Consider what it would be like to walk into an eye clinic in rural Bangladesh, where preventable blindness is still a harsh reality, and be treated and served by a woman. It is not just a dream about gender equity; it is a solution to a very deep-seated problem in Bangladesh. Nevertheless, women running projects for better eye health outcomes remain an anomaly within the country’s eye health sector. Despite their vital contributions to eye health care, women remain woefully underrepresented in senior roles in the field. This disparity affects who receives care, how services are delivered, and whether gender-specific barriers in eye health are adequately addressed.

The representation of women among ophthalmologists is less than 20 percent, and an even smaller proportion occupies senior roles in health facilities, academic centres, and national committees. Beyond workplace injustice, these inequities merge with broader societal stresses. Women in Bangladesh invest three times more unpaid service within households and caregiving compared to their male counterparts. The practice of ophthalmology requires commitment, with working hours extending beyond evening surgical schedules, regular traveling demands within outreach assignments, and high levels of accountability.

Read more at: https://dailyasianage.com/news/346284/promoting-womens-leadership-in-eye-health-in-bangladesh