LIVED EXPERIENCES OF EMPOWERMENT:

A CASE STUDY OF A VOCATIONAL TRAINING

PROGRAMME FOR WOMEN IN BANGLADESH

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TATJANA HAQUE IE
Thesis subm itted in fulfilment of the requirem ents
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for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

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December 1999

University College London

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 ABSTRACT

Lived experiences of em pow erm ent: A case study of a vocational tra in in g

program m e for wom en in B angladesh

This thesis explores how low-income women in Bangladesh experience empowerment

on a day to day basis. I take a holistic approach incorporating economic, social and
embodied dimensions of empowerment into the analysis. I seek to understand how
women are able to reshape their lives, make their own choices and open new spaces for
themselves. The vocational training programme for poor rural women by the grassroots
organisation Gonoshasthaya Kendra provides the setting for my case study of women's
empowerment. The research on which this thesis is based employed an in-depth
qualitative methodology, participant observation and a social survey of current trainees.

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The Gonoshasthaya Kendra programme aims to challenge the myths and
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misinterpretations surrounding appropriate roles for women in Bangladeshi society. It
does this by offering non-traditional employment training for women. Participants are
trained in skilled manual and technical trades and services such as welding, carpentry,
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plumbing, printing and professional driving.

In addition to creating new employment opportunities, Gonoshasthaya Kendra provides

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a space for women to establish collective social relationships. These offer women a
source of social support which can complement or even replace family and kinship
networks. They can also form the basis for collective action in pursuit of women's
interests. The experience of Gonoshasthaya Kendra women serves to demonstrate to
their families and communities that alternative gender roles are possible in Bangladesh.

I argue for a reassessment of current notions of empowerment, stressing women's own

accounts of their lived and embodied experiences. This approach to understanding
empowerment acknowledges women's agency and ability to effect change in their own
lives and in those of others. This thesis also contributes to challenging the
representation of women in Bangladesh as a victimised, powerless and invisible group.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following people for their contributions to this research:

The 30 women, whose life-stories I was allowed to listen to.

GK staff and in particular Bahar Jan, who said to me she felt like a friend, mother
and sister towards me.
All the other women and men I met in GK and elsewhere in Bangladesh.
Moni, Monju, Jamal, Nahid, Mithu, Nasly, Farzana, Nipa, Bina, Anondo, Ruso, Titi,
Upal and Ahir for being my friends and for their invaluable assistance in
interviewing, translating and endless hours of ‘adda\
Monju, who supported me emotionally throughout my stay in Bangladesh and who
gave me the opportunity to experience the country from another angle.
Moni’s family, whose house was always open to me and Mithi for letting me stay in
her flat in Dhaka, where I had discussions with her and other researchers.

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Ann Varley for her emotional and supervisory support, critique and patience with
my often incomprehensible German way of structuring my sentences.
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Phil Crang and Jacquie Burgess for advice on methodology and thesis structure.
All the people I had met and become friends with through the European Network of
Bangladesh Studies.
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Rachel, Minelle, Liz and Julia for comments on drafts.

Kevin for helping me out on maps of all sorts and reminding me to sort my life out.
Dave for listening patiently to my recurring outbursts of self-pity, his comforting
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cups of tea, his comments on drafts and his help in graphics.

Tassilo for his encouragement, invaluable help when I needed him and his prompt
solutions for computer problems.
Jon, Adrian and Giles for their patience in answering many questions of a computer-
illiterate.
Joe and Bristi for useful comments and Bristi for checking my Bengali terms.
My ‘family’-flatmates in and around Stapleton 108 for being there for me, feeding
me, helping me in graphics and grammar and putting up with a ‘ghost’ in the house.
The Economic Social Research Council, Graduate School and Social Science Research
Council (USA) for financing my fees and travel expenses to Bangladesh.
My grandparents and parents for emotional and financial support and in particular
my mother for following my work so enthusiastically.
My brother Miki, with whom I had endless passionate discussions on the phone
about my work and my emotional ups and downs during the process of this thesis.
 CONTENTS

Abstract 2
Acknowledgements 3
Table o f contents 4
List o f tables 8
List o f figures and plates 9
Frontispiece 10

C hapter One: I n tr o d u c tio n ........................................................................... 11

1.1 Changing social lan d sca p es.......................................................... 11

1.2 Fem inist notions of em pow erm ent.............................................. 12
1.3 Development, gender and empowerment in
B a n g la d e sh ..................................................................................... 14
1.4 Transformation of women’s bodily la n d s c a p e s ......................... 16
1.5 Thesis o u tlin e ................................................................................. 18

Chapter Two: R ethink ing em pow erm ent

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............................................... 22
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2.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 22
2.2 Women, gender relations and em p o w erm en t........................... 22
2.3 The concept of empowerment ..................................................... 26
2.3.1 Different understandings of power ................................. 26
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2.3.2 Different interpretations of empowerment ................... 28

