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
Nazneen Kanji with Brigitta Bode and Anowarul Haq*
30th August 2005
* Nazneen Kanji is a senior researcher at the Institute of Environment and Development
(nazneen.kanji@iied.org); Brigitta Bode and Anowarul Haq are respectively
Coordinator and Programme Officer of CARE’s Social Development Unit in
Bangladesh.
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1. Introduction and Conceptual Framework
CARE’s Impact Measurement and Learning Team in Atlanta is coordinating a
Strategic Impact Inquiry (SII) to understand better CARE International’s contribution
to women’s empowerment and gender equity. Four country offices – Ecuador,
Yemen, Niger and Bangladesh – have participated in the first phase of the SII. In
Bangladesh, it was felt that some research needed to be done to examine issues of
gender, power and views of women’s empowerment before moving to an
assessment of Care’s impact on this complex issue. This report discusses findings
from a short piece of field work carried out to gain a more nuanced understanding of
women’s own views of power, equality and social inclusion and of how women
negotiate forms of subordination (TORs in Annex 1). The research built on CARE
Bangladesh’s SII literature review carried out by an external consultant and the
context analysis carried out by CARE’s Social Development Unit. The study also
explored methods to assist CARE in future programming and the next phase of the
Strategic Impact Inquiry.
The activities of the consultancy included:
1. Background reading of SDU-commissioned reports and studies.
2. Participation in a half-day workshop (31 May) which included two sessions:
a presentation and discussion of the literature review and the programming
approaches of three projects selected for the SII (by an external consultant)
and a presentation and discussion of the context analysis (Social
Development Unit)
3. Field work based in Jalagari Village, Gaibanda District, workshops and
debriefings in Rangpur and preliminary analysis (1-10 June) .
4. Attendance of CARE’s Global Strategic Impact Inquiry Synthesis
Conference in London (14-17 June) to present and discuss the study
methods and findings.
This paper represents the final output that synthesises the study and draws out the
implications for the SII process in Bangladesh in the next fiscal year.
Conceptual framework
CARE’s SII is using a framework based on Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration
which has been operationalised by Martinez (2005), Bode (2005) and Howes (2005).
The concepts of structure, agency and power have been discussed extensively and
will not be repeated here. Much of the literature on gender relations in Bangladesh
describes how society is organised on patrilineal and patrilocal lines, “with
segregation of the sexes, a strict division of labour and a systematic bias of male
dominance and superiority” (Nazneen, 2004:v). However, macro-level shifts in rural
livelihoods, interventions by the state and NGOs (micro-credit, health, provision for
women’s political representation) have affected social norms and relations as well as
women’s bargaining power (Rozario, 2000; Mallorie, 2003). Research in Bangladesh
which analyses intra-household relations points out that relations between husband
and wife are characterised by asymmetrical interdependence, where women are
perceived to have more limited rights and entitlements. Given this restrictive
environment, some researchers argue that women often decide to avoid overt conflict
and assert their agency indirectly, through negotiations with their husbands and
aspiring for ‘jointness’ in management of the household, since acting independently
may mean loss of material and social support (Kabeer, 1998, White, 1992).
Some of this research emphasises that Bangladeshi women are not passive nor
suffering from false consciousness, but are strategic decision-makers who employ a
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range of strategies to further their interests, which make sense in their local context.
Women’s choices and strategies are mediated by class, wealth or income level, age,
religion, the nature and composition of the household and the nature of the local
political economy, which in turn is affected by the wider context. Women from poorer
households tend to be involved in income-earning activities and tend to be more
mobile, which does increase their decision-making power over resources. However,
increased mobility raises questions over their status in wider society because of
purdah norms (discussed in section 4), whilst the overall ideology of male control,
which is manifested in widespread harassment and violence against women, tends to
persist. It is important to note that the “political” sphere is regarded as a male domain
that excludes women, despite statutory provision for their inclusion (see Nazneen,
2004)
This study focuses on women’s agency, within an analysis of the local context (Bode,
2005) and seeks to present the strategies they use to further their interests in daily
life. It also discusses women’s views of empowerment and the way in which men
view current changes in social and gender norms.
The report is divided into the following sections:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Introduction and Conceptual Framework
Research methods
Gender and socialisation
Key gender issues raised by the interviews
Gender-based violence
Perceptions of “women’s empowerment” and lessons for CARE programmes
Implications of the study for the Strategic Impact Inquiry
2. Research Methods
This study was carried out in Jalagari village, where the land ownership pattern
amongst households is relatively egalitarian. Research was carried out in one wholly
muslim para, (the term para is used for neigbourhood or hamlet) with 95 households,
only 12 of which are food secure throughout the year, indicating how poor the
community is. There are five kin groups (gustis) in the para, which vary in size but
which have fairly similar income distributions.
The sampling for the research was based on a prior well-being grouping exercise
which divided the community into five categories: well-off (12 households); middle
(28); lower-middle (18), poor (28) and very poor (9). The nine poorest households in
the community only have homestead land and are all female-headed. (The
characteristics of these groupings are presented in the contextual report).
CARE’s field facilitators from the Nijera project (which includes this para) were asked
to randomly select women and men from each grouping, sometimes based on
additional criteria relating to household structure and composition. If respondents
were unavailable, the facilitators selected another household with the relevant
characteristics. However, in trying to assess the spread of households that had been
included in the study, we discovered that women from one gusti had been omitted
because the head is conservative and the facilitators felt that he was likely to have
obstructed the interviews. The first methodological lesson for the SII is therefore to
1) pay attention to sampling within the frame and criteria laid out, for example,
selecting from the actual cards used in the well-being grouping and 2) note when it is
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not possible to interview a woman and the reasons why, so that any influence on
study results can be discussed.
This study included an exercise in gender and socialisation; individual interviews with
women and men and finally, a workshop on household conflict. Each method is
discussed below.
