Women Involvement in Rural Development

Q. Give a general picture on women involvement in rural development activities of Bangladesh?

"Involvement" has to be ensured with two dimensions as economic and social dimensions. ‘Involvement’ is seen to relate to the user’s power. Rao and Kelleher (1995:70) define women’s Involvement as “the capacity of women to be economically self-sufficient and self- reliant with control over decisions affecting their life options and freedom from violence”. In the existing socio-cultural milieu of Bangladesh, embodied within the phrase of ‘Involvement’ is the concept of change. Women’s mobility and access to information are strengthened both by the requirement and, in many cases, because their economic activities require interactions in the public sphere. These are some of the ways in which "Involvement,” could strengthen demand and make women more successful in overcoming obstacles to management of family.

The general picture of women’s involvement in rural development activities of Bangladesh is given below-

• Economic involvement of rural women

  • Women in agricultural sector

  • Women in rural non farm activity

  • Women in rural industry

Women in Agriculture: Agriculture related activities like post harvest operations, seed preservation, nursery business, jute stripping, vegetable cultivation, homestead gardening, floriculture, production of horticultural seeds, establishment and management of cottage industries based on locally produced agricultural commodities, etc. are very suitable for women.

Women in rural non farm activity: For the development of rural non farm activity women participation is very essential. Women play a vital role for in rural non farm activity. Rural non farm activity means especially that kind of activity which is excluded from all agricultural activity. Tailoring, stitching, pottery, home stead gardening, bamboo product etc. are included in rural non farm activity.

Women in rural industry: Women can play a vital role in rural industrial sector. Women can work into the Husking mill, rice mill, small scale industry etc into the rural area.

Women’s Economic Empowerment also ensured by rural markets and transports.

• Women in social involvement:

Since the 1990’s women have been identified as key agents of sustainable development and women’s equality and empowerment are seen as central to a more holistic approach towards establishing new patterns and processes of development that are sustainable. Women are also involved in social development such as school teaching, nurse etc.

• Political involvement of women:

Women face handicaps to their involvement in politics, their participation in SHGs has altered them, and these women can be prospective leaders in the local political field. Nonetheless various constraints like discriminatory practices in labor, a low level of skills etc. operate to contract a woman’s potential for empowerment. Into the rural area union parishad can play a vital role for political empowerment of women. Women can be participated all decision making process of the rural political conflict and they can raise their own thinking about that matter.

• Legal status:

In Bangladesh women have inadequate access to the law due to illiteracy, lack of legal literacy, information and resources, insensitivity and gender bias. They also lack awareness of women’s human rights in general. The law-enforcement officers and the judiciary do not really know how to make law more gender sensitive. Women may also lack access to justice or human rights because of race, ethnicity, culture, and religion. In Bangladesh the most important events in a woman’s life, e.g. marriage, divorce, custody of children inheritance etc.

• Women in Decision Making:

Participation of women in the decision-making process of farm activities and investment in homestead and cultivated lands along with household activities cannot be looked at in isolation. The participation of men, women and children in a family is so interdependent that they support each other in everyday life in a large number of social, productive and economic activities (Hussain et al 1988). A woman is engaged with several responsibilities at the same time. Forty nine per cent of decisions concerned with homestead cultivation such as vegetables and other plant species were done by women. Forty per cent of house making, 48% of social festivals, 32% of selling vegetables, 25% of selling other crops, 17% of cattle sales, 21% of goat sales and 70% of selling and purchasing poultry and its byproducts were executed by women. Fifty percent or above 50% of decisions were taken by women.

These are the areas where women’s involvement exists and development of their activities in these areas can ensure rural development of Bangladesh.