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The State of Gender in Bangladesh Politics

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The State of Gender in Bangladesh Politics The State of Gender in Bangladesh Politics This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Political Science AUTHOR Md. Mahbubur Rahman Ph.D. Researcher Registration no.: 69/2010-2011 Re-registration no.: 58/2015-2016 Department of Political Science University of Dhaka University of Dhaka August 2019 1 University of Dhaka Faculty of Social Sciences CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Mr. Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Ph.D. Researcher, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka has written his Ph.D. thesis on ‘The State of Gender in Bangladesh Politics’. To the best of our knowledge, the material embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or full for any other Diploma or Degree of this or any other University or Institution. This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Political Science. Dr. Shawkat Ara Husain Ms. Bushra Chowdhury Supervisor Co-supervisor Professor Associate Professor Department of Political Science Department of International University of Dhaka Relations, University of Dhaka 2 The State of Gender in Bangladesh Politics DECLARATION This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Political Science. The material embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or full for any other Diploma or Degree of this or any other University or Institution. Md. Mahbubur Rahman Ph.D. Researcher Registration no.: 69/2010-2011 Re-registration no.: 58/2015-2016 Department of Political Science University of Dhaka 3 This thesis is dedicated To My Parents 4 Table of Contents Page No. Acknowledgement 9 Abstract 11 List of Chart/Diagram/Table/Photo 14 Chapter One: Introduction 15 Background Objective of the thesis Research question Rationale of the thesis What new knowledge this thesis will add? Chapter plan Chapter Two: Research Methodology 49 Qualitative approach Content analysis method Field study Interview method Questionnaire Participatory observation method Selection of the fields of area 5 Feasibility study Time frame Did the respondents speak to me freely? Ethical issues Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework 57 Plato Locke Aristotle and Filmer Exploration of gender theories Key gender theories Relationships among the political theories, the concept of gender studies and the principles of gender equality in politics Key theoretical approach of this thesis Indicators of the state of gender in politics Chapter Four: Literature Review 97 Cultural and social dynamics Patriarchy The Other Masculinity 6 Androcentrism Cyborg Gender segregation Other observations Chapter Five: Research Findings 129 Context of the study Educational qualification of the respondents Family expenditure (monthly) of the respondents Gender issues around the quota system Gender issues around party politics Gender issues around leadership and political participation Gender issues around election Gender issues around social factors Gender issues in public policy An assessment of the research findings Chapter Six: Policy Implications 156 CEDAW UNGA on Women’s Political Participation UNGA on Women and Political Participation 7 The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh National Women Development Policy Challenges of gender equality in Bangladesh politics Chapter Seven: Conclusion and Recommendations 180 Bibliography 193 Annexes Annex-I: Interview Questionnaire Annex-II: National Women Development Policy of 2011 Annex-III: UN General Assembly Resolution on Women and Political Participation of 2011 Annex-IV: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979 8 Acknowledgement I would like to acknowledge the debt I owe to all the faculties, academic administrators and officials in the Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka without whose help, understanding and guidance I could never have completed this Ph.D. thesis. I recall how extensively they have extended their cooperative hands to me in relations to this thesis. For instance, the faculties of the department have provided me with valuable advice and guidance on how to write a Ph.D. thesis, and the officials of the department have helped me out in facilitating two seminars for this thesis. My greatest indebtedness is to my supervisor Dr. Shawkat Ara Husain, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka; and my co-supervisor, Ms. Bushra Chowdhury, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka. Both helped me to improve my grasp of gender issues and recent social science research tools. Also, they went through the draft of my thesis meticulously several times and gave thoughtful suggestions which led to both substantive and stylistic improvements, and the outcome of the thesis. 9 I would like to give special thanks to my father-in-law and only paternal uncle for helping me in reaching out the members and counselors of different Union Parishads and Pourashavas in Tangail district for conducting interview under this thesis. The members and counselors are the key informant of this thesis. I must acknowledge the unseen contributions of my family to this thesis. I recall the motivation of my mother and the in-kind financial support of my father during a crucial moment of my life. Without that support, I could not have been able to continue with this thesis. I also must express my gratitude to my wife who provided me with the inspiration that sustained me in the arduous process of data collecting, data analysis and writing of the thesis over a long period. Finally, I recall that in order to grant me time for this thesis, my little daughter has sacrificed many of her childhood moments which she could spend out with me otherwise. Md. Mahbubur Rahman 3 August 2019 10 Abstract It is ironic that although women’s position in the central leadership in Bangladesh politics has significantly increased in the last three decades, women in general still form a group of disadvantaged minorities in the overall politics of the country. Women and men are not equally represented in the decision and policy making bodies in Bangladesh. For example, women are less represented in the political, legislative and administrative bodies. Women occupy an insignificant portion of the parliamentary seats. A few members of the Cabinet are women. Women’s participation in the local government institutions is also not equal to that of their male counterparts. Therefore, there is lower number of women in comparison to men in the power structure. There are many factors that hinder gender equality in Bangladesh politics. This thesis, however, mainly throws light to the policy level factors and particularly to the national women development policy. In this context, it finds three broad reasons which are responsible for gender inequality in Bangladesh politics. Firstly, this thesis has noticed that the existing provisions of the policy are insufficient to promote gender equality in Bangladesh politics. Secondly, it has further noticed that there is a gap between the existing policy provisions and its implementation 11 mechanisms. Therefore, the extent to which the policy reflects in Bangladesh politics is not enough to ensure gender equality. And finally, some of the major challenges of gender equality in Bangladesh politics are not addressed in the current gender policy, this thesis has noted. This thesis has identified ten of such challenges. These are: influence of patriarchal values and culture on politics, mindset on women’s involvement in politics, unequal opportunity for political participation, unequal gender representation in political institutions, unequal access to the decision making processes, unequal political qualifications, unequal economic obstacles, lack of political commitment by the political parties, political trend to depend on black money and muscles power, and unequal domestic labor load. In order to promote gender equality in Bangladesh politics, this thesis has drawn ten recommendations which suggest that gender awareness raising programs should be launched, equal opportunity for political participation should be created, attitudinal change programs should be initiated, quota policy should be revised, scopes should be given to women for taking decisions, special training programs should be launched for female politicians, inheritance law should properly be applied, political parties must commit to promote gender equality, political trend to depend on 12 black money and muscles power should be eradicated, and gender policy should address the need of equal distribution of domestic labor load. It is expected that on one hand, the recommendations of this thesis will help the policy makers of Bangladesh to promote gender equality in politics by addressing the unmet challenges that in turn will strengthen the democracy, preserve the human rights, ensure the effective use of human resources and bring a pace to the overall development of the country. On the other hand, the thesis itself will add a new knowledge and dimension to the existing policy discourse. 13 List of Chart/Diagram/Table/Photo Page No. Chart Pie Chart: Power conflicts between members of reserved seats and general seats 139 Diagram Diagram 1: Exploration of gender theories 61 Diagram 2: Gender equality 71 Diagram 3: Relationship among the political theories, the concepts in gender studies and the principles
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