2.4 Strategies towards women’s e m p o w erm en t............................. 32
2.5 Ignoring embodied aspects of empowerment ........................... 40
2.6 Exploring hum an embodied behav io u r....................................... 42
2.7 Women’s lived and embodied experiences of
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e m p o w erm en t................................................................................ 45
2.8 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 48

C hapter Three: R esearch m e th o d o lo g y .................................................... 51

3.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 51

3.2 Finding a ‘site’ ............................................................................... 52
3.3 Finding a methodology ............................................................ 53
3.4 The research strategy in practice ................................................ 62
3.5 Analysis ......................................................................................... 67
3.6 Ethics and my position as a re s e a rc h e r...................................... 69
C hapter Four: Em pow erm ent in th e con text o f B angladesh -
G onoshasthaya K e n d r a ...................................................................... 76

4.1 The situation of women in Bangladesh .................................... 76

4.2 National efforts to women’s empowerment
and the role of NGOs .................................................................. 79
4.3 Gonoshasthaya Kendra: the s e ttin g ............................................ 84
4.4 H is to r y ............................................................................................. 85
4.5 Ideology .......................................................................................... 90
4.6 M anagement structure ................................................................. 93
4.7 Empowerment and hierarchy ..................................................... 96
4.8 Organisational growth and donor acc o u n ta b ility .................... 98
4.9 The vocational training centre for women. . . . 100
4.9.1 History and objectives................... 100
4.9.2 Recruitment and organisation............ 102
4.9.3 Training and production................ 103
4.10 Gender dynamics at Gonoshasthaya Kendra . . . 105
4.10.1 Positive a sp e c ts....................... 105
4.10.2 Negative a sp e c ts....................... 107
4.11 Profile of the women workers.................... 108

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4.11.1 Personal background..................... 109
4.11.2 Household profile....................... 112
4.11.3 Poverty profile.......................... 118
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4.12 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 120

C hapter Five: Socio-econom ic dim ension s of em pow erm ent . . . . 125

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5.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 125

5.2 Entering men’s spaces and doing their w o rk ............. 125
5.3 Women’s participation in the
labour m arket in Bangladesh ................................................. 127
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5.4 Women’s reasons for seeking work in

Gonoshasthaya K e n d r a ............................................................. 129
5.5 Gonoshasthaya Kendra: ‘the alternative’employer ................. 140
5.6 Contradictory process of change .............................................. 144
5.7 Impact of work on gender r o l e s ................................................ 147
5.7.1 Negotiating new work identities within
the h o u se h o ld .................................................................. 148
5.7.2 Increased sense of self-worth ...................................... 158
5.8 Gonoshasthaya Kendra’s limitations in helping women to
find employment e lsew h e re ...................................................... 169
5.9 Conclusion .................................................................................... 179
Chapter Six: S ocio-political dim ensions o f em pow erm ent
in th e GK c o lle c t iv e ................................................................ 182

6.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 182

6.2 Images of Village women’ and village life s ty le s .................... 183
6.2.1. Isolation a t ‘home’ .......................................................... 184
6.2.2. Education and in fo rm a tio n ......................................... 188
6.2.3. Aspirations for children .............................................. 193
6.2.4. Cultural c o n s tra in ts ..................................................... 196
6.2.5. Patriarchal c o n s tra in ts ................................................ 200
6.3 Learning and social interaction in G K .................................... 204
6.3.1 The adult education p ro g ra m m e ................................ 204
6.3.2 Participating in meetings ............................................ 206
6.3.3 Participation in the women’s movement .................. 213
6.3.4 ‘Addo’ ............................................................................... 219
6.3.5 The GK-collective as a surrogate family .................. 224
6.4 Conclusion ................................................................................... 230

C hapter Seven: E m bodied dim ensions o f e m p o w e r m e n t .................. 233

7.1
7.2
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Introduction .................................................................................
Behavioural codes for Bangladeshi women’s b o d ie s .............
233
235
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7.3 Bodily practices of empowerment ........................................... 237
7.3.1 Raising v o ic e s.................................................................. 238
7.3.2 Communicating with n o n -re la tiv e s............................ 247
7.3.3 Crossing the boundaries of village la n g u a g e ............ 250
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7.3.4 Speaking o u t .................................................................... 253

7.4 Posture, movement and appearance ....................................... 255
7.4.1 ‘Masculine work’ ............................................................. 256
7.4.2 Moving through public space ...................................... 260
7.4.3 Dress and identity ........................................................ 262
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7.4.4 Women’s new appearance in p u b lic ............................ 269

7.5 Conclusion ................................................................................... 272
C hapter Eight: R eth in k in g em pow erm ent .......................................... 274

