Session 5: SOCIAL TRANSITIONS

Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 | 6:00pm – 7:45pm | Bangladesh Time (GMT+6)

Dr Sohela Nazneen
Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex

Paper Title – Contentious Empowerment?: Women, Development and Change in Bangladesh

Abstract:

In the last 50 years, Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress on gender equality gains, starting from a lower base compared to other countries in the region. These include a rapid decline gender disparities in education (school enrolment), a rising female labour force participation, a significant reduction in maternal mortality, and a strong numerical presence of women in parliament and local government. However, gender inequalities in some areas remain persistent—apparent in the high levels of malnutrition among women and girls, child marriage, and violence against women. Sticky social norms and gatekeepers still restrict women’s access to resources, spaces within formal institutions and voice. In this paper, I move beyond the usual discussion on women’s empowerment as a matter of control over resources within the household or participation in paid work and focus on how women as a collective group gaining and exercising power. I provide a broad historical overview of the unevenness in change and the role played by national and interactional actors that created scope for women to participate in public life and push for change- albeit within certain parameters. I also ask: Are the gender equality gains sustainable? I use case studies of women’s collective struggles to explore this question. I focus on the strategies women’s movement actors have used to negotiate with the Bangladeshi state and how national and regional economic and political shifts may positively or adversely influence the choices and pathways for Bangladeshi women to advance their interests and change the future.