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Women's Political Participation in the Society

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Women's Political Participation in the Society Women’s Political Participation in the Context of Modernisation: A Comparative Study of Australia and Bangladesh A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of Doctor of Philosophy at Murdoch University By Fardaus Ara Murdoch University Perth, WA, Australia 2017 ii Declaration I declare that the work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge, original and it has not been previously submitted either in whole or in part, for a diploma or degree at any educational institution. The research was initiated and developed by me. All other work, including data collection, quantitative and qualitative analyses, and the write-up, was also done by me. Specific contributions were made by others, and these have been noted and acknowledged. (Fardaus Ara) iii Abstract Many proponents of modernisation theory assert that economic growth leads inevitably to social development. Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris and Christian Welzel, in their revised modernisation theory, claim that along with socio-economic development, modernisation fosters cultural change that in the long run leads to greater gender equality in all sectors including politics. However, they have identified structural, institutional and cultural barriers to the political participation of women; cultural being the strongest force that sometimes resists gender equality despite economic development. Women are now participating in all sectors of politics. However, globally they are marginal in politics as candidates, elected representatives, ministers, the prime minister, political leaders, mayors and so on, regardless of the level of socio- economic development within countries. There is no country either developed or developing that has ensured equal participation of women in politics. This comparative study aims to analyse the issue of the underrepresentation of women in the national parliament and local government in Australia and Bangladesh. The empirical analysis consists mainly of data derived from semi-structured interviews with the elected female representatives from the parliament and local government in the two countries. This thesis finds that with few exceptions, women in Australia and Bangladesh have to overcome similar hurdles to their participation in elected office. The findings highlight the tremendous lag in social change leading to gender equality. Furthermore, the similarity in issues facing women entering politics in both countries, despite tremendous cultural and socio-economic differences, indicates that the social barriers appear to relate to universal challenges to participation of women in politics, more specifically to patriarchal structures and values associated with electoral politics. However, the barriers tend to be exacerbated by lack of modernisation and various cultural tendencies, thereby providing partial support for the revised modernisation theory. iv Acknowledgement First and foremost, I express my deep sense of gratitude and profound appreciation to my principal supervisor Dr. Jeremy Northcote, to whom I am highly indebted for the manifold ways he assisted me. From the very beginning he gave me the best guidance a PhD candidate could ever ask for. Despite many struggles during my candidature, both mentally and physically, he was always there beside me; motivating and encouraging me throughout the period of the study and the preparation of this manuscript. I would like to thank my associate supervisors Dr. Barbara Evers and Dr. Carol Warren. They were always very helpful and enriched me by their invaluable guidance, suggestions, encouragement and kind help throughout the period of the study. Murdoch University funded my study through a generous scholarship. In addition, the School of Arts provided me a congenial working environment. The University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, granted me study leave to pursue my studies in Australia. I appreciate the contributions of all these institutions. My deepest thanks go to the female politicians both in Australia and Bangladesh who agreed to be a part of this study despite their busy schedules. Without their input, this research certainly would not have been a reality. While I was struggling to have consent from local government councillors in WA, three lady councillors supported me by arranging several interviews. For the sake of the confidentiality I cannot mention their names here. I would like to express my special gratitude to those ladies. Family members have been next to me all through the journey. My parents and nephew were very supportive. I am thankful to my nephew Amit for accompanying me during my field visit in Bangladesh. At that time the political situation was very unstable; clashes and violence were very common every day. In this climate, travelling between places was especially risky and Amit was there v all the time sacrificing his study and work to ensure my safety. My daughter Proma was deprived a lot due to my busy schedule but never complained. On the contrary she encouraged me to complete the work in time. Finally, I am indebted deeply to my husband, Md Mostafizur Rahman Khan. He has been there for me at all times, encouraging me when I have felt tired or down. I AM GRATEFUL TO YOU ALL. vi Table of Contents Declaration .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ...................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgement ..................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ........................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures ......................................................................................................... xvii List of Appendices ................................................................................................. xviii Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... xix Chapter 1 Introducing the Research ......................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 The Research Question ............................................................................ 2 1.3 Background to the Research .................................................................... 3 1.4 Significance of the Study ......................................................................... 7 1.5 Women in Politics: A Brief History ...................................................... 10 1.5.1 Women in National Legislatures: Current Status .......................... 15 1.5.2 Women as Head of State, Head of Government and Minister .......................................................................................... 15 1.5.3 Women in Local Government: Current Status .............................. 17 1.5.4 Women in Politics at a Glance in Australia and Bangladesh ........ 19 1.5.5 Summary ........................................................................................ 21 1.6 Structure of the Thesis ........................................................................... 21 Chapter 2 Methodology ........................................................................................ 25 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 25 2.2 Research Design .................................................................................... 26 2.2.1 Justification of Comparative Case Research ................................. 26 2.2.2 Unit of Comparison ....................................................................... 30 2.3 Data Collection ..................................................................................... 31 2.3.1 Semi-Structured Interviews ........................................................... 32 2.3.2 Selection of the Participants .......................................................... 33 vii 2.3.3 The Interview Process .................................................................... 36 2.4 Data Analysis ......................................................................................... 36 2.5 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................... 37 2.6 Problems of Data Collection .................................................................. 37 2.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 39 Chapter 3 The Theoretical Framework ................................................................... 40 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 40 3.2 Defining the Key Terms ........................................................................ 40 3.2.1 Politics ........................................................................................... 40 3.2.2 Political Participation ..................................................................... 42 3.3 Modernisation Theory ........................................................................... 44 3.3.1 Controversy over Modernisation Theory ......................................
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