Bangladesh Case Study
At-a Glance: Three projects in rural Bangladesh, that seek to reduce violence
against women, increase women’s marketing power, and help the poor
articulate and pursue their own vision of development
An in-depth Contextual Analysis was done of village power structure, social
dynamics, and mobility, using wealth ranking, genealogy, network matrix.
Background project information
In order to look at the impact of its programs on women’s empowerment, the
CARE team focused on three projects in rural NW Bangladesh with different
programmatic approaches:
1) Partnership for a Healthy Life (PHL) a project that seeks to reduce the
levels of violence against women
2) Women and Markets, designed to empower women economically and
increase their presence in markets
3) Nijeder Janyia Nijera, an initiative that works with poor men and women
to articulate and pursue their own vision of development.
Context
CARE Bangladesh started with a contextual analysis to try and understand
union1-level power structures, social dynamics in the study community, and class
and women’s mobility. The inquiry began with the local state and the democratic
process, emphasizing electoral practices, the role of women representatives in
local governance, local dispute arbitration (salish), and distribution of statefunded entitlements. It then explored perceptions and strategies in one village
around women’s empowerment, including gender and socialization, control over
resources and decision-making, marriage and dowry, mobility, access to income,
education, household conflict and violence, and women’s strategies to address
violence.
The analysis uncovered a number of issues about the upward mobility that public
office represents, how positions of power are used to earn money or buy votes,
and the potential for violence between candidates around access to state
resources and entitlements. Women elected officials find it difficult to operate in
a male-dominated domain and are often marginalized, but they also earn income
from their position and abuse their power. Salish (local dispute arbitration) can
be used for extortion purposes or to impose private justice. Men have
considerable influence over women’s mobility and wealthier, higher class women
may be further restricted by the practice of purdah (seclusion).
At the macro level, the Bangladesh context is dynamic and changing fast. Positive
changes for women in the past decade include increased participation in
remunerative activities and in secondary schooling, greater visibility and mobility
1
A union is a conglomeration of several villages, the lowest tier of government in Bangladesh, with a
population of roughly 25,000 to 35,000.
in the public sphere. However, such changes also bring the potential for backlash
and violence in the current political environment. The national policy for the
advancement of women has recently excluded a number of strategic interests for
women, including references to equal rights to land and property, and political
empowerment.
How empowerment is defined locally
“Empowered” was translated into Bengali as “strong” and “influential. When
women in were asked about what it means to be strong and influential, they
talked about being “free” and able to make decisions and move around freely.
Empowerment also involves:
 Self-esteem and confidence, including the ability to solve problems within the
household and beyond.
 Increasing access to and some control over income and assets
 Material security and the ability to give to or help others
 Having a voice in the household, being consulted, respected, and influencing
decisions or making joint decisions with their husbands
 Mobility and safety in public places, which is linked to access to services and
markets.
Many of these issues are influenced by class, income level, life cycle stage and
position within the household.
Research methodology and tools
First all households were disaggregated to understand socio-economic
differences, through participatory analysis and objective wealth grouping by
landholdings. The team then created a community genealogy to show
relationships between class and kinship, and how resources were distributed,
including NGO membership. Finally women from different wealth categories
were interviewed to construct a network matrix for each woman to map out social
relations and mobility patterns. This information was used to select men and
women for individual interviews to explore how men and women from different
socio-economic backgrounds view empowerment.
Union-level power structure: Understanding power dynamics required
individual interviews or work with very small groups in compounds rather than
public spaces. The team interviewed residents from all socio-economic groups
and then mapped the union infrastructure and key actors (elites). They were
asked about voting practices, women’s participation in key committees, and
relationships between union-level and ward-level elites.
The study community: To understand the how the practices around governance
influence the social dynamics, it was important to consider how class and kinship
intersect with vote purchasing, salish and the distribution of entitlements.
“Objective wealth ranking” involves a focus group discussion (FGD) in which a
card was filled out for each household recording land owned and operated, the
profession of key income earners (men and women), NGO membership and
access to state funded entitlements. For kinship relations within the hamlet, staff
sat with elderly men and created a genealogy. Later, staff superimposed wellbeing information and NGO membership onto this genealogy to gain a sense of
how class and kinship intersect and how NGO membership is distributed within
the community. Bangladeshi social structure is patriarchal and kinship is
important as the male heads of kin groups strongly influence gender norms
around seclusion (purdah), particularly through their role as salishkar (dispute
arbitrators). Staff also worked with elderly men to better understand the
community’s history. They constructed a time line to understand what how key
events had affected different groups in the community.
