Abstract
The chapter argues that amidst women’s ceaseless struggle to strengthen their rights in the union parishads (UPs) of Bangladesh, women leaders have been able to make a significant difference in local governance. Against this backdrop, the author asks: What do women leaders do, and how do they contribute to transforming rural society? The chapter is based on qualitative research methods such as hermeneutical phenomenological analysis, in-depth case studies, content analysis, and observation. Using subjective judgment and interpretive analysis, the author finds that female UP members are being socially responsive amidst their constrained participation and ceaseless struggle in patriarchal society. Some woman leaders have been able to have a decisive impact in providing culturally suitable judgment for rural and vulnerable women using the platform of rural village court (called salish). The women leaders were also found to be highly sensitive and responsive to women’s issues and interests, and they were trying to serve women’s needs at the community level. Through involving themselves in transformative politics and through exercising their integrity, these women leaders were able to enhance safety-net benefits and promote development administration and governance. Some women leaders in the UPs emerged as supra-social workers with a strong commitment to uplift community welfare and social justice.
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Notes
- 1.
In this research local government connotes the rural local government, more specifically the Union Parishad, the lowest and oldest rural local government body in Bangladesh. In the last 149 years, from 1870 until 2019, the UP has never lost its representative character and elections have continued every five years in the UP, unlike many ups and downs in the Bangladeshi society.
- 2.
Hussain Muhammad Ershad was one of the military rulers in Bangladesh. While he was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army, he declared Martial Law following a bloodless coup and became the Chief Martial Law Administrator in 1982. Afterwards he became the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990. During his regime, following the suggestions of the National Executive Committee for Administrative Reform and Reorganization (NICARR), Ershad undertook substantive reform measures in the spheres of civil administration and local government in Bangladesh.
- 3.
In rural Bangladesh, a bazaar is a permanently enclosed marketplace or street where goods and services are exchanged or sold. Hut, on the other hand, refers to the sort of bazaar that is arranged two or three times a week.
- 4.
There are 7 divisions, 64 districts, 507 upazilas (sub-districts), and 4498 UPs in Bangladesh. The sampled 23 UP councilors were selected from five divisions and seven districts of Bangladesh: Chittagong, Comilla, Faridpur, Sylhet, Barisal, Bogra, and Gaibandha districts.
- 5.
In qualitative research, the size of the sample is of secondary importance to the quality of data, as “qualitative research is concerned with smaller numbers of cases with more intensive analysis” (Davidson & Layder, 1994, p. 173). Moreover, in qualitative research, the selection of the sample does not matter much; rather, collecting data from the real world is much more important and even the term ‘sampling’ is not used.
- 6.
Salish refers to the informal local arbitration which the UP representatives conduct to resolve people’s petty disputes.
- 7.
One US dollar = 83.67 Bangladeshi Taka, as of March 21, 2019.
- 8.
This interview was done on 7 November 2013.
- 9.
This interview took place on 31 October 2013.
- 10.
Rahman (2006) found that 64.52 percent, 39 percent, and 72 percent of the women leaders had a linkage with various NGOs and socio-economic development organizations in 2006, 2007, and 2013 respectively (Rahman, 2007), whereas Gani and Sattar (2004) found that 50 percent of the women leaders were involved in NGOs.
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Rahman, M. (2020). Emerging Leadership Roles of Women in Rural Local Government: Experiences from Bangladesh. In: Jamil, I., Aminuzzaman, S., Lasna Kabir, S., Haque, M. (eds) Gender Mainstreaming in Politics, Administration and Development in South Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36012-2_6
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