Keywords

7.1 In Summary

In the preceding chapters, an effort was made to explore the context of the enactment of the Act of 1997, the role of different actors in the reform process and the impact of the reform on the state of women’s political participation in Bangladesh. Based on the discussion in the previous chapters, what is the contribution of the book? By combining the policy and gender issue in a single study, the book has described policy dynamics of a particular reform aiming at enhancing participation of women in the local government decision making and its impact on the state of their participation in the context of Bangladesh. Before we proceed through pointing out major findings of this book, it is important to have a brief discussion on the justification for application of different theoretical models.

For making an impact study, it is important to know its process first. In this regard, in order to understand the impact of an affirmative action (the Act of 1997) on the state of women’s political participation, it is essential to comprehend in what context the action was taken.

From this perspective, the different theoretical issues have been examined in order to understand the subject matter of the research. It is argued that rule-based and historical institutionalisms are the two important concepts that are important for understanding the issue of women’s political participation. As a matter of fact, rules determine the role of an individual in an organization. In the context of the present research, the reservation of seats for women and an introduction of direct election came into effect through the enactment of new rules that has brought change in the structure of the UP. The role of the individuals—who will do what, how, and when in the UP—is also determined by the rules. On the other hand, the historical development of an institution leads us to know more about its development. An analysis of the changing pattern of the UP’s structure helps us to understand the reform process and the state of women in the local government in different time frames, which justify the importance of institutions in enhancing women’s political participation in Bangladesh. Hence, an institutional approach provides an applicable background to describe women’s political participation in the local government in the context of the present study.

The context of the reform reminded us of John Kingdon’s model of agenda-setting in which he asserted that new policy windows are opened as a result of an interaction between the problem stream, the policy stream, and the political stream. Kingdon (1984) also suggested that changes in the political stream (through shifting ideology) and in the nature of the problem also contribute to the opening of a new policy window. With regard to the enactment of the 1997 reform, several actors interacted in the policy process, and their interactions contributed to the development of a new policy agenda that required reform.

Moreover, there was a change in the government (AL) in 1996. Specifically, the new Government’s ideology was different than that of the previous government (BNP), and the issue of women’s political participation had attracted the attention of the international community after the Beijing Conference in 1995. All these factors contributed to the enactment of the 1997 reform. Thus, it can be said that Kingdon’s model of agenda-setting provides an applicable background to the context of this research. Moreover, Howlett and Ramesh’s (1995, 2003) classification of actors in the policy process is also applicable in identifying the actors involved in the 1997 reform, as this reform was an outcome of the influence of different State (the Government), societal (political parties, WOs, and NGOs), and international (donors and international conventions) actors. The subsequent sections briefly discuss the role of different actors in the dynamics of the reform and the impact of the reform on the state of women’s political participation followed by some prescription to breaking the shackles.

Political parties in Bangladesh are not proactive with regard to women’s political participation. They are, to some extent, reluctant with regard to women’s political participation. Sometimes political parties highlight the issue of women’s political participation in the Party agenda only to attract the attention of the international community and women voters. For instance, although the AL and BNP highlighted the issue of women’s political participation with greater importance in their respective election manifestos of 1996 and 2001, they did not take enough proactive measures to enhance women’s participation except that AL enacted the reform of 1997 and the BNP brought in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Moreover, fundamentalist political parties like the BJI always remain busy in resisting the rise of women’s political participation. More importantly, political leader’s lack of knowledge about women’s issues forces them to remain reluctant. None of the Parties usually carry out any particular advocacy program for the women, to train them and raise their level of awareness. Finally, absence of a democratic culture within the party offers top leaders the opportunity to make arbitrary decisions over party matters, where there is hardly any scope for the party members to challenge such decisions. This arbitrariness reduces the extent of the party’s influence on the government. Given this political culture, the party’s control on the government remains limited, since the head of the party holds the position of head of the government, allowing him or her to exercise supreme power over the Cabinet and over the party.

