A Lifetime of Subjugation:

A female in rural Bangladesh faces some of the harshest discrimination in the world. Every phase of her life is shaped by malnutrition, the denial of selfhood and the lack of voice in the decisions that affect her life.

The pervasive social conditions that subjugate women are expressed and reinforced by the institution of dowry. Having a girl is a great burden, while having a boy is a great asset. Dowry has been illegal since 1980, yet its practice is steadily increasing.

Throughout her life, the nexus of social and economic forces that subjugates women is enforced by violence and the threat of violence.

• Unwanted before birth. A baby girl in Bangladesh is born into a family that had wished and prayed for a boy. Because of mistreatment of girls nearly from birth, Bangladesh's population has dropped from a "natural" ratio of 1,003 females per 1,000 males to 947 women per 1000 men.

• Deprived as a baby girl. Girls are fed less food, and lower quality food. When girls become ill, they are much less likely to receive medical care than boys - resulting in under-five mortality rates 11 per cent higher for girls than boys.

• Childhood of drudgery. By age five, girls carry adult responsibilities both inside and outside the home. At home, she cares for her younger siblings, and for her sick or pregnant mother. Outside, she fetches water, firewood and fodder. Education and play are unthinkable.

• Adolescence: health crisis and sexual violation. Girls who reach puberty face a new set of harrowing and untreated problems of physical and mental health. At the very time her body need more nutrition, she receives less. Her physical and mental health deteriorate, and she may feel worthless and unwanted. Adolescent girls run high risks of sexual assault.
  
• Marriage: a new cycle of subjugation. She is married young, to a man who is an average of 8 years older than she. Early and frequent pregnancy - often with no medical care and over which she has little choice - puts her health at risk. She is isolated - frequently not permitted to leave the household, and thus unable to be assisted, supported or protected by other women.
  
• Adulthood: overworked and undernourished. A woman in Bangladesh works twice as many hours as her husband (see page 10). Her triple burden - child-rearing, work in the household and paid labor outside the home - goes unrecognised and unsupported. She is malnourished throughout her life (see page 8), even while pregnant and nursing.
  
• Mistreated in widowhood: The social status of a widow is the lowest of all women in Bangladesh. She may be mistreated or regarded as dishonourable if she tries to support herself by working outside the home. Although Muslim law dictates that she receive a share of her husband's property, in reality only 32 per cent of widows receive their rightful inheritance.