Conservative outlook, gender norms and female wellbeing: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

Food Systems for Healthier Diets in Bangladesh: Towards a Research Agenda

“…Surveys show that many of these ghers become a joint family project, involving both husbands and wives, and are highly profitable; from a food systems perspective, they increase the local supply of both vegetables and animal source protein, which can have positive dietary outcomes for both those who manage ghers and those who live nearby, through market availability effects (Castine et al, 2017). IFPRI surveys have shown that women's empowerment has increased in rural areas as women work more with their husbands on non-field agriculture such as livestock, aquaculture, or vegetables (Ahmed and Sen, 2018).…”

Gender and agricultural mechanization: A mixed-methods exploration of the impacts of multi-crop reaper-harvester service provision in Bangladesh

“…In rural Bangladesh, the practice of purdah, often translated as female seclusion, excludes women from public spaces and restricts women's interaction with men outside the family, with important implications for women's mobility, economic activity, and well-being (Feldman and McCarthy 2006;Kabeer 1990;Amin 1997;Bose, Ahmad, and Hossain 2009;Mahmud, Shah, and Becker 2012;Ahmed and Sen 2018). Amin (1997) argues for viewing purdah as a broader code of conduct for female morality, with observance granting prestige, and shame and loss of status accompanying violations of the practice.…”

“…As a result, the proportion of women in the agricultural labor force increased from less than 20 percent to 33.6 percent (Jaim and Hossain 2011). These dynamics are also changing as gains from female employment outweigh the potential cost to social identity (Ahmed and Sen 2018). As out-migration of men from rural areas reduces agricultural labor supply, women are beginning to fill roles previously assumed by men (Pandey et al 2010).…”

Women’s empowerment and crop diversification in Bangladesh: A possible pathway to climate change adaptation and better nutrition

“…Nonetheless, women still face many challenges. The religious practice of female seclusion (purdah), which requires women to be accompanied by men and/or covered when working outside the home or in public spheres, is still common in many parts of the country, though adherence to such norms can vary over space and time, as well as by caste, class, family, education, and age (Ahmed and Sen 2018;White 1992). Such norms act to largely limit women's economic and agricultural activities to those tasks that can be carried out within the homestead, most often subsistence farming or post-harvest processing, for which they receive no remuneration.…”