getting in harm’s way because their situation and needs
are often neglected.
World Concern Bangladesh hopes to encourage
everyone in the community, including women, to
assess the frequency and severity of disasters, and to
establish disaster-warning measures and escape
arrangements. During the process women are invited
to give their opinions and to involve in decisions
making. In addition, they are taught survival skills such
as swimming and tree climbing, and given lessons in
knowledge and skills on disaster mitigation, climate
change and environmental protection, ensuring that
women are equipped with sufficient resources and
resilience against disasters.
Photo: Shamsuddin Ahmed/ IRIN
Local women’s long hair and long dresses, a great
hindrance during a flood
Be A Changemaker!
God created man and woman in His own image, and
only when man and woman live in a partnership can
“God’s image” be fully reflected.2 Sadly, as in many
impoverished regions, there is in Bangladesh a chasm
between the two sexes’ status, worth, division of work,
opportunities and resource and power distribution,
which greatly hinders the materialisation of this malefemale partnership. Gender equality is vital if Bangladesh is to be freed from its yoke of poverty. Whether it
be Bangladesh, other poor countries in the world, or
even Hong Kong, let us overcome the obstacle of sex
discrimination so that those in poverty might access
abundance, and more people’s lives may display the
splendid colours as the saris and shine as a sign of
hope as the rainbow.
1. Human Development Report 2010, Table 4 – Gender Inequality Index,
UNDP. Available at:
<http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table4_reprint.pdf>
2. Y.C. Wong, Creation, Covenant and Restoration: An Introduction to the
Major Theological Themes of the Torah (Hong Kong: Tien Dao Publishing
House, 2nd printing, February 2004) p. 104.
504 Rightful Centre, 12 Tak Hing Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Announcements
G.P.O. Box 3212 Hong Kong
Telephone: (852) 2381 9627
Web Site: http://www.cedarfund.org
Exposure Trip to Bangladesh
Visiting urban slum and self-help groups; learning to
know CEDAR partners' ministries on gender equality
mobilisation as well as farmers' need to disaster risk
reduction and response besides exchanging with
school teachers and pupils.
Date: 25 November to 2 December 2011 (8 days)
Further detail to be confirmed later.
CEDAR 20th Anniversary Thanksgiving
Date: 10 July, 2011 (Sunday)
Time: 3-5pm
Venue: Mongkok Baptist Church
(6/F, Chung Kiu Commercial Building, 47-51 Shantung Street, Mongkok, Kowloon)
Worship and sharing followed by holy communion.
(refreshments to follow after)
For registration and enquiry: Please call 2381-9627 or
email to [email protected]
Advanced Series of MJ Programmes
Concluding experience in the past, CEDAR designs a
series of learning programmes on global poverty and
collective action of justice and mercy. Our targets are
children ranging from kindergarten to junior secondary
students. For details, please visit CEDAR's website at
www.cedarfund.org
Donations
Please send crossed cheques payable to “CEDAR
FUND”, or make direct deposits into our HSBC
account (600-385678-001). Cheques or deposit
acknowledgement slips should be mailed to G.P.O.
Box 3212 Hong Kong for the issuing of official
receipts. Donations of HK$100 and above are
tax-deductible in Hong Kong.
June 2011
Facsimile: (852) 2392 2777
E-mail: [email protected]
erably within and across cultures.
The terms "gender equality" and "gender equity" are
often used interchangeably, but they are not the same
thing. Gender equality is an outcome; gender equity is
a process. Gender equality exists when and where
women and men have equal access to resources and
equal opportunities, receive equal pay for work of
equal value, have equal rights and responsibilities and
share equal power. "Gender equality means that the
different behaviours, aspirations and needs of women
and men are considered, valued and favoured
equally."
Gender Equality is…
Suzy Penberthy
Is gender equality:
Just another word for Feminism?
Women fighting for their rights against men?
The needs of women being placed above the needs
of men?
Focusing solely on women in the development
process?
Use of the word "gender" reflects a significant shift in
thinking within the development sector. At its heart,
gender is relational. Sex refers to the biological
characteristics that define us as male or female.
Gender, on the other hand, is what we grow up
believing men and women should be like and how
they should relate to one another. It includes the
roles, responsibilities, personality traits, attitudes,
behaviours, values and relative power and influence
that society ascribes to men and women. Gender
perceptions change over time, and can vary consid-
Gender equity, on the other hand, refers to the
treatment of men and women --- the pathway to
gender equality. It doesn't mean that men and women
should be treated in exactly the same way; rather, it
means they should be treated fairly according to their
respective needs. The path to gender equality must be
marked by mutual respect. Enhancing the status of
women without regard for men will not lead to genuine
equality.
This, of course, is the ideal. Actually, it is God's ideal
but not our present reality. Currently 70% of the world's
poorest people are women. Women perform 66% of
the world's work and produce 50% of the world's food.