Gender and socialisation exercise
An exercise on gender and socialisation was carried out with 3 women and 3 men,
from middle-income and poorer households within the para, as identified by a wealth
grouping exercise. Facilitators were asked to select parents, from within the wealth
group, who had at least one son and one daughter. The exercise was used to
identify the different ways in which parents bring up boys and girls, what are the
consequences of gender inequalities (not differences per se) and how things might
be changing. The exercise tends to encourage responses about the ‘ideal’ and does
not necessarily reflect the variations of daily practice, but it does illustrate how
gender inequalities are embedded in socialisation and provides a good starting point
for discussions about the basis for such differences, outcomes and possible
changes.
The method has been used in a mixed group (women and men) in other contexts, or
separately with women and then with men, with findings compared in mixed
meetings. The exercise was adapted for the local context from literature and from the
experience of field staff. The exercise was also carried out with Care staff as
participants (two mixed groups of women and men) to familiarise them with the
method to be used in the field. In this village study, it was used as an individual
exercise, because the facilitators who knew the para well felt that it deals with
sensitive resource issues and that women in a group would have been reluctant to
speak openly, even without men present. The exercise is useful in promoting a
debate and influencing changes for greater gender equality. Care staff were positive
about their learning through this exercise – both personally and in their
understanding of the communities they work with.
This method was useful in understanding embedded perceptions of gender and
power, and it may be helpful to start talking about gender issues in a community.
Individual interviews
Individual interviews were carried out with 11 women and 11 men to discuss
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 nuclear and joint households (note that nuclear households may live within a
common compound with relatives, but cook separately).
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
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researcher and a field facilitator was observed by the other facilitators who then
carried out the interviews in the para.
Individual interviews were selected over focus group discussion because of the depth
and personal nature of the information we wanted to collect. Due to lack of time,
interviewers were only minimally prepared. There were few problems due to the
quality of SDU staff and the project working culture, but they still found direct
questions on power difficult and needed more practice. In addition, the lack of
available women field facilitators meant that we did not carry out as many interviews
with women as we had hoped to. This issue will have to be resolved for the SII.
The Care field staff learnt a lot from the interviews, having found it difficult to know
how to work on gender issues in the past. There was also positive feedback from
respondents on the interview experience, and no negative feedback
Individual interviews should form the core method for the SII, given the sensitive
nature of the issue of ‘women’s empowerment’ in Bangladesh. Although we did not
have time, there is scope for discussing issues arising from individual interviews in
groups, using different methods described in the final section of this report, to
triangulate and increase the reliability of findings. Group discussions may also be
valuable in themselves as consciousness-raising experiences.
Workshop on conflict
A workshop was held with 12 women from poorer households to consider situations
which provoke conflict and violence at the household level, to discuss what happens
and why, and how women try and avoid or resolve conflicts in a way which 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 which occur in the local context, with village women
directing and participating in role play, followed by discussion on what happened and
why. Four issues, which had also emerged in individual interviews, were prioritised:
dowry issues; repayment of loans to NGOs, food and mobility. The workshop method
was discussed with field facilitators who would work directly with the women. It was
made clear 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-personalise 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. We started and ended the workshop with tea and music and it was
important to begin and close with 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 in the SII, provided women are able to
travel away from their homes.
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3. Socialisation and gender inequalities
This section presents the results of the gender and socialisation exercise. Table 1
illustrates that, as in most societies, boys and girls are socialised in very different
ways.
Table 1: Summary responses to gender and socialisation exercise
Birth to 6 (school age)
Birth rituals and celebrations
Boy preferred by women/men
Birth announced (Ajan) for boy and not for girl
Much bigger celebration for boy in naming ceremony
(according to resources available)
Behaviour/ showing of emotion
Mothers pay equal attention when both cry, others pay less
attention to the girl
Boy expected to be more vocal, louder and more active
Toys are differentiated
Food distribution
Most said boys get more and better food
Mothers sometimes try and convince sons to share best bits of
food with their sisters.
6-12 years
Division of labour
Boys work with father in agriculture or business
Girls help mother with housework within the home
Mobility
Boys allowed to go where they want and alone.
Girls are not allowed out alone outside the para, eg to visit
relatives or go to school (exception – one girl goes to fields
with father)
School attendance
Priority to boy’s education. Girls should go to school to learn to
read and write, learn to cook and keep house and be prepared
for marriage.
(one respondent said it would be more difficult to find a match
for the girl if she was more educated)
12-14 (girls) 12-20 (boys)
Education at puberty
Friends and male cousins talk to boys. Mother and women
relatives to girls about menstruation.
Resource allocation (present and
future) eg land/property rights
Sons will inherit property but all said they would consider
Islamic law to give 1/3 of agricultural land to daughters.
Dowry and preparation for marriage
All women and men expected to ask for and take dowries with
the exception of one man (his first wife was killed in a dowry
conflict)
There was considerable consistency in the responses, across wealth groups and
gender. A resource bias towards boys is clear, and more limited opportunities for girls
to develop their capabilities. The rules of socialisation are set by the elders of the
gusti and enforced by the samaj, (which is variously translated as ‘society’, local
‘brotherhood’) embodied in the actions of male elders. Both women and men agreed
that if girls break the rules, they are called “viadop” or “diwani” (disobedient, gone
bad). Gossip is feared and families who do not bring up girls in relation to such norms
may even be isolated.
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Both women and men acknowledge that boys get more resources and benefits than
girls. However, some mothers did tell us that they try and convince sons to share
better food with their sisters. Women and men also gave different reasons for
following such differential allocation. The men tended to refer to societal order, to the
fact that girls will be praised if they follow the rules and that marriage was easier to
arrange for such girls. Women tended to reason that sons will stay closer to them
and would stand by and provide for them in later life.
CARE facilitators also did the exercise in two groups, as preparation for using the
exercise with village women. One group considered their own childhood experiences
while the other discussed the parenting of their own children. Their own childhoods
reflected the findings presented above although in one case, a woman member of
staff had received some land from her parents, although less than her brothers.