8.1 Challenges to the discourse of em pow erm ent......................... 274

8.2 GK’s empowerment approach and women’s experiences of
em p o w erm en t.............................................................................. 275
8.2.1 GK’s empowerment a p p ro a c h ........................................ 275
8.2.2 Women’s experiences of empowerment ........................ 281
8.2.3 Women’s strategies of balancing between
conflicting demands ...................................................... 289
8.3 The problem with em pow erm ent.............................................. 293
8.3.1 The paradox between empowerment and
development in terv en tio n ................................. 293
8.3.2 The feminists’ call for collective action . 296
8.3.3 Bringing the body into the empowerment
debate........................................................ 300
8.4 Future research .......................................................................... 303
8.5 Conclusion................................................................... 306

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Appendix One: Basic profile o f coreinterview ees...................................... 308
Appendix Two: Interview th e m e s ................................................................. 309
Appendix Three: Q uestionnaire...................................................................... 312
Appendix Four: Example o f a m in d m a p ..................................................... 315
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Glossary ................................................................................................................. 316

A bbreviations.......................................................................................................... 319
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R eferen c es.............................................................................................................. 321

 LIST OF TABLES

4.1 Nari Kendra workshops: production, m arkets and skill training . . 104
4.2 Reasons for m ig ra tio n .............................................................................. 109
4.3 Age of all women a t Gonoshasthaya Kendra and t r a i n e e s ............... 110
4.4 Population, households and literacy rates in Dhamsona Union . . . Ill
4.5 E d u c a tio n ................................................................................................... Ill
4.6 Educational status of women working a t Gonoshasthaya Kendra . Ill
4.7 M arital s t a t u s ............................................................................................ 112
4.8 Age a t m arriage of ever-married women a t Gonoshasthaya
Kendra ....................................................................................................... 113
4.9 Age of currently unm arried w o m e n ....................................................... 114
4.10 Children ...................................................................................................... 115
4.11 Place of residence ..................................................................................... 115
4.12 Type of h o u se h o ld ..................................................................................... 116
4.13 N ature of nuclear h o u se h o ld ................................................................... 117
4.14 N ature of extended h o u se h o ld ................................................................ 118

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4.15 Land o w nership.......................................................................................... 119
4.16 Landholding of women working at Gonoshasthaya Kendra ............. 120
5.1 Women’s reasons for seeking work in Gonoshashtaya Kendra . . . . 129
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5.2 Who took decision for the women to come to Gonoshasthaya
Kendra? ..................................................................................................... 130
5.3 Who objected to the woman going to work at Gonoshasthaya
Kendra? ..................................................................................................... 130
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5.4 Reason for objection ................................................................................. 131

5.5 How women overcame objections............................................................ 132
5.6 Who supported the women in their decision to work at
Gonoshasthaya Kendra? ......................................................................... 132
5.7 W hat did women do before coming to Gonoshasthaya Kendra? . . . 134
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5.8 Type of paid work before coming to Gonoshasthaya K e n d ra 135

5.9 WRo keeps the in co m e? ............................................................................ 153
5.10 Employment opportunities outside Gonoshasthaya K e n d r a ............. 170
 LIST OF FIGURES

4.1 Senior management structure of Gonoshasthaya Kendra .......................... 95

4.2 Average household landholding 119a

5.1 Women's contribution as percentage of total family incom e................... 150

5.2 Women’s income relative to the average income in each
h ousehold..................................................................................................... 150
5.3 Women’s income compared to head of household incom e........................ 151

6.1 Spatial maps of women’s m obility.............................................................. 185

8.1 The alternative employer .............................................................................. 276

8.2 The gender-sensitive development organisation ........................................ 279
8.3 Socio-economic dimensions of em pow erm ent...............................................282
8.4 Socio-political dimensions of empowerm ent................................................. 285
8.5 Embodied dimensions of empowerment........................................................287

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LIST OF PLATES
1.1 Woman at w o r k .................................................................................... 10
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4.1 Map of Bangladesh showing location of Gonoshasthaya
K endra................................................................................................... 75

5.1 + 5.2 Hassina during work in the handicrafts cooperative................... 166

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5.3 + 5.4 Shongita: the ‘lady-driver’ ............................................................. 172

6.1 Women picking up their children from the day care

centre after w o r k ............................................................................... 226
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7.1 + 7.2 Women from Cox’s Bazaar after attending the GK

m e e tin g ...............................................................................................240

7.3 + 7.4 GK women preparing for the march in Cox’s Bazaar ..................... 241

7.5 + 7.6 GK women preparing for the march in D h a k a ...............................244

7.7 + 7.8 Women during the march and in the p a r k ..................................... 245

7.9 +7.10 Female welders and carpenters at G K ............................................ 258

7.11+7.12 Jute-plastic fabrication at GK ......................................................... 259

7.13+7.14 Selina in work uniform and in sari.............. ..........................................265

P la te 1.1 W om an a t w o rk

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Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 C hanging social lan d scap es

