Decentralization And Women Empowerment In Bangladesh: Union Parishad Perspectives

The aim of this paper is to explore the status of women's empowerment through reserved seats at the lower level of decentralized body, especially Union Parishad (here after UP) in Bangladesh. The paper also tries to find out major challenges towards women empowerment in UP. At the same time, there will be an attempt to provide some suggestions to overcome those challenges. The study is based on secondary literature including books, journal's articles and conference papers. The study revealed that women are not empowered socially through reserved seats although the successive governments have implemented reserved seats through decentralization process over the years. Empowerment is considered as one of the most recent and powerful discourse to women in development. It has several dimensions where political participation is one of them. Women can be empowered through taking part in political activities both at the national and local level politics. Political presence and empowerment has good legacy policy making and policy formulation. Women can influence on policy formulation process by practicing in political power structure. In that case, decentralization can provide better opportunity to women as they can play significant role in the political activities. Women can have easy access to local political functions in the decentralized area (Khan, 2011). Bangladesh is a developing country where the society is dominated by patriarchal norms. The status of women is relatively low in comparison to men in every sphere of life. Women's individual freedom and mobility is hardly prohibited by their male counterparts. They cannot go outside without taking permission of their male counterparts. They cannot go outside without taking permission of their male partners and family members (Panday, 2010). The majority of Bangladeshi women are in subordinate position which is illustrated by the attitudes of men derived from socially and culturally norms that determined the stereotype concepts of gender role which prevent women from self depended. Women are placed in bottom line positions in the job market and offered low pay and status. They are expected to wives and mothers who would engage to perform their household activities like child birth and child rearing, cooking, cleaning, and looking after the household (Murshid). Women are designated with domestic life while politics is seen as male dominated public activity. Thus, women's political presence in national politics is very tough in the context of present situation. However, women have better opportunity to enter in political arena in local level politics, especially in Union Parishad (hence UP), a lower level of decentralized body of the local government in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh has brought the provision for reserved seats for women in UP through the Local Government Act of 1997. The Act of 1997 is considered as a land mark in the history of Bangladesh politics as it has unique feature to promote women empowerment socially. Women were given a greater opportunity to come forward to the center of the local development and develop their leadership skills in the grass-root levels. The provision for reserved seats for women has open up new space for women to come forward and to participate in the political decision making process. The role of women in decision making process is one of the most indispensable phenomenon's which are considered in the movement for their empowerment (Khan and Ara, 2006).