However, the way they bring up their own children shows more equal allocation of
food, clothes and toys as well as educational opportunities. Although most continue
to follow birth and naming rituals which give preference to boys, one member of staff
had broken with tradition and announced the birth of his daughter. In addition,
decision-making on marriage is more consultative, with more scope for daughters to
choose between suitors. Shifts in socialisation practices are likely to be linked to
class and educational levels.
This exercise, followed by focus group discussions, could be usefully carried out
within projects which aim to “empower” communities and promote rights-based
approaches to development. If programmes are working to change attitudes and
behaviour around gender inequalities, this exercise could be useful to explore
changes in socialization as a result of programme interventions.
4. Key gender issues raised by the study
The individual interviews used key personal events in the woman’s life to discuss her
control over resources, decision-making and the strategies women use to influence
decisions made by men. Men’s views about women’s changing roles are also
explored.
The interviews pointed to a range of inequalities between women and men in access
to a range of material and social resources and in decision-making. The issues which
women raised related to marriage and dowry; access to income; mobility; education
and skills as well as decision-making at household and community levels. The way in
which they negotiate on these issues will be discussed in this section, drawing
wherever relevant on the workshop in conflict and on the discussions following the
gender and socialisation exercise.
Mobility
The interviews confirmed the results of the network analysis carried out in the
contextual study. Women’s mobility within the para is generally acceptable. Poorer
women (in the bottom two of the five wealth groups in the village) tended to be most
mobile and leave the para to work, to shop, to visit family and to attend social events.
In general, wealthier women were more purdah-conscious since there is a loss of
status associated with being present in public spaces, although this is being
constantly renegotiated over time as women do new things. Within better-off
households, however, there may be generational differences with younger women
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being more mobile, and wanting to be so, even if they do not work outside the
homestead.
Women leaving the para without their husband’s permission can be a real source of
conflict. In the workshop which we held in Rangpur, the women who attended were
actively involved with NGOs, usually as group leaders. However, they had been
careful to seek permission from their husbands and some had taken pains to ensure
that children would not bother their husbands, for example, by giving them a little
money to buy sweets. One had even told her husband not to beat her if she was late.
The local market (haat) is public space dominated by men and women risk
harassment if they go there. One woman who was interviewed described such
harassment and while she would rather avoid what is an unpleasant experience, she
goes out of necessity. She has even tried to challenge men’s behaviour asking if they
would behave in this way to their sisters or mothers (see Box 1). It is more
acceptable to go to the upazilla (sub-district) market which is more anonymous.
However, only better-off women would have the resources to travel from village to a
more distant market. The differences between local markets and larger upazilla
markets may be complex and need further probing and investigation. There are
‘illegal’ activities such as gambling, the sale of drugs, prostitution and even child
trafficking which take place in markets. It may be that larger markets have some
spaces which are ‘safer’ in that they only involve legal transactions and that these
spaces are both more acceptable and more congenial for women. It is essential to
understand better these issues in CARE-supported market spaces for women, and in
the SII of the markets project.
Most women interviewed, across different wealth groups, tended to favour women’s
mobility, to fulfil everyday needs (to go to the doctor, to the bank, for NGO activities)
and attend social events. This was also true of the women who took part in the
‘gender and socialisation’ exercise. However, there were exceptions with wealthier
women claiming that their husbands provided for them and they had no need to go
out. An older woman who does not leave the para is glad that her daughter does,
and there may be a generational shift taking place.
Across different categories of women, men are very conscious of women’s
movements. In the ‘gender and socialisation’ discussion, men tended to be against
greater mobility, with some references to the loss of “barkat” (grace of Allah). One
respondent also pointed out that girls’ mobility has become more dangerous as their
physical security is more threatened than it used to be. Men have considerable
authority over women’s mobility and this may be one key aspect of their power over
women.
This study suggests that although women’s mobility is said to have increased in
Bangladesh in recent years, this situation will vary according to region, class and
income levels and the nature of public and private space in which women increase
their presence and visibility. It will also vary according to how the (essentially
political) discourse on purdah develops at national and local levels.
Access to income
Although we did not investigate women’s livelihoods, the interviews illustrated how
poorer women are more likely to earn money and that they tend to control their
income. They work as maids and as agricultural labourers. Although women in
wealthier households do not work outside the home, we noted different strategies to
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accumulate and save money. For example, a woman in the top wealth category of
households in the para sells rice in small amounts and accumulates a lot of money
which she spends independently on children and on herself. Another woman, from
the second category, took a loan for her husband but decided to take more than he
needed and use the extra to purchase a cow that she kept at her father’s house. She
used the cow to increase her access to income because she felt that her husband
was a spendthrift and could not be trusted with money. Ultimately, the husband
found out about the cow from their daughter, who asked him if knew they owned a
cow at her grandfather’s house! The husband accepted this initially clandestine
activity because he realized the benefits for the household.
In our interviews, one woman (in a mid-level wealth category) who was not getting on
with her husband complained that he demands a “line-by-line accounting” of the
money he gives her. According to her, he claims that women should not have
opinions nor control over money and she does not even have the freedom to buy
sweets for her children.
As in most parts of the world, women have a range of strategies to increase
independent access to and use of income. In this small study, clear differences
between women in different wealth groups did not emerge. Rather, differences in
independent access to income were related to individual positioning within
households and the particular relationships with their menfolk. In general, women’s
contribution to family income is viewed positively by men and both mothers and
fathers are concerned with saving money for their daughters’ dowries.
Box 1: Shaymoli’s story
Shaymoli, who is 28 years old, lives with her daughter in the para where she was born. She
lives in the same compound as her parents and younger brother. Shaymoli is the third eldest
child in her family and has 4 brothers and 1 sister. She went to a BRAC school up to class 5.
Her eldest brother works in the garment sector in Dhaka and sends money home to the
family.
She was married at 17. She saw her husband at an aunt’s house and he noticed her as well.
