Threads of Protest and Resistance: The Impact of Social Movements on the Development of Laws Protecting Women’s Rights in Bangladesh A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Md. Mahbub Or Rahman Bhuyan August 2020 © 2020 Md. Mahbub Or Rahman Bhuyan. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled Threads of Protest and Resistance: The Impact of Social Movements on the Development of Laws Protecting Women’s Rights in Bangladesh by MD MAHBUB OR RAHMAN has been approved for the Department of Sociology and the College of Arts and Sciences by Thomas Vander Ven Professor of Sociology Florenz Plassmann Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 Abstract BHUYAN, MD. MAHBUB OR RAHMAN, M.A., August 2020, Sociology Threads of Protest and Resistance: The Impact of Social Movements on the Development of Laws Protecting Women’s Rights in Bangladesh Director of Thesis: Thomas Vander Ven Women's rights movements (WRMs) and legal and social protections for women in Bangladesh have developed in a complex fashion over the last 50 years. The laws have arisen and continue to develop in conflict with long-held traditions that uphold discriminatory practices and enable violence against women (VAW). This thesis explores the calls for legal measures, protests, and movements at local, national and international levels contributed to the changes in the laws enacted to address gendered oppression. Using "Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT)," this paper analyzes the national and international resources the Women Rights' Organizations (WROs) use for mobilization and the accomplishments they gained so far by persuading the state to enact/amend pertinent laws, in particular, the "Prevention of Oppression against Women and Children Act-2000 (POWC ACT- 2000)." This study employs qualitative content analysis to examine the emergence, mobilization, negotiation process and success of WRM in framing VAW laws and trace the impact of local-global resources for mobilization in the success of the WRMs. Findings suggest that although WRM primarily was organized by some social reformers, systematic movements by WROs started after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. The study finds that before every VAW policy formation, one or more WRMs took place, revealing the correlation between WRM and VAW policy change. The study finds that both national and international resources are primarily attributable to VAW policy formation through local-global pressure and waged unequivocally in the country's legal framework. 4 Dedication To the innumerable departed souls of women and children who were killed after being raped. 5 Acknowledgments At first, I would like to thank my thesis Chair Professor Dr. Thomas Vander Ven of the Department of Sociology, Ohio University, for his phenomenal contribution to my thesis work. He helped me from brainstorming the thesis, forming the committee and reviewing the drafts. Dr. Vander Ven allowed me to meet him anytime I want despite his tremendous pressure of various academic and administrative roles. He supported me with necessary materials, research training, and other relevant technical support. I truly believe that my MA research would not be the same without his unconditional help. I am also grateful to the other members of my thesis committee. I pay my gratitude to Dr. Stephen J. Scanlan for his useful feedback, constant support and motivation. He allowed me to audit his social movement class, which provided me important insights about movement and helped write my thesis. His thorough review, keen observation and valuable comments helped me write this thesis confidently. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Haley Duschinski for offering me guidance, instruction, and sharing her knowledge and experience about violence against women from the South Asian perspective. Besides my committee, I am also thankful to Dr. Howard T. Welser, Dr. Debra A. Henderson and Dr. Holly Ningard for their kind support and valuable insights into my research. I would also like to thank all of my mentors, friends and the women’s rights activists/leaders/researchers of Bangladesh who advised me to formulate my thesis and sent me relevant and useful study materials. I also acknowledge the sincere help of the staff of my department and the library of Ohio University. Finally, I must recognize the contributions of my wife Afroza Akter Akhi and son Afnan Abdullah Ayaan for sacrificing their time, providing constant support and keeping me motivated. 6 Table of Contents Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Dedication ........................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………5 List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 7 List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1: Background ....................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 9 Research Questions………………………………………………………………15 Capter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework.……………………….…….. 17 Literature Review……………………………………….……………..…………17 Theoretical Framework………………………………….……………………….19 Chapter 3: Data and Method……………………………………….…………………….21 Chapter 4: Research Findings………………………………………………………….. .23 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................ .37 References………………………………………………………………………………..40 Appendix A: List of Data Sources .................................................................................... 50 7 List of Tables Page Table 1 Profile of major women's rights organizations of Bangladesh…...……………13 Table 2 Evolution of Violence against Women Policies by the influence of WRM…...25 8 List of Figures Page Figure 1. Major VAW issues included into POWC Act 2000 .......................................... 15 Figure 2. Major VAW related offences and the punishments in the POWC Act 2000 .... 29 9 Chapter 1: Background Introduction Modern social movements were largely developed with the emergence of nation- states to pressure the governments to enact laws according to the demand of different groups of a country (Porta and Tarrow 1986). Social movements can influence political decisions, put emerging issues on the policy discussion and pressure policymakers to enact policies (Kingdon 1984; McAdam and Su 2002; Weldon 2002). Similarly, Women's Rights Movements emerged as a means to establish women's rights and protest any form of VAW issue. WRM, in particular, gained momentum at the end of the nineteenth century in the name of 'Global Feminism' to safeguard women from men's violence (Walby 2002:540). This paper aims to begin a conversation toward those ends. It seeks to provide a chronicle of how WRAs and WROs, in general, mobilized to enact VAW policies, and particularly, exploring the role of national and international mobilization resources in WRMs in Bangladesh in framing policies addressing VAW. WROs in Bangladesh seek equal women's rights through social and political change (Anam 2014). WRMs were visible after the 1980s and continuously demanded framing VAW policies (Khan 2014). In response to those WRMs, the government of Bangladesh has taken many legislative actions to prevent women's violence so far. Bangladesh is a signatory country to many international women's rights organizations such as International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (ICCPR), 1966; Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, 2000; Convention on the Political Rights of Women, 1953. Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, 1962; The Optional Protocol to CEDAW 2000. To advance women's rights issues, Bangladesh has also adopted some actions and declarations like the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the World Conference on Education for All (EFA). Apart from these international organizations, Bangladesh is also a signatory country to regional organizations and statutes, such as the SAARC Convention on Prevention of Trafficking 10 of Women and Children in Prostitution, 2002 (CiC-BD 2010). Stemming from the guidelines of these organizations and WRO demands, the government of Bangladesh has enacted many policies and VAW laws. These include the Dowry Prohibition Act- 1980, the Family Courts Ordinance- 1985 and the Nari O Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain-2000 (Prevention of Oppression against Women and Children Act-2000) to ensure women's rights and protect them from various forms of violence. To understand the impact of WRM on policy formation, I examine the evolution of the prevailing law on violence against women in Bangladesh, the POWC Act-2000 and explore the significant WRM during these policy shifts. Moreover, I study the different channels through which women's rights activists pressured the government in framing the importance of the laws on violence against women and the need for meaningful change. I build my study on Boyle and Preves (2000), who maintain that the enactment