Since 1991, successive democratically elected governments of Bangladesh have not usually shown enough enthusiasm and commitment to foster the issue of women’s political participation. Although the BNP government (1991–1996) signed the PFA of the Beijing conference in 1995 they (1991–1996) did not make any sweeping policy to enhance women’s political participation in order to gain political advantages. Due to having an alliance with the BJI, the BNP government did not want to create friction among its political friends, who do not believe in women’s political participation, by being proactive toward women’s issues. Also, the BNP did not want to disappoint the voters, who were mostly Islamic minded and patriarchal, as they did not believe in women’s political participation. By signing the PFA in 1995, the government only tried to attract the attention of the international community.

On the hand, a number of factors influenced the then AL leadership to enact the reform of 1997. As one of the progressive political parties, ideologically, the AL is more flexible than the BNP and the BJI with regard to women’s political participation. Once they took power in 1996, the government wanted to establish a powerful local government in Bangladesh, with the UP as the focal point of development. Accordingly, the Local Government Reforms Commission was formed to recommend ways to establish a powerful local government. Realizing the importance of increasing women’s political participation, the Commission, along with other recommendations, suggested the reservation of three seats for women in each UP and the provision of direct election to fill those seats. The AL government accepted the recommendation, in letter and in spirit. Aside from the Commission’s report, some constitutional obligations were important, since several Articles of the Constitution [Articles 9, 10, and 28(2)] suggested that women should be given the opportunity to take part in all areas of the society, and any discrimination against them should not be allowed. These Constitutional suggestions motivated the then AL Government. Another point is that the then prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) was willing to create opportunities for women, allowing more of them to participate in the political process. Moreover, the leaders of leading WOs in Bangladesh, who were advocating greater women’s political participation, had a good relationship with Sheikh Hasina who offered them easy access to push their agenda. They also asked the assistance of Ivy Rahman (the then president of the Women AL) and her husband (Zillur Rahman who was the Minister of LGRD&C and the general secretary of the AL) to push the agenda in the government level as well as within the AL. All these factors finally contributed to the development of women’s political participation as an agenda of the government, resulting in the enactment of the 1997 reform. Aside from the influences of these factors, the movements of WOs and the role of NGOs, donors, and international conventions directly or indirectly influenced the issue of the enactment of the 1997 reform.

WOs in Bangladesh usually implement various advocacy programs for the betterment of women in the community. To eliminate gender discrimination in the society and ensure both gender equality and the greater participation of women in the political process, WOs remain vocal by pressuring the government to initiate various reforms. However, no formal channels exist through which they could interact with the government or exert influence over it. Thus, they had to highlight the issues and attempt to convince the government through informal channels. They sometimes used their informal social relationships in a professional manner. For instance, several leaders of WOs used their relationship with the then prime minister to convince her to take necessary steps toward enhancing the political participation of women. It is certain that efforts of women organizations made an impact on the Government, compelling it to consider women’s political participation at the local government level.

Women are the main target groups of most of the NGOs in Bangladesh. These NGOs implement microcredit programs with the expectation that women would become independent, and their opinions would be respected in the family and in the society if these women were economically well-off. Some NGOs in Bangladesh work indirectly toward women’s political participation. They mostly work to build awareness among women, while some carry out programs to build the capacity of elected women members of the UP. Awareness-building and capacity-building programs are intended to make women aware of their rights so they can raise their voices against gender inequality. Since the NGOs’ involvement with the issue of women’s political participation is indirect, the extent of their influence on the government was limited. Aside from building awareness among women, NGOs also try to draw the government’s attention by publishing their research findings, organizing press conferences, and submitting memoranda to the responsible authorities. Although NGOs did not directly influence the government to initiate the 1997 reform, they still believed that their stakeholders (women) would soon raise their voices independently and compel the government to initiate further reforms to ensure their greater participation in the political process.

The government of Bangladesh is dependent on the donors for financing of its development budget. Thus, there is enough room for the donors to influence the government’s policy. However, donor’s influence in policy making depends on the nature of the policy. When it concerns women’s political participation in Bangladesh, not all donors are concerned about the issue. Donors who are working on the issue perceive that women’s participation in the political process has been in transformative phase that is yet to cross the satisfactory level. Donors view that, given the conservative societal system; the enactment of reforms fostering women’s political participation is one of the most important means to enhance their participation. Since donors’ main responsibility is to provide funds and technical assistance to the government and NGOs to build women’s capacity at all levels, they did not directly influence the government in the process of enactment of the reforms in 1997.

