For the first time in Bangladesh’s history, women’s unpaid care work has been formally acknowledged in a national budget speech. Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, in the proposed 2025–26 budget, recognized the invisible labor women perform in households, calling it “silent and relentless” and noting its vital contribution to national well-being. He promised future steps to incorporate this work into the GDP, an overdue recognition feminist movements have long demanded.
While this acknowledgment is significant, it falls short of structural support. No Gender-Responsive Budget (GRB) was announced, breaking a two-decade practice, and there is no allocation for the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. This raises serious concerns about the government’s actual commitment to gender equality.
Yes, there are increases in allowances for elderly, destitute, and abandoned women, and proposals to ease access to collateral-free loans for women entrepreneurs. However, without redistributive policies, including childcare, paid leave, and sustained investment in care infrastructure, recognition remains symbolic.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue and Manusher Jonno Foundation report shows that the value of unpaid care work is 2.5 to 2.9 times higher than women’s paid income. Yet this labor is still missing from financial metrics and policy priorities.
As Shaheen Anam of Manusher Jonno Foundation rightly states, without embedding care work in the national accounting and policy systems, this remains a symbolic gesture, not a transformative one.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives joins the call for gender-just economic policy. Recognition must be followed by resourcing, redistribution, and representation. Otherwise, we risk applauding invisibility without undoing it.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 