My thesis explores women’s lived experiences of empowerment. At the core of my

research is an in-depth analysis of a selected group of women’s life histories, of
women who came to seek work at an indigenous non-govemmental organisation
(NGO) for survival reasons. The experiences and self-perceptions of these
individual women are contextualised and historicised w ithin the wider
framework of globalisation and women’s recent increased participation in the
labour m arket in Bangladesh. The country’s shift from subsistence to capitalist
production has led to significant changes in its rural landscape. Women have lost
th eir status in agricultural production and been pushed in high num bers into

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wage dependency as a result of increased pauperisation trends (Akhter 1995,
McCarthy and Feldman 1983, W estergaard 1983). M arket forces and m ainstream
development institutions claim to have ‘discovered’ rural women as under-utilised
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hum an resources (McCarthy and Feldman 1983). One can witness this trend
particularly in growing new industries such as the garm ent factories, where
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women’s abundant cheap labour is being fed into. And the development
establishm ent - in line with adjustm ent policies of the 1980s - is training up poor
women (and men) into becoming ‘self-sufficient’ by incorporating them into
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m ainstream development via income generation and credit schemes.

Globalisation and pauperisation trends have also led to notable migratory

processes in Bangladesh. Migration takes place on all levels: transnational, for
example, when men, unable to provide adequately for their families, m igrate to
foreign countries for work. Women are left behind and often their husbands
never come back. Aware of the fact th at the institution of m arriage has become
unstable, women themselves are usually left with no alternative than to m igrate
to the urban centres for survival. Poverty, loss of land and stagnant ru ral labour
m arkets are major reasons for regional migration from rural to urbanising areas.
This trend is usually accompanied by an increase in the nuclearisation of
families. Migration also occurs on a more local scale. Abandoned women who no
longer have a home in their villages sometimes find new homes in NGOs situated
in th e neighbourhood. There are NGOs, such as my case study organisation

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Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK), th at provide such women with an alternative home.

The transform ation of rural landscapes in Bangladesh, however, has not only
resulted in the devaluation of women’s former roles in subsistence production.
The current climate in Bangladesh has great potential for changing gender
relations. Women are dealing with alternative roles and have become visible and
active social agents, negotiating multiple identities. Some NGOs in Bangladesh
have opened up new opportunities for women. Access to organisational support
networks have encouraged women to challenge existing cultural and patriarchal
gender hierarchies. Several organisations have managed to operate successfully
as facilitators of poor women’s (and men’s) empowerment. My thesis aims to
provide an understanding of this process of empowerment from the perspective
of the women involved in GK.

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The theoretical framework of my research draws on two bodies of literature:
recent feminist debates on empowerment and the gender and development
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discourse.
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1.2 F em in ist n otion s o f em pow erm ent

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The term empowerment is popular in various disciplines^, not only in the

current Gender and Development (GAD) debates, which is where my interest lies
in. In South Asia many NGOs emphasise empowerment as an objective. They
have different strategies or entry points - for example education, health, income
generation or credit - to initiate the process of empowering the poor. In this
context the word ‘empowerment’ is often used however, as a synonym for term s
such as ‘integrated rural development’, ‘women’s development’ and
‘conscientisation’ (Batliwala 1993:7). Empowerment is also a key goal of third
world^ feminist grassroots organisations seeking to move beyond the Women in
Development (WID) focus on equality with men.

There are different interpretations of how empowerment relates to women’s

gender needs and interests. One school of thought lays out a planning framework
for organisations by addressing two separate sets of ‘practical’ and ‘strategic’

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gender needs and interests (Molyneux 1985, Moser 1993). Others have argued
for a link between the two through ‘transform atory potentials’ of NGO strategies
for empowerment (Kabeer 1994, 1995a, Young 1988, 1993). ‘Practical’ gender
needs concern, food, water, shelter, health, income and access to education,
training and credit. The policies therefore address the conditions of women’s
daily life. The corresponding policies of ‘strategic’ gender interests on the other
hand are directed at transforming the roles society ascribes to women and men.
They envision a future where inequalities between men and women no longer
exist. The feminist debates recognise cultural, ethnic, racial and class differences,
but argue th a t women can unite around certain issues they have in common,
such as the aim to change traditional gender roles and the unequal distribution
of resources between the genders, to overcome the sexual division of labour, the
alleviation of domestic burdens and child care and the fight against male violence

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and control of sexuality. It was argued, however, th a t the distinction between
‘practical’ and ‘strategic’ gender needs and interests runs the risk of setting
‘strategic’ gender interests ‘aside as feminist concerns’ and becoming irrelevant
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to planners and development practitioners (Young 1993:155). The concept of
‘transform atory potential’ proposes a fusion between ‘practical’ and ‘strategic’
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gender needs and interests. The following NGO initiatives, for example, are
believed to be transformatory:
* providing new economic resources {e.g. non-traditional employment)
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as opposed to resources th a t only reinforce women’s traditional

roles within the society,
* creating new forms of collective relationships for women and
* encouraging collective action (Kabeer 1995a: 115).

