A Socio-Economic Study on Rural Women and Food Security in Some Selected Areas of Mymensingh District
Chapter 1 Introduction
1. Background of the Study
Bangladesh is known as one of the developing countries in the world. With a per capita income of US$ 750, an estimated 49.8 percent of its population is living below the national poverty line and 41.3 percent are living in absolute poverty earning US$ 1 per day or less (UNDP, 2007). It is highly populated country having about 146 million. Female population constituted 74.4 million of the total population. There is a great deal of gender discrimination, subordination and subjugation in every sphere of life. From their childhood, women are neglected in food sharing, education, work, freedom of choice, right to property and decision making aspect. Over the last decade, both government and non government organization have taken many initiatives and enacted several legislative measures in favour of upgrading women’s status basically empowering women.
In Bangladesh, women constitute about half of the total population of which 80 percent live in rural areas (BBS, 2006). But their status has been ranked the lowest in the world on the basis of twenty indicators related to health, marriage, children, education, employment and social equality. It is a well established fact that in a patriarchal society like Bangladesh, women are ascribed a lower status than men who have the sovereign power to control households and society as a whole, while women are often secluded in their homes (Balk, 1997). The World Bank study in Bangladesh highlights that women have limited role in household decision-making, limited access and control over household resources (physical and financial assets), low level of individual assets, heavy domestic workloads, restricted mobility and inadequate knowledge and skills that leading to women’s vulnerability (Sebstad and Cohen 2002: 44).
2. Empowerment of Rural Women within the Context of Globalization
Rural women play a critical role in agricultural production and in the rural
1. Background of the Study
Bangladesh is known as one of the developing countries in the world. With a per capita income of US$ 750, an estimated 49.8 percent of its population is living below the national poverty line and 41.3 percent are living in absolute poverty earning US$ 1 per day or less (UNDP, 2007). It is highly populated country having about 146 million. Female population constituted 74.4 million of the total population. There is a great deal of gender discrimination, subordination and subjugation in every sphere of life. From their childhood, women are neglected in food sharing, education, work, freedom of choice, right to property and decision making aspect. Over the last decade, both government and non government organization have taken many initiatives and enacted several legislative measures in favour of upgrading women’s status basically empowering women.
In Bangladesh, women constitute about half of the total population of which 80 percent live in rural areas (BBS, 2006). But their status has been ranked the lowest in the world on the basis of twenty indicators related to health, marriage, children, education, employment and social equality. It is a well established fact that in a patriarchal society like Bangladesh, women are ascribed a lower status than men who have the sovereign power to control households and society as a whole, while women are often secluded in their homes (Balk, 1997). The World Bank study in Bangladesh highlights that women have limited role in household decision-making, limited access and control over household resources (physical and financial assets), low level of individual assets, heavy domestic workloads, restricted mobility and inadequate knowledge and skills that leading to women’s vulnerability (Sebstad and Cohen 2002: 44).
2. Empowerment of Rural Women within the Context of Globalization
Rural women play a critical role in agricultural production and in the rural
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