Bangladesh ranks top in South Asia

Bangladesh is doing better than its neighbour India, and above the South Asian average in terms of gender equality, according to the Gender Equity Index (GEI) 2012.

Social Watch, an international watchdog organisation, published a report on Tuesday on the eve of the International Women’s Day.

The watchdog annually measures gender differences between women and men in education, economy and political empowerment.

The index is an average of the inequalities in the three dimensions. Of them, it examines the gender gap in enrolment at all levels of educational institutes.

In case of income and employment, the GEI measures the participation of women and men in the income generation activities.

It also examines the discriminations between male and female in highly qualified jobs, parliament and senior executive positions.

Bangladesh has earned 55 out of 100 points which is 18 more than India (37 points) on point table. Bangladesh’s position is also 16 points above the South Asian average, which stands at 39.

The region is led by Maldives (63 points), Sri Lanka (62) and Bangladesh (55). The countries in worst condition are India (37 points), Pakistan (29 points) and Afghanistan (15).

The South Asian gender gap is the lowest among regions, said the report. The five levels according to which the index measures the gender gap are Critical, Very Low, Low, Medium and Acceptable.