Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP), the National Women Development Policy 2011, the National Health Policy particularly on gender equality, adequate allocations in the national budget are not the only prerequisites for achieving the targets set  in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); proper implementation of budgetary allocations is a must.

The concept of gender budgeting in Bangladesh was initiated for the first time in the fiscal year (FY) 2005-06 in four ministries with the broader perspective of achieving gender justice (MoWCA 2011). For the current FY 2011-12, UD$ 5800.19 million has been allocated for the gender budget which is 26.40 percent of the national budget (0.08 percent higher than that of  FY 2010-11) and 4.80 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (MoF 2011). The figure seems promising at first sight; however, the outcome of such a huge allocation is yet to be seen since there is no mechanism of quantifying the implementation status of this gender budget (Laboni and Saleh 2011).

The objective of this study is to figure out the reasons why the targets of gender equality have not been met in every sphere of the government in Bangladesh. Data for the study will be collected mainly from secondary sources, both government and private. The study will explore the real scenario of gender budgeting vis-à-vis ground realities and it will propose changes in policies and mechanisms that can help avoid gender disparity.

References

Laboni, F.R. and Saleh, A.Z.M 2011, ‘Gender budgeting: What should be the focus?’, The Financial Express, 10 June, accessed 15 August 2011,  .

MoF 2011, Ministry of Finance, Finance Division, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, accessed 15 August 2011, .

MoWCA 2011, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, accessed 15 August 2011, .