Eid-ul-Azha is, without a doubt, a festival of joy. It is also at the centre of a wide range of economic activities, i.e. the demand and supply of sacrificial animals, various rituals associated with the sacrifice itself, a seasonal leather market driven by the animal hides produced, Eid shopping, etc. However, in the excitement of the festivities, we often forget the true spirit of Eid-ul-Azha and become blind to the various social inequalities that become more apparent during this festival.

The core aspect of the Eid-ul-Azha economy involves the trading of sacrificial cattle, which represent an economic supply chain. Part of this supply comes from beyond the borders, involving import-based activities. There have been many cases of cattle being smuggled into the country through illegal routes. As a result, black markets and smuggling networks have emerged around Eid cattle trade. However, local livestock producers remain the major source of sacrificial cattle. Behind this supply lies investment and year-round care. For example, rural women often buy calves at low prices—sometimes with their own savings, sometimes through loans. Then, they raise the animals, feeding and nurturing them. When the animals grow big enough, they are sold at higher prices. This individual-level process plays a significant role in strengthening the rural economy and improving the welfare of many families. Some NGOs run similar programmes in the country.

This year, more than 3,600 cattle markets will be set up across the country for Eid-ul-Azha. The demand for sacrificial animals is expected to be a little over one crore, and local producers are able to meet this demand, per the government data. In recent years, online cattle markets have also gained momentum as a growing number of young entrepreneurs are engaged in livestock farming and selling animals online, bypassing physical markets. However, whereas taxes are imposed on physical markets, generating revenue for the government, online cattle markets are exempted from this.

Wage-based economic activities expand during this festival. Transportation of cattle is a major activity, creating temporary jobs. Demand for butchers, too, rises during Eid—both professional full-time butchers and temporary seasonal workers. Then there is the cattle hide trade. Eid-ul-Azha generates a massive amount of raw animal hides that boost Bangladesh’s leather export to a great extent. In FY2025, the export earnings of the leather industry—second largest export-oriented sector in the country—stood at $1.14 billion. However, raw hide export has not picked up the momentum as expected. The government lifted the complete restriction on raw hide export in 2020 and allowed limited export on a case-by-case basis. Yet, much of the export potential is lost due to inexperienced handling, poor preservation, and lack of quality control. A significant amount of hides get damaged during the collection process. If more emphasis was put on ensuring proper preparation and preservation of raw hides, the country could earn a lot more foreign currency from exports.

For most people, Eid-ul-Azha is heralded as the occasion for sacrifice, but in some cases, it also becomes an occasion for excesses, competition, and demonstration. The celebration of this Eid is not always levelled, and there are rituals that are quite often indicative of social inequalities that exist in society.

Let’s take the core aspect of this Eid into consideration. A major expense is the purchase of sacrificial animals. The saddest part is that many people, without understanding the true spiritual meaning of sacrifice, engage in an unhealthy competition to buy expensive animals. This drives an inflation of prices in the cattle markets before Eid. In a display of opulence, conversations on whose sacrificial animal is better and more expensive can be heard in neighbourhoods and communities. This affects everyone, including those unable to afford expensive cattle.

During Eid-ul-Azha, poor communities often depend on the generosity of well-off households for sacrificial meat. For many underprivileged families, this is the only time of the year they get to eat meat. But obtaining that meat itself is a struggle. From early morning, crowds of poor people gather in front of households, observing the ritual. During meat distribution, pushing, fighting, and chaos often break out, and sometimes people get injured. This is a horrifying image of inequality. And collecting meat is not enough; many people cannot afford the condiments required to cook the meat either. This, too, is a naked side of inequality.

While Eid-ul-Azha is a festival of harmony, unity, and giving, within the present realities of our society and our socioeconomic structure, we cannot deny that the rituals and activities we perform during this occasion contain some seeds of social disparity. To uphold the true spirit of this festival, should we not do away with the excesses and make the celebration more humane and inclusive? We may not be able to eliminate all these inequalities, but can we not at least do away with unsavoury expressions of opulence by practising sensibility and awareness?

Selim Jahan is former director of the Human Development Report Office under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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