Yet, they earn 10% of the world's income and own 1%
of the world's property. Globally, over half a million
women die every year during pregnancy or childbirth
--- a figure that has hardly changed in the last 20
years. At least one out of every three women around
the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or
otherwise abused... The share of women among
adults living with HIV/AIDS is increasing. Only 1 in 5
members of parliament worldwide is a woman.
Considering the disparate effects of poverty on
women, it is essential that gender equality component
is recognised and incorporated in the process of
achieving all the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), albeit a target difficult to reach. The struggle
for gender equality is inseparable from the struggle to
eradicate poverty. As Kofi Annan, the former
Secretary-General of the United Nations, has said, "It
is impossible to realise our goals while discriminating
against half the human race."
(With permission granted, the above article is
excerpted and adapted from “Gender Equality: Why
Women and Men Need Each Other” by Suzy Penberthy, published in February, 2010 issue of TARGET, the
official periodical of TEAR Australia
http://www.tear.org.au/target/articles/gender-equalitywhy-women-and-men-need-each-other/2010-2)
Women Shining as Rainbow
Women clad in colourful saris is a common sight in
Bangladesh, but underneath the eye-catching colours
are many who live in the shadow of bleakness and
helplessness.
and motherhood, while many women have to “keep
their place” at home and are rarely allowed to participate in public occasion, work or get involved in
community decisions. There are daily reports of sexual
abuse and domestic violence, while some women,
who could not afford a sizable dowry, are beaten by
their husbands, being traumatised physically and
emotionally. According to UNDP’s Human Development Report 2010, Bangladesh is one of the “Low
Human Development” countries, ranked 116th (2008
rating) in the Gender Inequality Index out of 169
countries.1
From independence to succession
Dhaka, known as the City of Mosques, is the capital of
Bangladesh and the country’s political, economic and
cultural centre. Behind its bustling prosperity are slums
where women’s stories woven with struggles are being
told.
Business is quite good and an initial small monthly
income of 1,000 Taka (about HK$107) grew to 4,000
to 5,000 Taka (about HK$426 to HK$533) now.” The
treasure which Shaniur’s family have gained is beyond
money and earning capacity, but also hope and
self-confidence.
themselves and seek opportunities to participate.
Parents were not keen at first as they did not want their
daughters to be exposed in public, but they were
eventually persuaded when PARI explained the
benefits and significance of the group.
Besides enhancing personal capacity as in the case of
Shaniur’s family, SATHI also encourages the locals to
participate in community development, setting up
women’s and men’s groups and forming residents
coalition for equal participation of both sexes, where
they receive training in literacy, health and financial
management, as well as holding discussions on
issues relating to justice and rights. This platform
allows women to voice out their needs, fight marginalisation and thereby facilitate gender equality and
harmony through the process of community development.
Breaking through: Girls’ group members bravely
express themselves
About eight years ago, Shaniur and her family lived in
a slum. Like many other women, she stayed home
with no earning capacity. Then CEDAR’s partner
SATHI encouraged her to form a self-help group with
other women in the community and learned sewing
together. Shaniur in turn taught the skills to her
sixteen-year old daughter in ninth grade. Together they
can earn some money and improve their living.
The girls became involved quickly after joining the
group. They gather often to discuss social issues and
those relating to their rights, as well as receive training
on sewing and computer skills. Most encouragingly,
they initiated the repair of a road leading to their village
which not only ensured the villagers’ safety but also set
an example of loving one’s neighbours. Their action
proves that women are both willing and able to participate in community matters and bring about changes to
people’s lives if they are given a chance.
From neglect to participation
Photo: Contributor/ IRIN
Life transformed: Women’s group members active in
community development
From being indifferent to being involved
Bangladesh’s poverty problem among women needs
urgent attention.
Shaniur and her daughter enhance their self-reliance
and living by sewing pants
Under the influence of a patriarchal culture, male
superiority is the norm in Bangladesh, causing
concerns over matters such as women’s dignity, rights
and status. Young girls are forced into early marriage
“Now my daughter Sumi and I make pants with a
sewing machine we bought with a small loan, and my
sixty-year-old mother sells them at the market.
In a remote area in Netrokona, northern Bangladesh
live many impoverished and marginalised families
without land or power of their own. Girls from these
families are one of the main beneficiaries of CEDAR’s
partner PARI project.
To break the tradition of neglecting women, PARI aims
to expand the community’s public domain by setting
up a girls’ group that encourages members to express
Patuakhali is a district in south Bangladesh, east of the
Tetulia River and south of the delta of the Padma
(Ganges), and it is threatened by flooding every year.
CEDAR’s partner World Concern Bangladesh helps
build up the local residents’ capacity in disaster
prevention and resistance.
Under gender stereotypes, men are generally more
autonomous and resourceful than women in areas
such as nutrition, health, decision making, income
earning, survival skills and dress code. These advantages give men a greater chance of survival in times of
disasters; conversely, women have a bigger chance of