Shortly afterwards, her father received a marriage proposal from his family. Her father asked
her opinion and she said wanted to wait and continue at school but her parents wanted her to
be married to ensure nothing that would happen to ruin her reputation. Initially, the husband’s
side demanded Tk. 50,000 for her dowry but the male members of her family (brother, father
and uncle) negotiated and finally they settled on Tk. 7,000, gold worth Tk 8,000 and one
bicycle. Her brother, who works in the garment factory, provided cash and the gold was
purchased by selling a cow that had been given to her by her maternal grandfather.
Once married, she moved into her husband’s joint family. Her husband is the eldest son and
this placed her in a good position. At first, her marriage was very good. Her new house was
better than her parents’ home. She said: “I loved him and the family treated me well, they
even asked for my opinion.” For example, she noticed that a pond was not utilized and she
suggested that they should clean it and cultivate it. They followed her advice and this helped
to improve her position. Her brothers- and sisters-in-law did not attend school regularly and
some had dropped out all together. She was able to convince them to attend school and she
was respected for that.
Her husband worked as a driver and she always worried that he would have an accident.
She asked him one day to let her know how much land he had and the land records number.
He showed her all the land papers and told were they were kept and she had access to these.
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She became pregnant within a few years and she had a very difficult pregnancy. Women
usually give birth in their parents’ homes and she decided to go there much earlier than usual,
in the second month of her pregnancy. Her daughter’s birth was premature at 7 months. The
baby was very weak and it was not certain that she would survive.
Shaymoli is now divorced from her husband. Her husband had an affair during her 18 months
absence with a maid servant (whom he married after the divorce). When she recounted this,
it was obvious that it was still very painful for her and she was holding back tears. The
interviewer did not press her for details. She may have stayed away so long because she and
her daughter were weak and because she had a daughter, rather than a son, who would have
been received better by her in-laws.
When she found out that her husband was having an affair, she went to her husband’s home
and demanded that her dowry was returned, otherwise she would commit suicide. They
returned the money.
Life was really very difficult then. She took the child to the field when she worked for wages.
She had returned her brother’s money (dowry), but her father and brother asked her for
money for her food and other living costs. She told us she faced a hostile situation in her own
area, particularly in the field when she worked, but also in her para. Men taunted her because
she was divorced, but she kept silent. She did not ask her brothers or father for help, because
they would blame her, rather than the men.
Now, things are much better. She has been back for over 4 years and she has always
behaved appropriately and tried hard to contribute to the family. (She used to work on a rural
maintenance program with a partner organization of CARE.) People respect her for this and
for her appropriate behavior with men. She says not all men gave her a hard time, but many
do. She figures that about 50 percent of all men give a woman a hard time for working outside
the home, saying she is “ruined” and make comments about not observing purdah.
She does not go out of the para much, except for work. Other women visit relatives but she
has to work. She does goes to the market, but not often, the last time was two weeks ago to
buy some fish. She says women’s mobility depends a lot on the husband’s personality (if he is
willing to let her go). However, she says, it is not nice to be among men in the market. In the
market, she addresses men as brother or uncle (for example, to ask them to make space to
let her through); but she can tell a bad character and she waits until he moves away. Just
recently, at the market there was a crowd and some men were blocking her on purpose; she
asked them to move in a harsh voice and they said: “Why do you shout?” She replied: “If I
were your sister or mother, would you move? What is your problem?” Some men nearby
supported her. She says that sometimes you have to get loud and angry. She does not like it
that women go out to where men from different places come together, because there is such
a high chance of being harassed. Even today, she explained, she heard a man say: “The
government wants to change the country by putting women everywhere.”
She feels disempowered since her divorce. She does not have enough food and clothes.
She said: “I should be at the home of a husband who takes care of me; instead I have
constant pressure from my brother and I feel treated badly”. Her elder brother, who works in
the garment sector, frequently puts pressure on her to give her daughter to her husband, in
order to reduce the financial burden she places on the family. However, she is determined to
raise her daughter and says nothing will stop her. She does not want to depend on anyone
and she never wishes to marry again. Shaymoli’s account of her early married life seems to
capture her notion of “empowerment”:
 she had married the eldest son and had a good position in the household,
 she was respected and made contributions to the well-being of the household
 she got on well with her husband and
 she was materially secure
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Marriage and dowry
Our study confirms what the literature says: dowry is a widespread and accepted
practice although it is against the law, and the sums of money involved are
increasing. The reasons for this are complex and Nazneen (2004, pp 11-13) provides
an overview of what the literature says for Bangladesh. It has the effect of lowering
the marriage age (less dowry), and lowering educational levels for girls. It reinforces
a view of women as dependent and as secondary in status to men of their income
group. It represents a complex system of exchange which at household level,
benefits those with many sons and few daughters. As one research report points out
(Gibson et al, 2004), there is bound to be a psychological impact on girls, who are
constantly exposed to their parents’ talk of the pressure of finding money for a dowry,
and the public knowledge of each dowry transaction in the village. On the ‘receiving
side, the same report points out that dowry provides a temporary boom for young
men and their families, as young men use dowries to arrange jobs of establish small
businesses.
When the agreed dowry is not paid in full, it is a source of tension for the woman who
gets married and can be used against her by the husband and her in-laws. In these
situations, when relations are bad between her family and her in-laws, we found that
mothers will try and help their daughters, even when they are seen to have broken
social norms by returning to their natal homes. Fathers are less supportive and may
be subject to direct pressure from the samaj. Credit from NGOs is frequently used for
dowries. According to the women who attended the workshop on conflict, 75% of
loans are taken for dowries.
The interviews with men showed that they feel pressured by dowry payments. One
52 year old man who came from the relatively wealthy category in the para said he
feels “disempowered” when he thinks about “having to provide at least two lakhs taka
as dowry for his two daughters”.
Shaymoli’s story (Box 1) illustrates how dowry and mobility restrictions constrain the
choices a woman has when her marriage breaks down. While Shaymoli has
struggled to overcome problems and become an active member of her community,
her view shows how marriage is the only acceptable social norm which makes
women respectable and happy.