However, it is true that donors have been successful in exerting some indirect influence on the Government through their several local government projects. Among the donor agencies, the UNDP and USAID provide funds to the local government to be implemented either through the government or NGOs. The UNDP funded the Sirajganj Local Governance Development Fund Project (SLGDP) that was implemented by the Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives, which achieved tremendous success in mobilizing local resources and ensuring popular participation in local government decision making. The project was also successful in increasing the involvement of women members in the activities of the UP. Furthermore, the USAID funded the Democratic Local Governance Program (DLGP), which was designed to increase the efficiency and transparency of selected rural and urban government bodies in the northwest and southwest areas of Bangladesh. Thus, it can be concluded that the donor agencies mostly work to strengthen the capacity of the UPs and the people involved in the process of its governing. Usually, the donor agencies use a bottom-up approach in their project implementation. They hold the belief that the demand for change should start from the bottom, which means that the stakeholders should make themselves heard. Although the donor agencies are not in a position to influence the government directly during lawmaking, their involvement in different local government-strengthening projects allows them to sit with the government and attempt to convince them to initiate affirmative action for the women of Bangladesh.

Although donors’ influence on the government during enactment of the reform of 1997 was insignificant, influence of different international conventions, particularly the Platform for Action (PFA) of the Beijing Plus Five Conference that took place in China in 1995—on the Bangladesh government to enact the 1997 reform was immense. The impact of the Beijing Conference is reflected through the setting up of a comprehensive national mechanism and institutions for the advancement of women by the Bangladeshi government. As an immediate outcome of the Beijing conference, the government began allowing women to enter the national defense force. Furthermore, special programs for female education, female employment, and provisions for credit facilities for women were undertaken to ensure mainstreaming of women into the development process. Primary education was made compulsory, and the education of females was vigorously encouraged. In addition, stipend programs for girls in secondary schools were introduced. The implementation of these programs made Bangladesh a pioneer in this regard. These government activities indicate that the AL government of Bangladesh was influenced by the Beijing conference of 1995 when it enacted the reform of 1997.

The reform of 1997 was a breakthrough in enhancing women’s participation in Bangladesh. The concern, however, is whether the government enacted the reform only to impress the international community, or whether the government was really sincere in enhancing women’s political participation.

It is difficult to discern this as empowerment without capacity building is meaningless. The government enacted the Act of 1997, but it did not take the necessary action to build the capacity of the elected women members. Thus, at this stage, we can question the government’s motives.

Whatever these motives might have been, the reform has opened up wide avenues for more women to participate in local government bodies. Now, the question is: what impact did the 1997 reform have on women’s political participation? In other words, did these provisions ensure women’s representation in decision making? Or did these provisions only ensure their attendance in the UP? The state of affairs of women’s representation in politics is perhaps not satisfactory because of the domination of male members, and their role in the public world of politics is taken for granted. Moreover, male members use their support networks to influence the decision-making process; the existence of “de facto politics” impedes the participation of women in politics even though several successive Governments have introduced quotas.

As already mentioned, one of the major contributions of this book is to have an assessment of the impact of the 1997 reforms on women’s economic sovereignty, societal liberty, and their involvement in the decision-making process in the UPs. With regard to economic freedom, the women do not enjoy the freedom to spend their earnings. In most cases, their money is spent by the male heads of their families. In fact, the women are not allowed to determine spending priorities, which is also done by the male heads of their families. However, women coming from economically well-off families are granted the right to spend their money. Despite these shortcomings, one encouraging fact is that there has been a significant change in the women’s role in family decision making since the 1997 reforms. After being elected as the women members, they can sit together with male members while deciding on particular issues of the family, but their role remains restricted to providing information only. This means that they can only speak when they are asked for information, and they are not allowed to express their opinions on family matters. Under such circumstances, it can be concluded that women in Bangladeshi society continue to have low status, with the rights and privileges that are restricted and contingent upon their financial condition.