Fem inist notions of empowerment are all directed towards collective action,
which is described as a ‘collective experience of struggle’ aimed a t ending
‘discriminatory practices’ (Young 1993:157) {e.g. protests against dowry and wife-
beating, fights for legal rights and equal pay). So far most of the feminist
empowerment discourse, however, has focused on theorising concepts of
empowerment for the ‘others’ (the victimised third world women), rath e r than
exploring how empowerment is practised and lived by these ‘others’.

[WJhile there is much debate at the theoretical level as to w hat

empowerment comprises and how it best can be achieved, there has

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 been little prim ary research at the grassroots level to contribute to
our understanding of w hat empowerment means in everyday term s
(Carr et al. 1996:3).
I address this gap in the literature by presenting an analysis of empowerment
from the perspective of third world women’s day to day experiences of
empowerment. Aware of post-colonial critique of (mis)-representing and using
third world women as ‘native informants’ (Spivak 1988), I argue th a t an in-depth
insight into women’s own perspectives of change and empowerment is necessary
for any development intervention th a t claims to be gender-sensitive. ‘Situated
knowledge’ (Haraway 1991, Harding 1991, Rose 1997) of third world women’s
daily experiences and struggles is a necessary condition for facilitating
empowerment as it indicates which factors hinder or foster women’s
empowerment. Reaching this level of understanding becomes an increasingly
urgent m atter in the context of recent cooption of empowerment concepts by the

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m ainstream development establishment. The redefinition of empowerment
strategies according to women’s needs and interests lays out the foundation for
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the feminist vision of mobilising poor women (and men) into collective action.
One should keep in mind, however, th a t ‘situated knowledge’ does not claim for
universal applicability. It remains limited, partial and uncertain. According to
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Rose (1997:319):

We cannot know everything, nor can we survey power as if we can

fully understand, control or redistribute it. W hat we may be able
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to do is something rather more modest but, perhaps, rath er more

radical: to inscribe into our research practices some absences and
fallibilities while recognising th a t the significance of this does not
rest entirely in our hands.

1.3 D evelopm ent, gender and em pow erm ent in B an glad esh

Poverty alleviation approaches have always been prone to follow general

economic trends and development fashions. Over the last decades development
strategies have gone through major shifts. Welfare-oriented NGO programmes
of the 1950s and 1960s began to take a different shape under the influence of
dependency theories and Freire’s (1972) methods of conscientisation. Concepts
of awareness- and consciousness-raising were much talked about in the 1970s
and most NGOs, inspired by Freire, incorporated his educational approach into

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their agenda. The international political and economic climate of structural
adjustm ent and Bangladesh’s national efforts to follow an export-oriented
industrialisation strategy in the 1980s, however, was soon reflected in the
development arena. Consciousness-raising efforts were eventually replaced by
income-generation programmes.

Empowerment emerged as an alternative concept to m ainstream development

approaches in the mid 1980s, but has already been hijacked by international
development agencies. Their interpretation of empowerment implied freeing
governments from their responsibilities in providing welfare services to the poor
and expecting the poor to take care of themselves w ith a little help from their
friends: the NGOs. Micro-credit became the ‘miracle cure’ of the 1990s and was
m eant to lift the poor out of their misery and tu rn them into self-sufficient small

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scale entrepreneurs. As credit has become the dish of the day amongst donors it
is not surprising th a t there is hardly an NGO in Bangladesh th a t has not jum ped
on the bandwagon of credit provision for the poor by now. Also ‘gender’ has
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become a popular term in the development dictionary and has thus become an
imperative component in most NGO programmes. The dom inant understanding
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of ‘gender’, however, seems to centre around securing women economic benefits

rath er th an addressing gendered power relationships.
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As far as research on women in Bangladesh is concerned most work concentrates

on evaluating either government or NGO anti-poverty programmes. The
evaluation results are then fed back to the m ainstream agencies who are the
sponsors of this literature. So far not enough attention has been given to the
perspectives of the ‘beneficiaries’ of these development programmes. I therefore
intend to address this gap in the empowerment and the development literature
by investigating the lived experiences of empowerment of women engaged with
GK. GK is one of the few organisations in Bangladesh th a t have applied
innovative strategies of empowerment. It combines women’s m aterial well-being
(practical needs) with strategies of awareness-raising (strategic needs). GK was
a pioneer in offering women training in non-traditional m anual and technical
skills. My interest lies in understanding how women involved in an organisation
like GK themselves perceive the changes happening in their lives. I explore the
every-day life experiences of these women by tracing back their memories and

15
recollections of former village life in my search to understand w hether and how
they are adapting to their new work and living circumstances. W hat does
working and (for some) living in GK mean for the women? How does this new
working/living environment influence the way they think and behave? In w hat
activities do they engage daily? Whom do they meet a t GK? W hat do they talk
about with other people at GK? I am interested in understanding how women
feel in a place like GK and w hether the experiences they make there {e.g. doing
non-traditional work, interacting with strangers) and the place itself (enclosed
community) have an impact on their bodily transformation.