Dowry, restricted mobility and the perceived strict roles of women as homemakers
and men as providers interact to increase pressures on men and decrease the
opportunities that the majority of girls and women have to increase their capabilities
and confidence and make choices in their lives.
Education
Mothers receive a stipend of Tk100 per month for daughters who attend secondary
school. This government policy increases the number of girls going to school. It also
gives cash directly to women and women go in groups to the bank to collect this
money, also increasing mobility.
Families which can afford to send girls to college find that this may challenge parents’
wishes to arrange marriages. Girls meet boys at college and are more likely to want
‘love marriages’. We had an example of this, (from the top wealth category) where
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the daughter of the house entered into a love marriage with a boy she met at college.
Her mother supported her quietly, even making sure the daughter had credit at the
shopkeepers until finally, the girl’s father accepted the marriage. The mother’s
support may well have influenced the father “coming round”.
Basic education for girls (that is, excluding higher education) was viewed positively
by women and men in this study. Women, in particular, encourage daughters to
attend school. There was no time in interviews to explore the complex issues of girls’
education, in relation to high drop-out and completion rates as well as the quality and
content of schooling for both boys and girls. Nevertheless, education is clearly an
important lever for change in improving women’s status and promoting more
equitable gender relations.
Decision-making
Older women take decisions in the domestic domain, across wealth groups. Younger
women may consult or let older women in the household decide. Poorer women (and
women who are widowed or divorced) take more autonomous decisions in general.
While they report feeling more in control of their lives, they tend to suffer through lack
of resources and assets, and frequently also face derision and harassment by men
(see Box 1). Wealthier women’s role in decision-making seems to vary considerably
according to their particular set of relationships.
In the interviews with men, many were keen to portray an image of taking all
important decisions as head of households but others say they consult women and
take mutual decisions. It was clear from the interviews with women that they did
influence men’s decisions in many informal ways even if they did not have a ‘seat at
the table’ for important, formal decisions. Even in our small sample, women told us
that they influenced decisions about their children’s marriages, even when this was
ostensibly an important male decision. Women also influence decisions in their daily
lives and there were various examples of this, including persuading their husbands to
participate in latrine-building which CARE facilitated in the community. All the women
interviewed said their ideal gender relations involve mutual respect, discussion on the
use of resources and joint decision-making – so such values exist parallel to the
discourse on women’s roles in decision-making. It is important to note the contextspecific methodological problem of exploring women’s decision making. Men whose
wives publicly admit that they make or influence key decisions may be perceived as
“bou-pagla” (henpecked). A woman may therefore avoid making such an admission
as she may be considered to be insulting her husband.
We asked women what were the most important decisions that they had taken in
their lives. The examples we were given include:
 increasing economic resources for the household (for example, planting trees;
buying land);
 taking a decision to marry 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.
One 57 year old woman (from the wealthiest category of households) explained how
she took the decision to plant fruit trees in the homestead a long time ago. She tends
these trees and by selling wood, she has contributed to her daughter’s dowry. At the
time, people thought it was strange that a woman who had just married into the para
12
would be interested in planting trees, but she is proud of her initiative and people
recognise that it has paid off.
While some poorer women without husbands said they could take decisions, they
were so resource-constrained that they did not feel that these decisions were in any
sense satisfactory or free choices, and they suffer the attitudes that society has
towards women who lead their own lives without men.
Better-off women sometimes reported being consulted by community members on
particular problems and decisions, both by women and men, and this was a source of
pride and self-esteem (see Box 2).
The factors which affect women’s decision-making are wrapped up in the wealth and
status of their menfolk (in-laws and their natal families), their age and position in joint
households as well the efforts some of them have made to extend their influence,
usually in socially acceptable and appropriate ways. Anowara’s story (Box 2)
illustrates the ways in which a combination of wealth, natal family status and
personality can facilitate joint decision-making.
13
Box 2: Anowara’s story
Anowara is about 30 years old and was married in 1988. She was 13 years old then and her
husband was 17 years old. Her father took the decision although her elder brother argued that
her marriage should be delayed and felt so strongly about it that he did not visit her during the
first two years of her marriage. After two years, she had her first child, a daughter. This was
not problematic. She now has two other children, both boys. She was keen for her daughter
to attend school and her husband agreed. Her daughter studied as far as class 7 but stopped
when she was married about a year ago (at 14 years). Her daughter had a ‘love marriage’.
She would have preferred her to wait until the groom was older and earning more. Things
were difficult in the beginning, but she feels that her daughter is now settling down and both
families have accepted the marriage.
Anowara lives in a relatively spacious house with her husband and children. She lived with
her parents-in-law when she first got married but eventually they moved to their own place.
Her husband is a ‘salishkar’ and the relationship between her family and her husband’s is
very good. The families live near each other. Her father gives advice and help to her husband
when he needs it. (‘salish’ is an informal body which resolves disputes at the local level).
She is actively involved in post-harvest work with rice and hires help from within her gusti as
well as outside. She sells the surplus to a wholesaler who comes to the house. She and her
husband get on well, they make important decisions together, for example, whether to
mortgage land. They also discuss when to sell their produce and get advice from her
husband’s brother who knows a lot about market prices and the best time to sell. Anowara
says this joint decision-making is exceptional. She says the fact that she is not a demanding
person, even when they had less wealth, has contributed to the good relationship she has
with her husband.
Anowara can go to the market if she wants to and she also goes to service providers,
although she prefers to go to the clinic with her brother or husband because she is more likely
to be listened to by the clinic staff.
Anowara was elected to the Union Parishad in the 1990s. More recently, about a year ago,
she was asked to serve as a salishkar in a gender-related case, in which one of the parties
wanted her to play a positive role to save a marriage. A woman had been found in the
presence of a male relative and there were questions over adultery. Her husband encouraged
her to attend and she succeeded in saving the marriage. Since then, she serves in 2-3 cases
per month out of 6-7 cases which are heard in total. Being a salishkar can be lucrative and
involves informal and sometimes extractive remuneration from the parties involved in the
dispute. There is evidence that women in Anowara’s position (relatively wealth family
background, respected for their qualities) are often encouraged by their husbands to
participate in public office or political positions (formal and informal), in order to secure
‘income’. Anowara is keen to involve other women in the salish, but has not had much
success. She says that women have a different approach than men and are more likely to
seek consensus rather than “making rulings on the wrong basis”, which may refer to bribes.
