Women's empowerment revisited: a case study from Bangladesh

Abstract

This article explores the changing dimensions of women's empowerment over time in three Bangladesh villages where one of the authors has been conducting research since 1991. The article discusses theoretical issues related to the measurement of women's empowerment, and describes findings from a recent study in the villages exploring the current salience of indicators developed for a 1992 survey. In the article we discuss the types of social, economic, and political change that affect the measurement of women's empowerment; propose and explain a new set of indicators for the rural Bangladesh setting; and discuss implications for measuring women's empowerment in other settings.

L'autonomisation des femmes réexaminée : étude de cas du Bangladesh

Cet article examine les dimensions en évolution de l'autonomisation des femmes au fil du temps dans trois villages du Bangladesh où l'un des auteurs mène des recherches depuis 1991. Il traite des questions théoriques de mesure de l'autonomisation des femmes et décrit les conclusions d'une étude récente menée dans les villages qui examinait le caractère fondamental actuel des indicateurs mis au point pour une étude menée en 1992. Dans cet article, nous traitons des types de changements sociaux, économiques et politiques qui influent sur la mesure de l'autonomisation des femmes, proposons et expliquons un nouvel ensemble d'indicateurs pour le contexte rural du Bangladesh et discutons des implications pour la mesure de l'autonomisation des femmes dans d'autres contextes.

Empoderamento das mulheres revisitado: um estudo de caso de Bangladesh

Este artigo explora dimensões variáveis do empoderamento das mulheres no decorrer do tempo em três vilarejos de Bangladesh onde um dos autores tem conduzido pesquisa desde 1991. O artigo discute questões teóricas sobre medida de empoderamento das mulheres e descreve resultados de um estudo recente nos vilarejos explorando o destaque atual de indicadores desenvolvidos para um levantamento de 1992. No artigo nós discutimos os tipos de mudanças sociais, econômicas e políticas que afetam a medida de empoderamento de mulheres, propomos e explicamos um novo conjunto de indicadores para o estabelecimento rural de Bangladesh e discutimos implicações para medir o empoderamento de mulheres em outros cenários.

De nuevo, el empoderamiento de las mujeres: un estudio de caso en Bangladesh

Este ensayo analiza los cambios producidos con el tiempo en el empoderamiento de las mujeres en tres aldeas de Bangladesh, donde una de las autoras realiza investigaciones desde 1991. El ensayo examina temas teóricos sobre cómo medir el empoderamiento de las mujeres y describe los resultados de un estudio reciente en las aldeas, donde se analizó la relevancia actual de los indicadores diseñados para una encuesta en 1992. Las autoras examinan los cambios sociales, económicos y políticos que inciden en la medición del empoderamiento de las mujeres, proponen nuevos indicadores para el ámbito rural de Bangladesh y analizan las implicaciones de medir el empoderamiento de las mujeres en otros ámbitos.

Keywords:

• Gender and diversity
• Methods
• South Asia

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the National Institutes of Health for supporting this research under grant # 1R21HD053580 – 01/02. We are also indebted to the Bangladesh Women's Health Coalition (BWHC) for in-country institutional support – in particular, to Executive Director Anwarul Azim, Deputy Executive Director Dr Julia Ahmed, MIS Director Hasina Chakladar, AED project research manager Shamsul Huda Badal, and research team members Khurshida Begum, Shefali Akter, Shamema Nasrin and Mohammad Hossain. Finally, we thank Lisa M. Bates of Columbia University for her perceptive comments on a previous draft. The interpretations and conclusions contained herein do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agency or of the Academy for Educational Development (AED).

Notes

A composite score ranging from zero to seven was created for this purpose, using seven empowerment indicators. In 2002 we reduced the number of indicators from ten to seven, based on prior qualitative findings. Although the decision to establish 25 per cent as the cut-off point is somewhat arbitrary, it is consistent with the field research team's subjective assessment. Their impression, based on prior qualitative research, is that roughly 20–25 per cent of the women in the six villages stand out as being more empowered than the rest. The percentage would be somewhat higher or lower, depending on the village.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sidney Ruth Schuler

Sidney Ruth Schuler (corresponding author), a social anthropologist, founded and directs the Empowerment of Women Research Program at the Academy for Educational Development's Global Health, Population and Nutrition Group in the USA. She has extensive research experience on issues of gender and women's empowerment in international health and development, and is especially known for her work in conceptualising and measuring women's empowerment and for her field studies documenting how policies and programmes are perceived by intended beneficiaries. Her recent research addresses the problems of early marriage and childbearing, and violence against women.

Farzana Islam

Farzana Islam is Professor of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh, and received her doctorate from the University of Sussex in the UK. She is an expert in ethnographic field-research methods. Her research in Bangladesh has focused on a variety of issues related to social inequality, including social networks among Dhaka slum-dwellers, marriage, women's employment, violence against women, and links between mother's education and child health. <[email protected]>

Elisabeth Rottach

Elisabeth Rottach is a research officer at the Academy for Educational Development's Global Health, Population and Nutrition Group in the USA. She is responsible for the co-ordination of research activities related to gender norms, family planning, communication, and women's empowerment. She is skilled in qualitative data analysis, including developing code books and coding data using relevant software, performing literature reviews, writing, and programme management. She holds an MA in International Development from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. <[email protected]>