Contested Relationships: Women鈥檚 Economic and Social Empowerment, Insights from the Transfer of Material Assets in Bangladesh
Abstract
This article examines the relationship between women鈥檚 economic and social empowerment in the context of extreme poverty. It is based on the findings of primary fieldwork on the char islands of north-west Bangladesh, investigating the processes resulting from the implementation of the Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP). The first phase of the CLP, funded by the UK government鈥檚 Department for International Development (DFID), operated from 2004-2010. Its central activity was the transfer of approximately 拢100s鈥� worth of investment capital to targeted extremely poor households. This investment capital was given specifically to a woman within that household and the majority of these female beneficiaries used it to purchase cattle. This article argues that interventions which adopt primarily an economic entry point can contribute to women鈥檚 empowerment beyond the economic realm, including in terms of changing intra-household relationships and increasing women鈥檚 self-esteem. Clearly interventions beyond the economic sphere are needed to ensure that this empowerment is sustainable and can contribute to changing social norms. However, the contribution which practical gender needs make in providing a basis for extremely poor women to achieve their future strategic gender needs should not be underestimated.
Citation
Scott, L. Contested Relationships: Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment, Insights from the Transfer of Material Assets in Bangladesh. UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland (2012) 22 pp. ISBN 978-92-9230-465-2 [Working Paper No. 2012/02]