Class and Women’s Mobility: Using the well-bring rankings, four women were
selected to construct network diagrams (one from each rank). This exercise
begins with the interviewer constructing the woman’s and her husband’s
immediate kinship tree. It is then used to discuss the number of interactions that
she has with her close kin and then with non kin (women and men). Names and
relation (neighbor, service provider, local elected member) are recorded on cards,
which are organized by whether they reside inside or outside the village. Types of
relationships (loans, friendship, legal advise, day-to-day support) are identified
and also written on the cards. A network matrix was constructed for each
woman, with types of relationships across the top, and names of kin and non kin
are placed down the side. The frequency of the interaction and whether it
constitutes a giving or receiving interaction was also established. The data is
entered electronically to create a diagram that visually highlights “the density” of
interaction. The interviewers also asked whether women physically move to
visit the persons with whom they have a given interactions or if the person comes
to them, thus establishing patterns of mobility. We then spoke to other women
and asked if the patterns we found are representative of their socio-economic
background.
Gender and Socialization: An exercise was used to identify the different ways in
which parents bring up boys and girls, the consequences of gender inequalities
(not differences per se) and how things might be changing. Three women and 3
men, from middle-income and poorer households, were identified. They had to
be parents who had at least one son and one daughter. The method can be used in
a mixed group or separately with women and then with men, with findings
compared in mixed meetings. Here it was used as an individual exercise,
because it deals with sensitive resource issues and that women would have been
reluctant to speak openly in a group, even without men present. It tends to
encourage responses about the ‘ideal’ and not necessarily daily practice, but it
does illustrate how gender inequalities are embedded in socialization. It could
also be helpful to start talking about gender issues in a community.
Individual interviews were carried out with 11 women and 11 men regarding
women’s control over resources, how decisions are made, what decisions they
make and the strategies they use to influence decisions made by men. The
interviews were semi-structured and used key personal events in the women’s
lives as the basis for discussing decision-making, women’s interpretation and use
of power. Interviews were carried out with a spread of wealth groupings,
younger/older women and men, in both nuclear and extended households.
The interview checklist was generated from relevant literature and discussions
with field facilitators who know the local context. Specific questions on ‘power’
and ‘empowerment’ were discussed and translated as strength, influence and
control. The interview was piloted in the field and changes were made. The
checklist was also adapted for interviews with men. As preparation, a mock
interview between a researcher and a field facilitator was observed by the other
facilitators, who then carried out the interviews in the village.
Workshop on conflict: A workshop was held with 12 women from poorer
households to consider situations that provoke conflict and violence at the
household level, and discuss what happens and why, and how women try and
avoid or resolve conflicts in a way that avoids violence. The facilitators selected
the women who would be willing and allowed to attend such a workshop away
from home – they had all participated in previous or current CARE projects and
some had emerged as ‘natural leaders’ in the Nijera project.
The workshop used scenarios that occur in the local context, with village women
directing and participating in role play, followed by discussion on what happened
and why. Four issues that emerged in individual interviews were prioritized:
dowry, repayment of loans to NGOs, food and mobility. Field facilitators were
told that the village women would direct the role play and determine the
outcomes of a given situation; women field facilitators would work with the
village women and could also take part, but male facilitators would only enter
after the role play was ‘scripted’, that is, only as actors.
Scenarios worked well to de-personalize sensitive issues, although women
increasingly referred to their own lives as the workshop progressed. Their
openness reflects their relationship with CARE staff, the safe environment that
had been created, but also the extent to which violence is part of their lives. One
group decided to have women play the part of men and to only have a women
audience, but changed their minds after the first role play, perhaps reflecting the
safe environment. The workshop started and ended with tea, music and less
distressing subjects and activities. Workshops using scenarios, in a safe
environment away from women’s homes, may be a useful way to discuss sensitive
issues, provided women are able to travel.
Indicators of empowerment
Access/control of income and assets: Poorer women are now more likely to earn
money and control their income. Women in wealthier households don’t work
outside the home but still develop strategies to accumulate money (e.g., selling
rice). In general, women’s contribution to family income is viewed positively by
men. However, parents are concerned with saving money for their daughters’
dowries, which negatively impacts empowerment as many loans are for this
purpose.
Decision-making: Women gave many examples of being involved in decisions,
such as increasing economic resources for the household (planting trees, buying
land), marrying for love, influencing decisions on daughter’s marriage and
successfully contesting a husband’s decision on what a loan in her name should
be used for.
Mobility/safety: 10-15 years ago, women’s mobility was restricted, women are
now going to markets (traditionally a male-dominated space), to banks, to NGOs,
and social events. Older and wealthier women are still influenced by the practice
of purdah, while access to education has given younger women increased
freedom, however girls’ mobility is considered more dangerous now.
