1.     Gender and Sex

Gender

 Gender is used to describe the characteristics of women and men that are socially constructed, while sex refers to those that are biologically determined. People are born female or male, but learn to be girls and boys who grow into women and men.

 Sex

"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.

 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.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal set of goals, underpinned by targets and indicators. They seek to eradicate inequalities, ensuring that no one is left behind.

•In the SDGs, the goals and targets tend to refer to gender, for example, “Goal 5: Gender equality” and “Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all”.

•To meet the main principle of the SDGs is to “leave no one behind”. Each of these indicators are to be broken down, where relevant, by eight characteristics required by the United Nations.

3.  Consequence of health for the issue of Gender and Sex.

The gender affects the social, economic and biological consequences of health and illness, focusing on three non-communicable diseases or conditions: diabetes for social consequences, domestic violence for economic consequences, and occupational health for biological consequences.

The gender differences in the social consequences of health and illness include how illness affects men and women, including health-seeking behaviour, the availability of support networks, and the stigma associated with illness and disease. Men and women respond differently when ill, in terms of time before acknowledging that they are ill, recovery time, and how women and men are treated by their families and society.