Women's housing needs and rights

National Housing Authority implements the housing polices in Bangladesh. However, there seems to be certain contradictory trends of defining state mechanisms to prioritize concerns for the poor, disadvantaged women while allowing greater freedom for the private sector, though the basic principle of the NHP remains: ... the Government would play the role of an enabler over facilitator in the housing sector (Article 4.2) and not the role of a developer or provider; the government would play the provider's role only in the case of government employee's rental housing or ownership housing for the low income groups. However, it is evident that, over the last two governments' period, most of the government-built houses were for the upper grade government employees, political leaders, rather than low-income government employees or the poor people in general.

The NHP also promised special attention to housing needs for women, particularly women in difficult circumstances (Article 5.12) and disadvantaged women, such as widows, single women and women-headed households below poverty line (Article 5.14). Government initiatives in these areas, though largely rural-based, include Adarsha Gram, Asrayon, Ghare Phera, etc.

The reference in the NHP to Hostels for Working Women is found in article 5.12, which is subtitled as housing needs of women in difficult circumstances. But there is no mention of housing for women in general or for any other category in the long text of the NHP 1993 (or the revised 1999 NHP). There is also no other provision made in reference to protection of women's rights or opportunities in the various components of the housing programs, such as access to land and tenure or to housing finance.

As socio-cultural values and practice towards women is very patriarchal, some creative responses should be made in the NHP, so that women's special needs and interests of housing could be addressed. Due to the absence of priority or specific policy provisions, relevance to housing needs and aspirations of women, implementation of many housing and financing programmes for women are often neglected or overlooked as necessary beneficiaries both in urban and rural areas. However, Grameen Bank and some NGOs have initiated special affirmative approach targeting women as sole beneficiaries. The Grameen Bank's Housing Loan Programme, so far have served about 6,00,000 rural families. Most of these loans were issued in the name of Grameen's women members. Several larger NGOs have also provided housing support to the rural poor families, in most cases in the name of women. Though women are quite happy to be able to avail the housing loans in their names, the benefit goes to the families, as they do not have the land title. In case of separation of a woman from her family and husband, the house remains with the family and the woman ends up getting nothing.

Emerging housing needs of women
Working women's housing needs: Due to the privatisation and urbanization process, there is an increased female migration to urban areas due to the rapid socio-economic change and the shrinking economic capacity and landlessness in the rural areas. From the early eighties, the urban economy experienced a phenomenal growth of export-oriented formal sector industries and the consequent rise in demand for women labour particularly in the garment industry. Currently, this sector alone employs 1.8 million workers of whom 80 percent are migrant women from the rural areas. The difficulties women face in finding adequate and affordable housing compounds the stress of adjusting to this urban environment. Traditional social values prevent most of the landlords from renting their house to women not living with their families or are unmarried. As a result of having few housing options, bulk of women workers are often forced to accept slum conditions at unjust rent, high insecurity, frequent harassment and living without basic utility services.

Housing needs of female-headed households: Economic, social and cultural changes led to a rise in female-headed households, which tend to be more among the poorest in the poor urban settlements. This group of women, often constituting the urban poor and involved in the informal sector, requires low cost but secure housing near their workplace. There should be a policy attempt to ensure this, as it is critical to women's survival since women need a secure place to stay in order to engage in productive activities and raise children. In the urban settings, women are too poor to buy land or property and sometimes even cannot develop plots allocated to them.

Housing needs of female students: Every year a large number of female students move away from their homes to larger towns and cities for college and university education. These students need a place to stay, with proper environment and security. Very few have access to the few hostels attached to some of the major educational institutes as these hostels have only a limited number of seats. So the large number of female students seek alternative rental housing sources, either the privately owned buildings managed by landlords let out to students on individual-bed basis, or alternatively, groups of students rent a dwelling house and organise a communal living system, sharing their expenses. Both systems are popularly known as 'Mess' system, which is highly insecure, unprotected, and without any regulation of care and support. Some students seek accommodation facilities in the working-women's hostel and few stay with friends and relatives. A major consideration for all of them is affordable rental housing along with the facilities for a studying environment, facility for cooking meals and proximity to respective educational institutes. There is also reluctance to let out buildings to students for fear of damage or indiscipline. Normally, low quality buildings with low facilities are available to students. On the other hand, houses are let out to students at a higher rent.

Female students suffer from additional jeopardy of gender discrimination. Predominant social and cultural prejudices against women's independent living, prevent them from getting access into housing. A female student's security is an additional and prime concern unlike a male student of the same age group. This group of young women have became the sole target and victims of violence and sexual harassment across the country in the form of rape, murder after rape, suicide after rape, abduction, acid attack and trafficking. In many instances, safety concerns discourage the guardians from supporting their female wards from pursuing the desired level of education.

Hostel for female students of college and university, is a pre-condition for sustaining education of women at higher levels. In addition to the capital city, in all major cities there is a great demand for affordable and available housing for female students. Due to the unfavourable income and expenditure ratio, the private sector is unable to provide standard accommodation in privately run hostels. Establishment of improved, safe and affordable housing facilities for students only can come from government programmes while other organisations may facilitate the government with subsidisation of costs and a social agenda and matching funds.