Unlike economic freedom, there has not been any significant change in the state of women’s social liberty, since society has not yet accepted them wholeheartedly. The attitude of the majority of males toward them is conservative, and they do not believe in women’s participation in the public arena. Along with males’ domination, religious fundamentalists try to impose restrictions on women members through issuing fatwas. Moreover, driven by Islamic values, women are required to use the purdah for external mobility that makes it very difficult for them to participate in activities outside family functions. Thus, external mobility of the women members remains restricted, not only at night but also in the daytime, by requiring them to be accompanied by a male member of their family. This is an indication of the inferior status of women in Bangladesh.

In the midst of darkness, one encouraging fact is that people, although few in number, people have started to come to the women members to seek their assistance, despite the fact that women are not accepted by the majority of males in the community. Among those who ask for assistance, the majority of them are mostly ordinary women. This does not mean that men do not approach them. Of course, few males do approach for the assistance of the women members, but only after having explored all alternative avenues for solving the problem. Men usually find it humiliating to come to a woman for a solution to a problem. Patriarchy prohibits them from seeking assistance from a woman. Despite having problems from the family members and lack of access to various means of information, the women members have the willingness to participate in different programs, like inauguration of social awareness-building program and sports competitions, attending meetings to solve problems between contending groups (which is generally called salish) and participation in the activities of NGOs. All these activities have brought some positive changes in the attitude of the women members. Although the Act of 1997 has not increased women members’ social liberty to a great extent, their satisfaction level has remained relatively higher. This is either due to the fact that, in a society where deprivation and victimization are prevalent, the women feel already satisfied and encouraged if they gain something, no matter how little it may be, or, to the fact that their level of understanding is very low, so they do not know the potential levels of satisfaction well.

With regard to the involvement of women in the decision-making process of the UP, the book has come up with some interesting findings.

First, despite facing strong resistance from their families when running in the election, women have been found enthusiastic and happy to be elected as members of the UP. However, they find difficulty in balancing their roles as wife, mother, and people’s representative.

Second, women members of the UP work in a negative environment, without receiving full cooperation of their male colleagues, who think themselves superior and possess conservative attitudes which usually stem from patriarchy and male-dominated societal values. On the other hand, the male colleagues view the women members as inefficient and unable to carry out their responsibilities properly.

Third, due to a neglecting attitude of the males and absence of clear law governing the roles and responsibilities of the women members and their share in the distribution of projects, the women members do not get their equal share in the distribution of UP projects, despite the fact that their constituencies are three times larger than those of the male members. Crossing the boundaries of discrimination, the males sometimes distribute the projects in the absence of the women members. Such discrimination persists over a long period of time due to lack of proper knowledge about women members’ rights and responsibilities, which is supported by the finding of the ADB (2004) study, saying that more than 70 % of women councilors of the UP are not aware of their rights and responsibilities as representatives, while more than 80 % lack the confidence in their ability to conduct meetings.

Fourth, discrimination is not only common during distribution of projects but also during distribution of membership in different committees. The law is problematic again in this regard since it does not specify anything regarding the women members’ share in committees. However, the government, through several circulars, has provided instructions to set up new committees, to be chaired by the women members. Since their membership is not guaranteed, they are sometimes bypassed during the distribution of membership in the committees.

Fifth, there is enthusiasm among the women members with regard to their participation in national politics. Going beyond the role of supporters, the women members get involved in the campaign during the national elections. However, they do not receive equal importance from the candidates that the males do, which is indicative of women’s unequal status in the society.

Sixth, the women members’ voice is not heard in the decision-making process of the UP, although the principle of democracy and good governance requires the participation of all concerned. There is hardly any scope for the women members to influence UP decision making. They sometimes object to some misdeeds, but they are not heard out. Thus, the women members remain as the minority in the UP whose role in decision making is ornamental only.

