ABSTRACT
Belying its image as not only one of the world’s poorest countries but as one of the countries of the global periphery most enmeshed in the cycle of stagnation, low opportunity and gender inequality, since 1971 Bangladesh has shown a remarkable degree of social and economic change. Against a background of population growth exceeding 2.5 percent per annum in what was already one of the world’s most densely populated countries (ninth overall, according to UN statistics, 2000), Bangladesh has experienced radical social changes, notably in the role of women. In common with many countries in the South, these changes are most pronounced in the urban sector, which through the same period has grown from about 5 percent of the total population to over 20 percent of the current population of over 130 million. The rapid adoption of family planning, an initiative led by women, has contributed to a decline in the rate of population growth to 1.6 percent in 2001, and promises to continue to contribute to a rapid decline in net total fertility and rates of population growth. Although industry as a whole still contributes only 11 percent of the GDP, compared with the 32 percent derived from agriculture, the ready-made garment industry, in which women play a crucial role, dominates the growing industrial sector.
