Women own about 7pc agricultural land in climate-vulnerable areas

Women own only 6.89 per cent agricultural land in the climate-vulnerable areas of Bangladesh, where men own 93.11 per cent, revealed a pilot survey by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Sex, Age, and Disability Disaggregated Data (SADDD) on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, with the technical support from UN Women.

The learning sharing event was held at the BBS auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday.

The study found that of those engaged in agriculture, business, service, or day labour jobs, 10.60 per cent are women while men constitute 89.40 per cent. Instead, women carry the majority of the burden of household care work (98.54 per cent), with men only contributing with a fraction (1.46 per cent).

The stark difference between these data illustrates the critical need to acknowledge that climate change and disasters affect different groups of people – including men, women, transgender, people with disability, ethnic minorities, and children – disproportionately. Hence it is crucial to address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of different groups. 

Chief Guest of the event Shahnaz Arefin, NDC, Secretary, Statistics and Informatics Division said, “The intensity, and frequency of climate change has been increased. Therefore, we need a comprehensive approach to tackle the negative impact of climate change. To achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need to work together both in adaptation and mitigation approaches. We need multi-stakeholder engagement to relate, and rely on data where academics, researchers, and civil service holders can join hands to ensure an equitable, sustainable, and resilient Bangladesh."

The Guest of Honor, Gitanjali Singh, Country Representative UN Women Bangladesh, stated that “the report demonstrates how to integrate gender equality data into national surveys for climate change and disaster statistics to bolster the nexus between gender equality, climate change and disaster risk reduction from the local to the national level.”

 “It will be a reference document for relevant government ministries and departments for more inclusive and gender responsive data collection on climate change and disaster risk reduction that will guide in addressing the varying needs and vulnerabilities of different group of people in climate induced disaster-prone areas”, she added.

Farida Pervin, Director General of the Department of Women Affairs, Professor Sayed Shahadat Hossain, Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dhaka, A. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), and Professor AKM Nurun Nabi, Former VC, Begum Rokeya University and Founder Chair and Professor, Department of Population Sciences, University of Dhaka attended the event as Special Guest.

The event was chaired by Mr. Md. Matiar Rahman, Director General of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.