1.4 Transform ation o f w om en’s bodily land scapes

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Recently the body has received increased attention in academic discourses^ as
well as popular interest. Most of the literature, however, reflects on how people
in the West perceive their bodies.
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In the affluent West, there is a tendency for the body to be seen as
an entity which is in the process of becoming; a project which
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should be worked a t and accomplished as p art of an individuaVs

self-identity (Shilling 1993:4-5).
There is a current tendency in the West to focus on reconstructing the body into
a healthier, fitter and better-looking object. People are absorbed by ‘competitive
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pressures of self-presentation’ (Shilling 1993:92) visible in the increased

phenomena of anorexia and eating disorders, a recent obsession w ith fitness,
slimness and plastic surgery. I believe th a t women in Bangladesh are also
discovering new ways of self-presentation through their bodies, however, in a
completely different context. Whereas people in the W est are usually in the
financial position to be able to slim down and beautify their ‘well-fed bodies’ with
the help of diets, health products and fitness training; poor women in Bangladesh
come to organisations such as GK with ‘skinny undernourished bodies’ basically
for survival. Only with a regular income can they now afford more th an ju st one
meal per day for themselves and their families. Access to subsidised health care,
knowledge about health, nutrition and hygiene m atters allows them to develop
healthier bodies over time. I argue th at the women involved in GK are
experiencing an embodied dimension of empowerment. When negotiating their

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new identities, however, they do not demonstrate these through fit, slim and sexy
bodies as in the West, but through a transformed way of talking, asserting
them selves towards others, moving, appearing and presenting themselves in
public spaces.

I draw on Giddens’s (1984), Goffman’s (1959, 1963)'^ and M auss’s (1973) concepts
of the body when exploring the transform ation of women’s bodies during their
experiences a t GK. In Goffman’s work, for example

... the managem ent of the body is central to the maintenance of

encounters, social roles and social relations, and also mediates the
relationship between an individual’s self-identity and their social
identity (Shilling 1993:74).
Goffman’s specific contribution to literature lies in dem onstrating the significance
of ‘interaction practices’ as acts of interaction were not studied before him

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(Kendon 1988). Rather than presenting the outcomes of interaction he was
interested in how it was done. I translate Goffman’s ‘interaction practices’ into
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th e embodied empowerment practices of women as my intention is to show how
empowerment is practised in women’s daily bodily performances.
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The body, however, is an area of research to which neither empowerment nor

GAD debates in Bangladesh have given any particular significance. In
m ainstream development literature women’s bodies were either reduced to
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hum an resources for productive purposes or targeted as means to implement

population control. In her bibliography on research on women in Bangladesh
Islam, M. (1994) identified following gaps in the literature: feminism and the
women’s movement, feminist methodology, women in patriarchy, structural
adjustm ent and women, and women and social change. Again, one finds no
reference to how the process of change affects women’s bodies, how women’s
bodily landscapes become transformed and how women practise empowerment
through th eir bodies.

Even fem inist debates in South Asia have failed to incorporate an understanding
of women’s bodies th at goes beyond issues of production, reproduction and sexual
oppression (e.g. the m aternal body, the body as bearer of women’s double burden,
the victimised body). Recent work on women’s empowerment has begun to

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challenge the notion of women as victims. However, when speaking of
empowerment and collective action, feminists seem to focus on the mind and
consciousness, ignoring the physical aspects of women’s empowerment process:

[T]he process of empowerment begins in the mind, from woman’s

consciousness ... from believing in her innate right to dignity and
justice, and realising th a t it is she, along with her sisters, who
m ust assert th a t right ... (Batliwala 1993:9).
This approach envisions a certain outcome i.e. women fighting collectively for
th eir rights, but fails to explain how change manifests itself in women’s bodies.
When women experience empowerment they do this through their bodies in both
m ental and physical terms. Empowerment, however, is a process, it is not a
means to an end. Before being able to think of possible outcomes of
empowerment, one needs to first ask the women themselves how they experience
processes of change through their bodies. I therefore find it timely and crucial to

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include an analysis of the body into the GAD discourse. The implication of this
m ust be to achieve a deeper understanding of how development intervention,
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directed towards women’s empowerment, affects women’s bodies and their
relation to their bodies and to use this as a basis for strategic gender-sensitive
development policy.
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1.5 T hesis outline

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In the following paragraphs I describe how the gaps I have identified in the
literature on women in Bangladesh have been addressed in my thesis structure.
C hapter Two presents a general overview of the GAD debate and draws out the
limitations of existing empowerment theories, one of the m ain limitations being
the lack of attention given to embodied aspects of women’s empowerment.
Chapter Three describes my research methodology. Here I explain the choice of
my case study organisation GK and the underlying rationale for selecting
fem inist ethnography as my core method for investigating the lived experiences
of women’s empowerment. In the conclusion of th a t chapter I reflect on my role
as a feminist researcher and illustrate how I dealt w ith issues of positioning,
representation and authenticity in the field.

