Volume 10, Issue 2, February 2015, Pages 584–593
A. N. M. Zakir Hossain1
1 Lecturer (of Political Science), Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Bangladesh is one of most densely populated country where women are identified with domestic life while politics is viewed as a male dominated public activity. This study seeks to critically appraise the extent of women's empowerment in local level in Bangladesh. It also investigates the reasons for women's low rate of holding elected office. The study is based on secondary data. It found a number of determinant factors for lower status of rural women. Self-respect, unity, co-operation, collective strength will increase the group function that finally leads them to empower themselves. The constitution has given the opportunity for women to participate at local level to national level of government with reserve seat but the fact is quite different. The elected female candidates at local level are not more than ten percent and the major political parties are not willing to incorporate women, it is about fifteen percent at highest level of the parties. However the constitutional provisions of Bangladesh can be seen as milestone towards ensuring women's equal access and increased participation in political power structure but still there is a structural problem of women's incorporations at union parishad level. Women are marginalized in functions and service delivery at union level due to a number of factors.
Author Keywords: Women, Empowerment, Local Government, Bangladesh.
A. N. M. Zakir Hossain1
1 Lecturer (of Political Science), Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Bangladesh is one of most densely populated country where women are identified with domestic life while politics is viewed as a male dominated public activity. This study seeks to critically appraise the extent of women's empowerment in local level in Bangladesh. It also investigates the reasons for women's low rate of holding elected office. The study is based on secondary data. It found a number of determinant factors for lower status of rural women. Self-respect, unity, co-operation, collective strength will increase the group function that finally leads them to empower themselves. The constitution has given the opportunity for women to participate at local level to national level of government with reserve seat but the fact is quite different. The elected female candidates at local level are not more than ten percent and the major political parties are not willing to incorporate women, it is about fifteen percent at highest level of the parties. However the constitutional provisions of Bangladesh can be seen as milestone towards ensuring women's equal access and increased participation in political power structure but still there is a structural problem of women's incorporations at union parishad level. Women are marginalized in functions and service delivery at union level due to a number of factors.
Author Keywords: Women, Empowerment, Local Government, Bangladesh.
How to Cite this Article
A. N. M. Zakir Hossain, “Women Empowerment in Rural Local Government of Bangladesh,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 584–593, February 2015.