Housing finance and women
Rural context: The question of financing women's shelter development in Bangladesh is basically related to increasing affordability of shelter for women. But beyond affordability, it is also vital that the financial mechanisms used, correspond to the specific shelter needs of women. Although, recent comprehensive statitistics on the distribution of rural land are not available, 10-15percent of rural households are functionally landless, with no formal land-ownership. A major obstacle to obtaining finance for shelter development of the functionally landless is thus their inability to provide necessary collateral for housing construction.

Within the rural context, provided that women own some plot of land, the Grameen house-building loan represents a successful programme that could be emulated. Currently, the Government of Bangladesh under the Bangladesh Bank has introduced a special housing loan programme entitled "Grihayan Tahabeel" (Housing Fund), implemented through local NGOs for the rural poors. The loan amount is Tk 20,000 per family for a 15-year term.

Financing schemes must be responsive to the vital role that women play in the process of development and reliability of women as loan borrowers.

Urban context: Although, no formal barrier exists in women's access to loans or credit for shelter development, it is the cumulative effect of legal norms and the financial system which disqualify women -- who are in most need of basic shelter, specially in the urban context -- from loans. The logic of the banking system excludes the landless from access to loans. This exclusion affects both men and women in an urban context and is in essence an engendered discrimination against the poor and the landless. Yet, as women are already disenfranchised through reduced formal ownership of property under personal laws of inheritance, it is less likely that they will be suitable candidates for loans for housing construction.

Government initiatives
Though National Housing Policy encourages the involvement of potential actors like private formal sector, private informal sector, NGOs, cooperatives, different government agencies to take up various housing related activities, upgrade shelter, extend basic services within the framework of housing policy and local level planning, the responses have been grossly inadequate. The limited responses from different stakeholders are as follows:

Working women's hostel: Government response to shelter problems of working-women resulted in the construction of five Working Women's Hostel in Dhaka and in four other divisional towns (Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Jessore) starting from the'80s, administered by the Department of Women Affairs (DWA). Two more are being constructed in Dhaka, at Mirpur and Khilgaon areas. All boarders must be involved in formal sector employment. For single rooms, a boarder is required to be a class 1 employee. Applicants, below grade III employee category are rejected as a rule. In other words, this project maintained with high government subsidy, is reserved for the higher income group in which the poor are barred.

GO-NGO collaboration for female garment workers' hostel: Government's commitment to working-women's housing has all along been unequivocally positive, as it has been consistently reflected in the NHP. The NHP provided a framework for addressing housing needs for both working-women and women in distressed circumstances. The Grihayan Tahbeel of GOB, administered through Bangladesh Bank approved Tk 100 million to BRAC for building hostels for 2,500 women workers of garment factories in Uttara, Dhaka with 1 percent interest, repayable in 20 years.

Nari Uddug Kendra's (NUK) Model Hostel for female garment workers at the EPZ Savar area is a more comprehensive and cost-effective hostel model compared to that of BRAC. It has qualified for government support and this acknowledgement by the government is consistent with its principle of most efficient utilisation of resources as laid down in the NHP. Being the only experienced and effective NGO implementing urban housing management programme for garment workers, NUK can ensure outreach of government assistance to target groups in a very efficient manner.

NGO initiatives
Nari Uddug Kendra (NUK): Currently NUK is operating three Hostel and Development Centre for women garment workers in Dhaka city with 600 seat-capacity, and two Student Hostels with 150 seat-capacity in Dhaka and Mymensingh. All the hostels are operating on a non-profit basis in hired premises.

NUK, however, realises that the magnitude of the problem of housing for all walks of women in Bangladesh, requires a multi-sectoral effort involving a planned and strategic policy approach on the part of government, private sector, international NGOs, UN agencies and other stakeholders.

YWCA Professional Women's Hostel: The YWCA hostel in Dhaka has been in operation for many years in its own building premises. The hostel has 70 seats and the boarders have higher economic status compared to garment workers.

Business and Professional Women Association's Hostel: The Business and Professional Women's Association is operating a professional women's hostel in Bailey Road, Dhaka. The borders are usually professional women working in government or private sector and have higher economic class status.

International policy
GOB, through the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MWCA), has been involved in national and international discussions on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It has accepted without reservation Article 14 (h) and Article 17 which asserts the right of women to "enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing...". Other sources of the right to adequate housing for women include international conventions and instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Declarations of the Rights of the Child (1959), ILO Recommendations no.115 concerning workers housing rights (1961), Vancouver Declaration of Human Settlements (1976), Agenda 21 (UNCED, 1992), Istanbul Declaration of Human Settlements (1996), Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 (1998) and the Istanbul +5 Review (2001). The United Nations Conference on Human Settlements was pioneering in its efforts to look at issues of women's control over property and land. The Habitat Agenda resulting from that meeting called for a range of actions and reforms to give women full and equal access.

Conclusion
Social, legal, financial and physical infrastructures are necessary to provide a framework for allowing women a freedom of choice in their shelter development. The existing institutional infrastructures leave many gaps and questions unanswered. Where can women go if they suffer harassment because of asserting their legal rights? Can financial compensation be given for inheritance from paternal land if land conveyance is not feasible? How can the assertion of women's rights to inheritance be stigmatised within the family context? These questions are by no means exhaustive, nor is there a single answer for all communities. Because of social, class and gender diversity complex, however, the creation of alternatives for gender equality in shelter development should be considered. While substantive strategy may vary between different categories of beneficiaries, careful and affirmative policy and programmes should be formulated and effectively implemented.

Mashuda Khatun Shefali is Executive Director, Nari Uddug Kendra.