Self-esteem/confidence: Women are comfortable raising difficult issues in role
play workshops, which are then shared with the community. Women also
reported being able to persuade their husbands to participate in community
sanitation projects, even digging latrines.
Marriage/dowry: Though illegal, dowry is still a widespread, accepted practice
and the sums of money are increasing.
Access to justice/gender-based violence: Gender-based violence is rising,
particular around issues related to dowry. While some men never lift a hand
against their wives, some form of physical violence occurs in the overwhelming
majority of poor households. More violence occurs in the lean season when food
is scarce. Gender-based conflict and violence are inter-related with issues of
income and resource use, mobility, and decision-making.
Education: Government stipends have increased the number of girls going to
school. Women go in groups to collect the stipends at the banks, also increasing
their mobility. Education is an important lever for change in improving women’s
status and promoting more equitable gender relations.
Lessons learned/Conclusions
 Analysis should be disaggregated in relation to class, income, age, religion and
household structure and composition, and stage in one’s life cycle. Careful
sampling and analysis is required on how these factors intersect with class
and religion.
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Individual interviews were selected over focus group discussion because of the
depth and personal nature of the information about empowerment. However,
group discussions would allow triangulation and increase the reliability of
findings. They may also be valuable in themselves as consciousness-raising
experiences.
Staff’s familiarity with elites and the forms of respect that elites expect were
helpful in building rapport. Interestingly, staff were confronted with their own
biases towards elites and found that the findings contradicted their own
views.
Since the research was carried out in a wholly Muslim village, differences
between women based on religion could not be identified.
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Programs that build on women’s own strategies and harness the support of
men who are less restrictive of their women are likely to have a positive
impact on women’s empowerment. Staff should be sensitive to the
possibilities of men’s resistance to increased women’s empowerment,
including the use of violence.
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Even in relatively oppressive contexts, there are women and even men, who
want to struggle for greater empowerment of women. The challenge is to
develop strategies which include more women, and avoid the situation where
only a small number of strong and more courageous women participate.
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Building on issues on which there is greater consensus, (girls’ education
women’s skills development; income-generating activities) may pave the way
for discussion of more sensitive issues, such as mobility and safe access for
women to public spaces, dowry issues, and access to justice. However, women
view material security as an essential dimension of empowerment, so any
program that addresses this dimension directly for women makes a
contribution to the process.
The selection of research methods and tools depends to a great extent on the
time, human and financial resources available. Some general guiding principles
include:
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Do a contextual analysis at both the micro and macro levels. Changes at
the macro level (e.g., migration, increase in women’s waged labor)
influence gender relations and participation in projects.
Use tools appropriate to the context and to the project (methods for the
markets project differed from the project which addresses violence)
Triangulate with different methods and sources of information
Sufficient time and training of CARE staff if they are to be involved in field
research on both the conceptual framework and the methods/tools.
Questions related to gender and power are sensitive and difficult to ask
and analyze. Sufficient time and resources are necessary to prepare field
researchers (including the issue of translating concepts and terms from
English to Bangla and back again). In addition, questions of bias will have
to be addressed, since the possible prior relationships between CARE staff
and respondents may affect the results.
Tools which may be usefully employed (and triangulated to increase
reliability), include:
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Community profiling including wealth groupings and community time
lines (for community-based projects)
Livelihoods analysis (project participants and non-participants)
Institutional mapping and network analysis (project participants and nonparticipants)
Individual interviews to discuss impacts of the project on different
dimensions of women’s empowerment and on individual and collective
strategies (this is a core method to explore sensitive issues)
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Focus group discussions, to check results
Life histories of project participants
Scenario-based workshops on conflict at household and other levels (eg in
markets)
It is important to be sensitive to changing boundaries and avoid putting
individual women at risk, while trying to uncover hidden experience and
give voice to women’s own perceptions of and strategies for empowerment.
Further Reading
Strategic Impact Inquiry in CARE Bangladesh
Women’s Empowerment: Perceptions, Boundaries and Strategies in Jalagari
village, N.W. Bangladesh: A study for CARE Bangladesh to inform the Strategic
Impact Inquiry (SII) on Women’s Empowerment
CARE Bangladesh: SII on women’s Empowerment: A discussion on methods
Engaging Elites in Community-led development
Empowerment Entry points
Confronting rights-denial: Reflections on CARE Bangladesh VAW Initiative
Power Analysis in the context of Rights-based programming
Disaggregating community through social analysis
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