Anowara’s story also raises questions about women’s involvement in politics and
community-level decisions where bribery and extortion are commonplace. Policies to
increase women’s representation in decision-making bodies promotes women’s
rights but it may not improve governance or accountability to poor groups, as it is
difficult to see how women, even if they start off with different ideas, can resist
absorption into distorted patron-client relationships which are so prevalent in civil and
political administration.
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5. Gender-based violence
Research in Bangladesh carried out for CARE has shown that gender-based
violence is widespread (Blanchet, 2001; Robinson, 2004) and this issue is well
known by CARE field facilitators. In order to examine issues of power, conflict and
violence, we brought together 12 village women to consider situations which provoke
violence at the household level, to discuss what happens and why, and how women
try and avoid or resolve such violent conflict. The women were from poorer
households (the two lowest wealth categories) and almost all were leaders in NGO
activities.
The workshop used scenarios which occur in the local context, with village women
directing and participating in role play, followed by discussions on what happened
and why, and women’s strategies to avoid and/or resolve conflicts. As discussed
earlier in the section on methods, four scenarios were prioritised, based on the local
knowledge of CARE field facilitators and the individual interviews, and were adapted
by the women:
Food: Wife is late back from an NGO meeting, the husband arrives and the food is
not yet ready. He asks why the food is not ready. What happens next?
Mobility: Neighbouring para has a religious festival. A group of women decide to go
there without the husband’s permission. What happens? (Women adapted this –
woman gets bored in the afternoon and goes out visiting other women in the para,
husband comes home to find her absent))
Dowry: Girl’s father has promised a certain amount of money to the groom’s family.
Father does not pay full amount. Husband says the wife should go back to her
father’s home and can only come back when the full amount is paid. She tries to
persuade him not to do this... What happens next?
NGO loans: Wife has a loan from NGO. It is used to buy the rickshaw van which the
husband is using to generate income. The time comes to repay and she has to get
the money from the husband. What happens? It should be noted that all women have
to have their husbands’ permission to take a loan, except for female headed
households.
Women also said that child-raising and children’s behaviour was another frequent
source of conflict and violence, but there was insufficient time to include this issue.
CARE facilitators, in their socialisation exercise, pointed out that women are usually
blamed for bad behaviour on the part of their daughters whereas men claim the credit
if the daughter behaves well, that is, according to social norms.
The key points from the role play were:
1. Women were beaten in all but one role play. It was avoided in the scenario where
food is not ready because the wife is out visiting other women in the para. She does
not react to husband’s anger (He brushes aside the fan she is using to cool him while
eating and throws away the food she has prepared quickly) but remains silent. They
only discuss the incident later in the day.
2. Women from the extended family, within the gusti, intervened successfully in every
case to stop the violence.
15
Women’s views on the causes of and trends in violence
The women at the workshop felt that gender-based violence is on the increase and
that there was less violence in their childhoods. It has increased in their generation
and increased further for their children’s generation, particularly because of issues
related to dowry. While there are households where men never lift a hand against
their wives, some form of physical violence occurs in the overwhelming majority of
poor households. However, there were contradictions on their views about the
frequency of violence and it may also be necessary to understand more about what
constitutes a “severe” case of violence, where woman are perceived to be justified in
leaving the marriage. More violence occurs in the lean season, when food is scarce.
Scarce material resources exacerbates violence but according to women in the
workshop, violence occurs in better-off households, behind ‘closed doors’, since
poorer households tend to have less private or secured space. Some of this relates
to issues of land and property. In middle-income households in the village, women’s
expectations of being provided for are higher and this was said to lead to violence.
In the discussion, the immediate causes and representations of violence were
checked to ensure that actors are not over-dramatising for effect. In both the role play
and discussion, women showed an understanding of the pressures men face to work
hard and provide income. However, they felt that if husband and wife discuss the use
of resources more generally, and understand each others point of view, then violence
is less likely to occur. One woman said she and her husband work together in the
fields, and manage money together, and that this reduces violence. Thus issues of
income and resource-use, mobility and decision-making are inter-related with
gender-based conflict and violence. Simple assumptions should be avoided. For
example, we cannot assume that micro-credit targeted at women automatically
benefits women, particularly when they are not involved in the income-generating
activity, as there may be unintended violent repercussions for some women.
Women’s strategies to address violence
The key strategy described to avoid violence is a defensive one, that is, not to react
verbally to an angry husband, but to make your point later, if at all. This is a strategy
that depends on individual personalities but also age – it was felt that younger
women had more difficulties that middle-aged women who had learnt to do this over
time. In other words, it was suggested that younger women are more often victims of
marital violence.
We were told that women from the extended family, within the gusti, will often
intervene to stop violence. They usually physically pull the man away and diffuse the
situation by engaging the man in a discussion of what he is angry about. They may
even pour water on him, to literally cool him off! This position contradicts the result of
focus group discussions carried out in another study (Robinson, 2004:6) which states
that “neighbours, relatives and in-laws do everything to encourage the accused”.
Gusti leaders, if they are not too conservative, are approached to help and often
discuss the issue with parties involved – both in terms of solving the immediate
cause of the violence (sometimes involving money, in the dowry case) and in terms
of telling or advising the husband not to be violent.
There are few collective strategies to address violence and this may be because
there is not enough solidarity across different wealth groups of women. We were told
16
of one case of a few women going out to a nearby para to intervene to “save a
marriage”, when a husband wanted to divorce his wife. It should be noted that we did
not explore the implications for wife or husband of staying married. We were told that
cases of violence at household level tend not to go beyond the para to be resolved.
