After a period of political oblivion, the religious right in Bangladesh has not only made elector... more After a period of political oblivion, the religious right in Bangladesh has not only made electoral gains in the early 1990s but also successfully engaged in political alliances which allowed it to campain virtually unopposed for an Islamic state where women could step outdoors only at their own peril. Their many-speared campain included attacks on development organisations which empowered women through offering loans, skills training and employment opportunities. They have argued that female emancipation is not part of God's plan. Therefore, schools for girls have not remained unscathed. Women who dared to challenge existing social codes, alongside those who did not have, are equally victims of violence and moral censure. These activities were at odds with the development objectives of the state. Yet, at times the role of the state was an ambivalent one. Where decisive action could have stemmed the tide, none was forthcoming. This paper seeks to examine the position and status of women in Bangladesh in relation to the interplay of religion and politics. In order to do so it will first present some relevant background information on the history of the country and recent data on socioeconomic indicators of female status. A discussion of the nature of women's subordination and resistance follows : the women's movement, though weak, has achieved some success in negotiating policy changes at the state level. Therefore, its interactions with the state merit some attention. An assumption shared by feminist scholars is that the patriarchal postcolonialist state reinforces gender inequality and
After a period of political oblivion, the religious right in Bangladesh has not only made elector... more After a period of political oblivion, the religious right in Bangladesh has not only made electoral gains in the early 1990s but also successfully engaged in political alliances which allowed it to campain virtually unopposed for an Islamic state where women could step outdoors only at their own peril. Their many-speared campain included attacks on development organisations which empowered women through offering loans, skills training and employment opportunities. They have argued that female emancipation is not part of God's plan. Therefore, schools for girls have not remained unscathed. Women who dared to challenge existing social codes, alongside those who did not have, are equally victims of violence and moral censure. These activities were at odds with the development objectives of the state. Yet, at times the role of the state was an ambivalent one. Where decisive action could have stemmed the tide, none was forthcoming. This paper seeks to examine the position and status of women in Bangladesh in relation to the interplay of religion and politics. In order to do so it will first present some relevant background information on the history of the country and recent data on socioeconomic indicators of female status. A discussion of the nature of women's subordination and resistance follows : the women's movement, though weak, has achieved some success in negotiating policy changes at the state level. Therefore, its interactions with the state merit some attention. An assumption shared by feminist scholars is that the patriarchal postcolonialist state reinforces gender inequality and
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