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Via Women Living Under Muslim Laws
Bangladesh: Women Organise for Their Rights
26/05/2006: Bangladesh is often portrayed as a place where women
are victimised and subordinated by Islam. Fundamentalist outrage against writer
Tasleema Nasreen has reinforced this image. But Bangladesh also has a very
vibrant and strong women's movement. (South Asia Citizen's Wire)
Green
Left Weekly's SUJATHA FERNANDES and MICHAEL TARDIF talked to KHUSHI KABIR,
women's rights activist and chairperson of ADAB (Association of Development
agencies in Bangladesh) about the issues facing women and the response of the
women's movement.
In what ways are Bangladeshi women oppressed?
Bangladesh is a very patriarchal society, where the male plays the
dominant role within the family, the community and the society as a whole.
Economic institutions and trade are also male-dominated.
Particularly in
the villages the strong, hierarchical order is prevalent. For instance, all
decisions in the village are made by a body of males called the Shalish.
Religion has also been used traditionally to limit the economic, political and
social role of women.
How has the recent rise of fundamentalism
impacted on women?
It has traditionally been the case that the
oppression of women by religion has been tied to their economic oppression by
the state. In this way, religion has been used all over the world to relegate
women ideologically and economically and to suppress them so that there is no
resistance.
The recent rise in fundamentalism is closely linked with the
collapse of the Soviet Union, with the collapse of what was seen by most people
as socialism, and the need to find an alternative ideology. Religion is being
used as an alternative to capitalism. It has experienced an expansion all over
the world, both politically/ideologically and financially.
Fundamentalism is also a way of suppressing women in an age when they
are gaining greater freedom and independence. Bangladesh has been through many
liberation struggles in which women have participated. There has been an
increase in poverty, forcing women into work and out of their traditional roles.
The impact of non-governmental organisations has also resulted in the creation
of alternative employment for women. Women are being given more options and are
emerging as a force, and it is this that the fundamentalists want to suppress.
Tasleema Nasreen has been portrayed as a champion of women's rights
in the Western media. What impact has she had on the women's movement?
Tasleema Nasreen has been very strong and direct in addressing issues
regarding patriarchy. But the media in the West and outside of Bangladesh have
given her the image of being the vanguard of a movement, which she is not. The
women's movement in Bangladesh is a strong, unified movement with a long
history. Tasleema has played no role in that movement.
The Western media
portrayed Tasleema as the victim of an oppressive society where women are
cloaked in silence. They gave the impression that as soon as anyone resists
fundamentalists, they are crushed. This denies the reality where hundreds of
women, every day in their ordinary lives, are confronting fundamentalism and
resisting it. When you are an individual like Tasleema fighting the
fundamentalists, it is a lost cause. The only effective way to resist and
survive in a country like Bangladesh is to be part of a movement. The women in
the villages can fight the mullahs and landlords because they are united and
have the numbers.
How have women organised themselves?
Women have largely been organised under NGOs. There are many progressive
NGOs doing consciousness-raising work among poorer women and village women.
Trade unions have only recently started organising women. Previously
women have worked mainly in the unorganised sectors, but more and more women
trade union activists have been working with these women.
Women in the
garment industry, where there are no trade unions, have recently been organising
strikes and demonstrations.
There are also various middle class
organisations, such as the research organisations into issues such as dowry and
violence against women. Professional women's organisations such as lawyers and
teachers are quite strong and progressive. There are also many women students'
associations in the schools and universities.
All of these different
groups work together around various issues. There is a very strong support
network. For instance, if a dowry issue arises, the lawyers' organisations
provide legal representation, the research groups provide material, and the mass
organisations do propaganda work and organise demonstrations.
This
uniting of broad layers of women around particular issues usually cuts across
class lines. It means middle and upper class women are being made aware of the
rights of lower class women.
How successfully has the left taken up
the challenges that the women's movement has put forward, not only in terms of
policy and action, but also of training women in leadership roles?
One of the biggest threats facing women now is fundamentalism, and the
left is the main political force taking up this issue. The major political
parties, even the ones that consider themselves secular, have compromised on
this issue.
Therefore the coming together of the left and the women's
movement is crucial. Women are very affected by the destruction of the
environment. Here again the left is doing a lot of work, drawing out the ways in
which capitalism and the dictates of the international economy are depleting the
environment.
There have been strong individual women in both left and
right parties in Bangladesh. Individual women leaders are seen as acceptable
because they are considered to have transcended their sexuality and "become like
men". But, as a general trend, women are not involved much in political
organising.
Socially and culturally women are at a disadvantage because
they do not have the same space for growth and development as men. I don't think
that the left has made enough of an attempt to encourage women. But I think that
in the next decade we will see many more women becoming involved in left
parties, not as an organised women's faction, but actually taking up leading
roles.
In what ways are women affected by the policies of the World
Bank and IMF and agreements such as GATT?
Traditionally, women have
played a large role in the agricultural sector. They would decide which seeds to
plant, which environment was best for which seeds. They would do all the
processing of the crops. Women had a strong role within the economy even if it
was not materially valued. Under the New Economic Policy [the government's
austerity policy], embankments are being built which prevent water from
irrigating the crops. This means that there is much greater dependence on
pesticides and fertilisers. Crops are becoming commercialised so that seeds are
not locally stored and must be procured from the seed dealer. Women are becoming
much more like paid workers and labourers on their land to service the needs of
an international market.
The government is trying to create the ideal
conditions for an export-oriented economy. This has resulted in small
shareholders losing their land to landlords for large commercial crops. To
maintain this land, the landlords employ small armies to repress the villagers.
Women bear the brunt of this violence, especially in terms of rape.
The
damage that commercial farming does to the environment is recognised by women.
They, much more than men, talk about the different types of birds, fish and
insects that are lost and how the use of pesticides damages the soil and harms
their children and animals.
An export-oriented economy also requires
cheap labour, and women in the industrial sectors form a large proportion of
this.
What links can be made between the women's movements in the
West and in Third World countries like Bangladesh?
In many areas we
have commonalities. The whole growth of religion and social controls against
women's rights and women's choice is something we need to be clear about.
Some Western women feel that they cannot talk about Islamic
fundamentalism because that denigrates another's culture.
But religion
is used everywhere to justify the oppression of women. It is a trend
deliberately organised to stop any strong, active movement of women coming
together. In the US doctors performing abortions are being shot by Christian
fundamentalists. In India there is the rise of Hindu fundamentalism.
As
the economic institutions become international, we have to counter this by
having much stronger links. We can no longer fight solely in the villages, we
must link up with the urban centres and also internationally. For instance, we
need to let you know the stories about what goes on here in the name of economic
development, so that the movement in Australia can be aware of what your
government is doing. If we can share our experiences, we can be much stronger.
Courtesy of green left weekly
The Independent (Bangladesh)
May 12,
2006
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