The reservation of seats through legislation is a controversial issue, in Bangladesh and elsewhere. However, it is beyond doubt that, as quotas have been implemented, popular political culture has gradually become more accepting of women in politics. Women’s issues have been nurtured well in emerging democracies, where the governments of these countries have shown commitment to women’s increased representation, which plays a crucial role in advancing women’s political representation. In fact, women’s enhanced political representation depends to a large extent on the political will of the government instead of the economic standing of the country or any other economic factor (Tripp 1994). For instance, Mozambique, the poorest nation in the world, made a remarkable improvement in the area of female legislative representation, as compared to many advanced industrialized countries.

Aside from Mozambique, higher female representation in Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and several other African countries has been accounted for the initiation of party quotas and reserved seats (Tripp 1994). In South Africa, the women have made a noteworthy political advancement through the introduction of quotas, brought about by the enactment of reforms in existing laws. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has played an important role in furthering women’s issues. Thus, 89 of the 117 women in the National Assembly and the Senate are from the ANC party. Nowadays, women constitute 25 % of the legislature in South Africa, which represents a striking break from the previous apartheid regime wherein they comprised less that 3 % of the legislature (Tripp 1994). The women’s movement has gained momentum through the process of democratization in industrialized countries as well. In Turkey, women’s rights and the diversity of women’s voices gained momentum through the processes of economic transformation and democratization (Kardam and Ertürk 1999; Caha 2010). Like that of other countries in the world, the emerging democracy of Bangladesh began its momentum toward the end of 1990 with the overthrowing of the autocratic rule by a mass movement. Since then, the enhanced participation of women in the political process has become an issue of concern for the government.

Inequality against women in the Bangladeshi society is common. Along with sociocultural obstacles, structural deficiencies and attitudinal problems are the major obstructions to the greater participation of women in the political process. Most societal institutions are designed in such a way that they offer very little scope for women to participate in them. Jahan (1988: 200) asserted that “… all Bangladeshi social institutions permit, even encourage the demonstration of unequal power relations between the sexes.” In such a restricted situation, taking part in the public arena is more of a dream for the women members than a reality. The reservation of seats for women at local government levels has increased the number of women in politics, but it has not ensured their full representation in decision-making process yet. However, there are reasons to be optimistic about this, as the imposition of quotas has helped change the popular political culture, gradually, to become more conducive to women’s participation in politics. The battle for women’s active participation in the political process has just started, and elected women members still have a long way to go to make more than just their physical presence felt in decision making.

7.2 Breaking the Shackles

To break the shackles, women will have to take the lead role. However, it is also important to make the political system women friendly, in order to improve the situation of the women. Strulik (2003, p. 19) asserted that “the best way to break the barriers is not to make women fit into the political arenas; it is to make the political system more women friendly.” On the other hand, Rao and Kelleher pointed out that, in order to bring changes in the status of women, these reforms should be made at the different levels (personal and social) of formal and informal relations. They mentioned four clusters of change, related to one another, that can be effective in ensuring overall changes in the status of women: (i) men and women’s individual consciousness (knowledge, skills, political consciousness, and commitment), (ii) women’s objective condition (rights and resources, access to health services and safety, and opportunities for voicing out), (iii) informal norms such as inequitable ideologies and cultural and religious practices, and (iv) formal institutions such as laws and policies (Rao and Kelleher 2005). Thus, providing opportunities for many women to take part in the UP has ensured only one part of mainstreaming women in development, while the other parts should ensure: that they have some leverage in relation to political decision making; their consciousness level must be raised; their access to all kinds of resources must be increased, and there must likewise be a change in cultural and religious values. At the same time, it is important to guarantee the incorporation of gender-related issues in the legal, social, and political agendas.

The capacity-building programs of the government of Bangladesh, although conducted in a limited scale, and NGOs have increased the level of confidence of elected women members to some extent, but this does not mean that they have done everything to prepare the women to carry out their responsibilities. It is also important to educate males to make them understand the importance of women in politics. Otherwise, nothing encouraging will happen with regard to the active participation of women, since the attitude of males contributes predominantly to the emergence of problems already encountered by the women members while in the UP.