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Chapter Four serves as an introduction to the setting of my research: the case
study organisation GK. The chapter begins with a general overview of women’s
position in Bangladesh and the role NGOs play in term s of promoting women’s
empowerment. I then move on to discuss the history, philosophy and internal
structure of the organisation GK. Like most NGOs in Bangladesh GK is not
immune to internal power structures and hierarchies. I therefore discuss both
positive and negative aspects of GK’s approach to women’s empowerment. The
chapter ends with a general profile of the type of women who come to work at
GK.

How women experience the process of adaption to a new world and way of life
through their engagement with GK is analysed in my empirical chapters:
Chapters Five, Six and Seven. Both theoretical aspects of empowerment as well

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as the women’s own perceptions of change influenced the way I structured my
empirical chapters into socio-economic (Chapter Five), socio-political (Chapter
Six) and embodied (Chapter Seven) dimensions of empowerment. Kabeer’s
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(1995a) concept o f‘transform atory potential’ of NGO strategies for empowerment
forms the theoretical framework of my structure in term s of how I understand
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the organisation GK in my thesis. According to Kabeer NGO strategies can be

transform atory in their provision of ‘new economic resources’ (Chapter Five) and
their provision of space to establish ‘new forms of collective relationships’ with
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the potential for collective action (Chapter Six).

Changes from the women’s perspective appear to have taken place in term s of
increased m aterial resources, a certain degree of economic independence and self-
respect (Chapter Five); the ability to ‘mix’ with other non-family related people
and a feeling of being ‘more intelligent’ than before (Chapter Six) and an increase
in confidence and assertiveness notable in their transform ed body language and
behaviour (Chapter Seven). In Chapters Five, Six and Seven I therefore provide
a holistic approach towards women’s empowerment process:

Chapter Five presents GK in its role as a work place which offers women ‘new
economic resources’ in the form of non-traditional training and employment
opportunities. In this chapter I describe the women’s reasons for engaging in
wage employment and how they adapt to this new experience. How women

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negotiate their work at GK with their families forms p a rt of the analysis in the
next section. Here I also illustrate women’s increased sense of self-worth through
their work experience at GK. At the end of this chapter I point out the agency’s
lim itation in securing women non-traditional work elsewhere.

In C hapter Six I investigate how women build up ‘collective relationships’ in GK,

concentrating on its role as a gender-sensitive organisation, which provides a
space where women can mix with other non-related men and women. This
chapter illustrates women’s m ental and physical voyage from their home villages
to the organisation GK. The first section describes women’s memories and
perceptions of village life and their partly stereo-typed images of village women.
I move on to explore women’s learning and interacting processes w ithin GK and
illustrate their sense of solidarity with other women and oppressed groups.

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C hapter Seven underpins my reflections from the previous two chapters by
describing women’s embodied experiences of empowerment in the course of their
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involvement in GK, both in its role as an employer and as a gender-sensitive
organisation offering women their own dedicated spaces of ‘social interaction’
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(Goffman 1983a). On the one hand their engagement in ‘masculine’ work has
transform ed women’s attitude towards themselves, their behaviour towards
others and their bodily postures and performances. On the other hand women are
exposed to daily contact and interaction with others, with whom they have no kin
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relations. Women’s proximity to men from other families is particularly unusual

in Bangladesh as it clashes with Islamic notions of propriety. Cultural norms of
idealised ‘feminine’ virtues (silence, invisibility, immobility, sexual purity,
obedience) socialise women into denying their own bodies and concealing their
personalities and identities. The ideal behaviour for Bengali Muslim women
entails hidden bodies and low voices. On joining GK, however, many women have
started to change their relation to their bodies. Their behaviour reflects the
personal struggles and strategic choices of contesting conventional idealised
images of women. Women at GK are actively challenging prescribed notions of
womanhood, family, sexuality and shame.

In C hapter Eight I summarise the most im portant them es in my thesis and

argue th at the women at GK have become active agents of change. However, one

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needs to acknowledge the fact th at change is a contradictory process. I do this
by examining the limitations in women’s personal experiences of empowerment
when negotiating their multiple identities with their families and communities.
I then return to the theoretical discussion of empowerment by revealing some of
its ambiguities. The chapter ends with suggestions for future research.

