in the private sector and improve their access to market systems.  USAID’s Bangladesh Aquaculture and Nutrition and Livestock for Improved Nutrition activities are helping improve women’s practices around nutrition, and provide valuable sources of sustainable income for households, such as drying fish and raising livestock.  Focusing on women has led to a significant impact on malnutrition in Bangladesh, reducing stunting by over 20 percent in project areas.  USAID has also developed a mobile application that promotes social behavior change for nutritional messaging and zinc-fortified rice promotion, particularly among women.  USAID’s Agricultural Value Chain activity, which promotes access to finance, environmental compliance, nutrition, and gender equity, partnered with local organizations of empowered women entrepreneurs and business owners to help break down barriers and biases for women. In Bangladesh, few women occupy real leadership roles.  USAID supports women’s political and civic participation, cultivating women’s leadership roles in areas such elections and political processes.  

3.  Consequence of health for the issue of Gender and Sex :  sex and social factors can make a difference when it comes to our risk for disease . Men and women do not benefit from the same conditions in terms of health. However, biological differences are far from being the only reason: social perceptions related to the female or male gender influence the attitudes of patients, the medical profession, and scientists. There are well-documented differences in the health and well-being of males and females. The report also found that females have a higher prevalence of depression, while males have higher rates of unhealthy behaviors like drinking and smoking.   

In most developing countries, women are selected for nutritional education because they are responsible for the preparation of meals. However, they often lack access to nutritional food because men generally make decisions about its production and purchase. Similarly, men may not provide nutritional food for their families because they have not received information about nutrition. The participation of both men and women is, therefore, fundamental to changing how decisions about food are made and food-consumption patterns and nutrition families . 

 Women have higher rates of anxiety and depression than men, independently of race, time, age, and rural-urban residence. The fact that men have greater control over resources, and decision-making power is one explanation, but there is considerable evidence that even when women have control over resources and income through employment anxiety and depression is not necessarily reduced . 

Many male health risks can be traced back to behavior.  In general, men engage in behaviors that lead to higher rates of injury and disease. They also tend to eat less healthful diets. However, anatomy, hormones and genes also play roles in men's increased risk for these diseases: Heart disease.

In developing countries, men seek treatment more frequently at formal health services, whereas women are more likely to self-treat or use alternative therapies. This has been explained by factors, such as multiple roles of women which limit their activities mainly to the domestic sphere and make it difficult for them to go to clinics during opening hours. By contrast, traditional healers or community shops are easier to access and will often accept delayed payment or payment in kind or delayed. Traditional healers also provide explanations in ways that are easily understood, in contrast to the more scientific explanations of clinic staff . Women are often treated in an inferior way at health services and are blamed for coming late or for not bringing their children for regular immunization or check-ups. This only exacerbates women's reluctance to access healthcare, even when other access barriers are removed . Insensitive treatment by health personnel is also a problem in industrialized countries, although in these situations women have more options for restitution.

The lower social status of women influences how society responds when they are affected by stigmatizing illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, leprosy, tuberculosis, and mental illness. While both men and women suffer considerable discrimination and from society, women are more marginalized by these health problems.

The example of diabetes, a non-communicable disease, demonstrates the gender differences in its social consequences. Research on gender differences in the social consequences of diabetes is limited, especially in developing countries. Even in industrialized countries, the studies in this area are difficult to compare because they deal with different variables, measurement tools, and outcomes. However, it is possible to draw some conclusions from the existing literature which are relevant from a gender perspective.

The gender differences in the economic consequences of illness include how work of men and women is affected by illness, such as availability of substitute labour, opportunity costs of health-related actions, available income, and the impact of economic policies.

When poor women in developing countries are ill, they tend to delay seeking modern treatment until their symptoms are too severe to ignore, meanwhile perhaps visiting a traditional healer or local pharmacy. Thus, they take longer to recover and often return to work before they have completely recuperated. When men are ill, others encourage them to seek medical help, and hence they are appropriately diagnosed and treated earlier than women. They also receive greater care from wives and others and are not expected to perform other duties until they are better. Women often substitute for their husbands in agricultural work when they are ill but husbands rarely substitute for their wives, and only essential duties are assumed by other family members. When women recover, they are faced with many pending tasks, in addition to their normal work. Those who own small businesses lose necessary income for daily survival, and many have to use their scarce resources for medicines and other health-related costs . The fact that women are often paid less for the same jobs as men also means that they have fewer resources to fall back on when they become ill, and their control over their own earnings is often limited .