However, most cases which are taken to salish are land or gender-related conflicts,
which implies that women’s access to justice is an important issue. NGO
interventions to make salish more ‘pro-poor’and ‘pro-women’ should be assessed
taking into account household and community relationships and should follow-up on
longer-term outcomes. The SII of the project to prevent or mitigate violence will have
to take great care not to put individual women at risk of violence. Finally, any project
on violence against women should work with men as well, particularly when women
have so few choices outside marriage.
6. Perceptions of “women’s empowerment” and lessons for CARE
programmes
Perceptions of women’s empowerment are linked to the exercise of power in gender
relations in the particular context of Bangladesh, but there are also many common
universal threads. “Empowered” was translated into Bengali with the words “strong”
and “influential”. When women were asked directly about their perceptions of what it
is to be strong and influential as a woman, their responses tended to refer to being
“free” – to make decisions and to move around freely and they had examples of
women they considered empowered.
A question about women’s role models often elicited a different set of characteristics
– role models were materially secure, respected and were caring towards poor
women. An analysis of both direct questions on what constitutes empowerment and
questions on when women felt empowered in their lives, suggests a number of
important and inter-related dimensions:




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 (the ability to
give to or help others is also important)
having a voice in the household: being consulted, respected (samman) and
influencing decisions or making joint decisions with their husbands (that
decisions should be autonomous did not seem important)
mobility (although this is not viewed as positive by all women) and safety in public
spaces. This issue is linked to access to services and to markets.
Most of these dimensions are universal and human, and men also reported feeling
empowered when they had access to resources, were respected and felt confident.
Many of these issues are influenced, for women and men, by class and income level,
but also by positioning (generation, age, relationship to head) within the household. It
is therefore important, particularly from a programming perspective, not to assume
that there is any essential dichotomy between men and women. Empowerment is a
relational concept, and although the focus in this study is on ‘women’s
empowerment’, we have made it clear that there are many differences between
women, as they are between men.
The factors which impede women and men from becoming more empowered are
obviously different for women, in that they include forms of subordination based on
gender. Women’s disempowerment is also related to the use of violence on the part
17
of husbands, to control women’s behaviour, although here too, some women are
more accepting than others, and protest seems to be related to the levels of violence.
Women’s mobility and access to public space, services and markets is contextually
specific and has changed over the last 10 years, even if there are many local
specificities. In the Bangladesh context, the issue of purdah, which is interpreted in
different ways, contains larger power struggles and is fraught with contradictions.
National and international economic forces mean that women are increasingly drawn
into waged labour and therefore public spaces (best illustrated by women textile
workers). On the other hand, Islamist values (arguably embedded in politics – see
Siddiqi, 1998), emphasize that respectability, honour (izzat) and social standing is
strongly associated with women’s purdah.1 As the literature points out, at the national
level, purdah and the notions of increased respectability and status are most
frequently upheld by the middle class or its aspirants, rather than the poorest groups
or the educated elite.
Not surprisingly, therefore, men’s views about women’s mobility and decision-making
were very mixed in this study and they expressed considerable anxiety. All men are
aware that things are changing:
“10-15 years ago, women’s mobility was restricted. Now women are more
mobile: collecting stipends, collecting money from NGOs and going to
Polashbari; In future mobility will increase further – women will go to
government offices, courts.. Now it is like a dam that protects water and the
dam is about to crack…”
The majority of men in the better-off households perceive current increases in
women’s economic activities and mobility as extremely threatening to the “natural
order of things”, and many claim these changes are creating “chaos” - disobedience
to men and undermining husbands’ power. One para leader (one of the wealthiest
men) put it the following way:
“After the liberation war, purdah is observed less. The way women are now
going out will lead to adultery because it enhances attraction and desire. Now
women are everywhere: bazaar, offices, in the future they will all “kafres”
(unbelievers). Don’t discuss women with me because it is all about
disobedience.”
The obedience and seclusion of women is associated with family prestige and
honour, by different wealth groups of men in this neighbourhood, and a number of
men made direct references to Islam, the Quran and Hadiths.
Only one male respondent (28 years old), from one of the wealthiest households in
the para, was categorically positive about all the changes, viewing them as
‘responding to the demands of our times” and stating that women can be
independent and self-sufficient. He also said:
“I have daughters and they are like my sons and they will prove it.”
Interestingly, poor people in the para respect this man and go to him for advice.
Other men were also positive, but in more conditional ways:
“If there is no man in the house then women can go out. Women should not
go out unnecessarily, it’s ok for education, service jobs and other income, but
not to go to the market”. (40 years old from the second wealthiest group).
Nawal-el-Saddawi (1997, p38-40) makes an interesting observation. “Women in Islamic societies are
caught between the globalized image of femininity or female beauty, as a commodity in the west and
the Islamic notion of femininity ‘protected’ by men and hidden behind the veil. In fact, ‘veiling’ and
nakedness are two sides of the same coin. Both mean women are bodies without a mind ...”
1
18
Most women employ strategies to increase their access to income, assets and
decision-making, to increase “empowerment”. There are real gender-related tensions
in the current context and many women we interviewed were unhappy in their
marriages. For example, one woman (from the second wealth group of households),
had a difficult relationship with her husband and felt he was a spendthrift. She saw
her sister as both empowered and as a role model – she was financially secure, her
husband was often away in his army job, she had a lot of freedom, but got on well
with her parents-in-law and with her husband. The other women who reported being
unhappy in their marriages linked their problems with their husbands misuse of
resources and expressed their lack of power to influence the situation or have access
to money.
Lessons for CARE programmes
Although we did not set out to assess the extent to which CARE’s Nijera programme
has an impact on women’s empowerment, some examples emerged. One woman
managed to resist taking out a loan (from the CARE revolving fund) for her husband.