N otes

1. The concept of empowerment is used, for example, in the Black movement in the US, in
political philosophy, adult education, economic development, community work, social work,
business management, leisure sciences.

2 .1 understand the term ‘third world’ as problematic and inadequate. Lacking an appropriate
alternative term I use it in this context for formerly colonised societies. See also Mohant^s
(1991) critique of Western feminists ‘production of the "Third World Woman" as a singular
monolithic subject’.

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3. See, for example, Bordo (1993), Bourdieu (1978,1984,1986), Braidotti (1994), Butler (1990,
Connell (1983, 1987), 1993), Elias (1991), Featherstone et al. (1991), Foucault (1977, 1978,
1980,1982), Frank (1991), Fuss (1990), Grosz (1990a, 1990b, 1994), Jaggar and Bordo (1989),
Shilling (1993) and Turner (1984, 1991, 1992).
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4. The symbolic interactionist Erving Goffman views the body as component of action. For
more details on Goffman’s work on the socially constructed self, interaction orders and rituals
and the role of public spaces on human behaviour, see Goffman (1959, 1961, 1963, 1967,
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1969, 1971, 1981, 1983a, 1983b) and Drew and Wootton (1988), Giddens (1988), Kendon
(1988), Lemert and Branaman (1997) and Shilling (1993).
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Chapter Two: Rethinking empowerment

2.1 Introduction

Empowerment is one of the latest buzz-words in the development context. Yet

the term is elusive and ill-defined. Empowerment and its root-concept power are
therefore interpreted in different ways. W ithin the social sciences the dom inant
understanding of power implies ‘power over’, whereas feminists see power in
more fluid and unrestricted terms. Feminists perceive the notion of
empowerment as a process and highlight the elements of political education and
consciousness-raising. However, w hat is lacking in this analysis is how the
process of empowerment is practised and how it affects women’s day to day lives.
It fails to demonstrate how women themselves experience and express various

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stages of empowerment not only in cognitive, but also physical term s. In this
thesis I therefore set out to provide a clearer understanding of women’s ‘lived
experiences’ of empowerment by also giving attention to the embodied aspects of
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empowerment.
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2.2 Women, gender relation s and em pow erm ent

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In the 1970s it was recognised th at the development programmes and plans of

the 1950s and 1960s had failed to alleviate women’s poverty. E sther Boserup was
one of the first to argue th at third world women had not benefited fi'om
development (Boserup 1970). During this period the WID movement emerged as
a network of women from various countries seeking to achieve equal
participation in the development process for women^. Both the UN Commission
on the Status of Women and the US women’s movement of the early 1970s had
an infiuence on WID (Tinker 1990). The movement criticised the gender bias of
former development programmes focusing on male-headed nuclear family
households and proposed women’s integration into the development process.
Their assumptions were based on liberal neoclassic economic theory and a strong
belief in the benefits of modernisation. Development as such was perceived as
positive and the unequal treatm ent women had received compared to men was
related to their insufficient participation in development programmes. The

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solution was therefore women’s integration into economic development. In other
words women’s increased participation in economic and political life would result
in their liberation and sexual equality.

General critiques of the WID approach came mainly from three schools of
thought. They differed from traditional Marxism as well as from each other in
the way they interpreted sexual inequalities as an explanation of general
inequalities (Kabeer 1994). One form of critique came from the ‘dependency
feminists’.^ In their view capitalist development m arginalises third world women
by pushing them into peripheral productive roles. Integration into development
was perceived merely as a means of utilising women’s cheap labour for export-
or m arket-oriented production. Beneria and Sen (1981), for example, argue th a t
women’s economic m arginalisation is not a result of their exclusion from

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productive labour, but from exploitation of their labour in the global system of
capitalist labour relations. Women are driven into participating in this unequal
system and into entering the labour m arket for survival. Instead of enabling poor
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th ird world women to gain control over land and self-sufficient production, this
process pushed them to produce for others in the national or international
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centres.

Unlike the dependency feminists the ‘German Fem inist School’ (Bennholdt-
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Thomsen 1981, Mies 1980, 1982, 1986, Mies et al. 1988) did not prioritise class
over gender inequalities. They insisted th at both men and the capitalist system
were benefiting from women’s oppression. The expansion of the two-class m arxist
analysis by Mies (1988a) describes a three-tier model of capital accumulation:
capitalists, wage workers (predominantly white men) and at the bottom non­
wage workers (mainly women), housewives, and subsistence producers in the
colonies (men and women).^ Ju st as third world subsistence workers are
colonised by the industrial countries and multinationals, women are colonised by
men through the ‘housewifisation’ of their labour, where ‘housewifisation’
involves unpaid or low paid labour (Bennholdt-Thomsen 1988a, 1988b, von
W erlhof 1988a, 1988b). A woman’s income earned through integrationist income
generation projects is perceived merely as a supplement to th a t of her husband,
the ‘breadwinner’ of the family.

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