Women fishers must also get ID cards alongside men: Fisheries Adviser

Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhtar has stressed the need for issuing fishing cards to women alongside men in fishing families, highlighting their significant yet unrecognised contribution to the sector.

Speaking as chief guest at the National Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Fisheries Management, organized by the Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS) at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday (September 17), she said only 4 percent of fishing cards currently belong to women, despite their central role in the profession.

“Fishing is a family-based livelihood where women often work more than men, yet only men are officially recognised. To ensure fairness, women should also be issued cards along with their male counterparts,” she said.

The adviser pointed out that women fishers face both social and legal hurdles. “Many women run households in the absence of their husbands or fish themselves to support their families. When men die or go missing at sea, their wives cannot withdraw money from banks or access widow allowances due to legal complexities. These barriers must be removed,” she added.

Farida Akhtar said the draft Fisheries Act 2025 is being prepared with a focus on addressing such inequalities. “Our laws were designed with men in mind. Women’s presence in the system is minimal. If we want recognition, we must start by recognising their numbers,” she noted.

The adviser also emphasized ensuring fishing cards go only to genuine fishers. “Earlier, cards were misused by non-fishers. Those have been canceled. We want real fishermen to get them, and women must also be included where men are listed.”

She further called for excluding crabs and oysters from the Forest Department’s definition of forest products, warned against the use of pesticides in fishing, and urged that leases of Swamp and backswamp be allocated directly to genuine fishers instead of third parties.

Acknowledging current limitations, she said assistance during fishing bans under the VGF programme remains inadequate, and discussions are underway with the Ministry of Finance to increase coverage and support. “We want to build a society free from discrimination,” she affirmed.

Director General of the Department of Fisheries, Dr. Md. Abdur Rouf, present as special guest, highlighted wage discrimination, saying, “Women workers in the sector earn 30 percent less than men. Out of 1.7 million registered fishers, only 44,000 are women. This figure must rise.”

The dialogue also featured contributions from CNRS Director M. Anisul Islam, Oxfam Bangladesh’s Shahjadi Begum, CNRS Director Dr. M. Aminul Islam, and Jago Women’s Research Team Leader Ahmed Abidur Reza Khan.

Government officials, researchers, development partners, academics, civil society representatives, and members of coastal fishing communities took part in the discussion, which generated several recommendations to promote gender equality and sustainable fisheries management.