The Act of 1997 has created opportunities for women to enter politics, but their position in the decision-making process still remains as “proxy” candidates, instead of real ones with knowledge and confidence, capable of realizing the importance of their position and exercising their rights in the UP. Thus, changes should be made in the socio-cultural values and traditions that permeate the society; otherwise, it will take many years to recognize the active presence of one-third of the women members in the decision-making process in the UP. A sense of equal partnership must be cultivated among the women to make them overcome the trauma of fulfilling their traditional role, which is to take care of their families, since women these days should carry on multiple roles as a mother, home manager, and working manager at the same time. However, the rate of this transformation is slow in rural Bangladesh due to the domination of patriarchy, age-old customs, and traditional practices (Szyber 2005). Specific recommendations can be considered to initiate further reforms aiming at ensuring greater female representation in the political process in Bangladesh.

First: Cultural norms and perceptions have stereotyped women’s role to be in the family domain only. It is therefore essential to bring changes to these cultural norms by initiating appropriate cultural, educational, and informational policies. Discrimination against women should be made clearly unacceptable. In doing so, the first step should be to redesign the educational curricula to highlight the significance of women’s participation in development at all levels (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific 1993). Another mechanism is to use various media sources like television, radio, and newspapers to make policy makers and administrators realize the importance of gender equality and to stimulate women to reorganize their roles and affirm themselves as equal partners of men in all sectors (Center for Asia–Pacific Women in Politics 2000; Haque 2003).

Second: It is the responsibility of the Government to initiate reforms through constitutional and legal provisions intended to ensure gender equality in every area. The government has already passed a number of laws including the Local Government (UPs) (Second Amendment) Act of 1997 and created the WID focal point to oversee the concerns of women in the programs of the government. However, some laws are not enacted efficiently. For instance, the Act of 1997 does not specify the duties and responsibilities of elected women members in the UP. Even if they are elected by constituencies three times larger than those of the general members, the law does not talk about their share in project distribution and membership in project committees. Thus, the law needs to be more specific and fair, and additional legal measures need to be passed in order to implement the enacted legislation effectively. Moreover, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs should shoulder the responsibility of nurturing the issues of women in every sector.

Third: The government has the legitimate power to initiate policies for ensuring women’s political participation. Since political parties form the government, women’s representation in legislative and executive bodies greatly depends on their representation in political parties. Thus, the major political parties of Bangladesh should offer a scope for greater women’s participation in their parties’ leadership and organizations. The first thing that political parties can do is to introduce the female quota in political parties. These measures can easily be implemented in the political parties in Bangladesh since both the largest political parties are directed and steered by two women who hold supreme power over the parties. All that is necessary is the strong political will and commitment of top leaders.

Fourth: Since WOs have remained vocal about greater women’s political participation and discrimination against them, they need to remain united rather than politically divided. Their concerted efforts will compel the government to initiate affirmative policies for women whenever necessary.

Fifth: Since NGOs in Bangladesh have wide network and coverage down to the local level, they should carry out more awareness development programs. If common women become aware of their rights, they will strive for participation in the political process, and this will create enthusiasm among women, which will in turn put pressure on the government to take more affirmative action to increase their participation.

Sixth: The monitoring of the implementation of several conventions’ declarations by international organizations like the UN, ratified by member States, needs to be strengthened. Otherwise, the ratification of conventions will not be translated into reality by the governments involved.

Seventh: The “empowerment of women” without capacity building is meaningless. The then government passed the Act of 1997, but they did not take the necessary action to build the capacity of women. Thus, capacity-building programs for elected women members need to be implemented all over the country. These programs will make the women aware of their rights, duties, and responsibilities as women members. Once aware, they will want to participate actively in the UP’s decision-making process and raise their voice against any form of discrimination. This protest will send a message to their male colleagues that elected women members are not mere “ornaments”; rather, they are their equals. Moreover, capacity-building programs should include the male members as well, to make them understand and recognize women’s rights and the rules of the UP, which will ultimately influence their attitudes.

Eighth: The enactment of policies does not ensure women’s greater political participation. Policies should be implemented properly and efficiently, and this requires adequate funding. Without adequate budget allocations, policies aiming at empowering women or ensuring their greater participation will not go beyond oratory. Thus, political will must be reflected both in policies and resources to support women empowerment effectively (Villaluz 2000).