Instead, she used it to buy a rickshaw van which was operated by her son. She
explained that her husband respects her more since she has stopped working as a
maid and earns more money through her son. Her relatives also give her more
respect. Other men also expressed their satisfaction that their wives were earning
money. Another woman said that participating in the CARE IGA committee at
community level had increased her confidence. “Community led total sanitation” in
the Nijera project has had strong support from women and they have sometimes
persuaded the men in their households to participate and dig the latrines. Women
have benefited even more than men from this intervention.
Since the research was carried out in a wholly muslim para, any differences between
women based on religion could not be identified. There were no women’s groups in
the para we studied and collective strategies and action were notably absent.
This study indicates that programmes which can build on women’s own strategies
and harness the support of men who are less restrictive of their women folk are likely
to have a positive impact on women’s empowerment. Given the extent of men’s
authority over women, women may want to avoid direct confrontation and
programme staff have to be sensitive to the possibilities of men’s resistance to
changes in gender relations, in the direction of women’s empowerment, including the
use of violence. On the other hand, community-based programmes have to avoid not
only “elite capture” and reinforcing local social norms and power relations which
discriminate against poorer households, but also capture by men and reinforcing
norms which discriminate against women.
Even in relatively oppressive contexts, there are women, and to a lesser extent 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. Interestingly,
women who participated in the workshop on conflict at household level wanted to
show the video which had been taken of their role play, to their community. This
raised problematic issues for CARE staff, in that it was difficult to predict whether the
outcomes would be positive, but it does demonstrate that some groups of women
may feel able to raise difficult issues and challenge the status quo, particularly if they
can do so as a group. Experience suggests that projects can adopt strategies which
build collective action for women’s empowerment, as defined in the local context,
even if it is a long, slow and uneven process. Building on issues on which there is
greater consensus, for example, girls’ education; women’s skills development;
19
income-generating activities… may allow discussion of more sensitive issues such as
mobility and safe access for women to public spaces, dowry issues, access to justice
and so on. It is clear, however, from women’s own views, that material security is an
essential dimension of empowerment and therefore, any programme which
addresses this dimension directly for women, makes a contribution to the process.
While some of CARE’s programmes try to confront power structures directly, others
work to build community capacity from below. While the merits of different
approaches lie outside the scope of this paper, it is important to stress the potential
for dialogue and negotiation with elites in rural areas, looking for potential win-win
situations, at least with a longer term perspecitve. Similarly, it is important to harness
the support of progressive men for greater gender equality, and we found such a
man even in this small study (see pg 17). The arguments are both instrumental in
that households and society will benefit in the longer term and rights-based, in that
women’s rights are human rights.
5. Implications of the study for the Strategic Impact Inquiry
CARE intends to analyse the impact of three projects on women’s empowerment:
namely: Women’s Access to Markets and Labor Contracting; Violence Against
Women Initiative of Partnership for Healthy Life (PHL) and the project which included
the community we studied: Nijeder Janya Nijera (We, For Ourselves).
The gender issues discussed in this study (and the contextual study) indicate that the
key dimensions which should be examined for impact include:






Women’s access to and control over income and material assets
Decision-making processes
Mobility and women’s participation in the public sphere, including access to
services and markets
Marriage and dowry
Gender-based violence and women’s access to justice
Women’s political participation (see contextual analysis, Bode..)
Analysis should be disaggregated in relation to class, income, age, religion and
household structure and composition. In Bangladesh, the stage women are at in
their life cycle and their social position within households have an important bearing
on their authority, autonomy, household status and livelihood options. Careful
sampling and analysis is required on how these factors intersect with class and
religion. In addition, the issue of purdah may affect which women are included in the
study and the sampling process is important to track and explain. The SII could
generate a deep and more nuanced understanding of the ways in which various
factors interact and the opportunities and constraints that different groups of women
face. It may also reveal differential impacts of CARE’s programmes on different
groups of women, with important implications for future programming.
Reflections on methods and tools for the SII
The selection of research methods and tools depends to a great extent on the time,
human and financial resources available. Some general principles to guide the SII in
the Bangladesh context include:

Contextual analysis at micro and macro levels
20





Project analysis and possibly project reconstruction
Sampling which attempts to distinguish between changes occurring at the
macro level (eg migration, increase in women’s waged labour) which
influence gender relations and direct participation in CARE’s projects.
Using tools appropriate to the context and to the project (for example, the
methods for the markets project will be different from the project which
addresses violence)
Triangulating 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.
The involvement of CARE field staff in the SII has a number of trade-offs. On the
positive side, CARE staff in this study expressed satisfaction in learning much more
about gender issues than their previous more general training had provided. They
had found it difficult to know how to approach gender issues on the basis of the
training they had received. The quality of the SDU team was a critical factor in
allowing this study to be carried out in a very short space of time with minimal
preparation. Questions related to gender and power are sensitive and difficult to ask
and analyse, and field facilitators did have difficulties with some of the questions.
Sufficient time and resources will have to be allocated to preparing field researchers
(including the issue of translating concepts and terms from English to Bangla and
back again). On the negative side, questions of bias will have to be addressed, since
the possible prior relationships between CARE staff and respondents may affect the
results. The difference between a project evaluation and the SII should also be made
clear, to researchers and respondents, if this is not to influence results. In addition,
the time required to develop quality research and assessment skills should not be
underestimated.
The tools which may be usefully employed (and triangulated to increase reliability),
include:







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)
Focus group discussions, to check results
Life histories of project participants
Scenario-based workshops on conflict at household and other levels (eg in
markets)
Finally, the SII takes place in a dynamic and fast changing context in Bangladesh.
There has been some celebration of the positive changes which have taken place for
women in the past decade; increased participation in remunerative activities and in
secondary schooling, greater visibility and mobility in the public sphere. The recent
PRSP celebrates women as the ‘new protagonists in development’ and a recent
DFID report describes how women are ‘Breaking New Ground’. 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 been
changed and a number of strategic interests for women have now been excluded,
21
including references to equal rights to land and property, and political empowerment.
The SII will have to be sensitive to changing boundaries in this complex context 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.
22
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Bode, Brigitta et al ..forthcoming context analysis
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