Of politics and the other half
Nizam Ahmed welcomes a work on women in governance
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Women's Political Participation in Bangladesh
Institutional Reforms, Actors and Outcomes
Pranab Kumar Panday
New York SpringerIt is now widely recognised that women, who constitute half of the population in most of the countries of the world, have similar, if not exactly the same, potential as men to engage in politics and in other professions. Until recently, however, politics was considered to be the preserve of men; women were seen as 'unfit' to play any major role in the political arena. In fact, in most of the democratic countries of the world, women were enfranchised much later than men. Elected bodies at national and local levels were considered to be 'men's clubs'. Any attempt by women to enter into these 'clubs' was looked upon with suspicion; it was considered to be an intrusion. The situation, however, has changed over the last few decades. One can now find more women in leadership positions in different countries at both local and national levels than before. Bangladesh is not an exception. More women contest elections and also get elected to different elective bodies in Bangladesh now than in the past. Several reasons account for an increase in the number of 'political' women in Bangladesh, of which a change in government policy to encourage the empowerment of women is crucially important. Development partners of Bangladesh as well as different women's organizations have influenced, through dialogue, negotiation and 'tacit' pressure, a change in government policy aimed at improving the representation of women in politics. Several studies have examined the reasons for the under-representation of women and/or for an increase in the number of women in recent years. But the 'limited' role of women in the making of policies and/or their implementation and reasons underlying it mostly remain unexplored. The issue of 'representation without participation', which is widely noticed in Bangladesh, has not received the kind of attention it deserves. One major exception is "Women's Political Participation in Bangladesh: Institutional Reforms, Actors and Outcomes", published recently by Springer, an internationally reputed publishing House. The author, Professor Pranab Kumar Panday of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Rajshahi, has produced a first rate study on the actual nature of women's participation in local politics. The book, which is a revised version of Professor Panday's doctoral dissertation, explores different dimensions of women's political participation. The main focus of the study is on the Local Government (Union Parishad) (Second Amendment) Act of 1997 providing for direct election of women members of the Union Parishad who were earlier nominated by the government or elected indirectly. The author has provided an excellent account of the interaction of different factors and actors that actually limit the participation of women to a minimum. The book, as the author has observed in the preface, identifies two perspectives in the process of women's political participation: identification of the actors behind the reform and secondly, explanation of the impact of reform on women's political participation. The book is well-organised; it contains seven chapters. Chapter one sets the scene, stating the main research problem and dealing with methodological issues. The author has used both secondary and primary sources to collect information and to frame his arguments. Chapter two provides a detailed account of the theoretical issues, focusing particularly on key concepts used in the book and their operationalization. It provides a succinct account of different perspectives of empowerment and identifies a number of indicators to measure empowerment in the context of local government in Bangladesh. The indicators describe the economic freedom and social liberty that these women enjoy after being elected as UP members, as well as their involvement in the political process of the UP.This chapter also identifies actors and institutions that are involved in reform efforts and explains their role. Chapter three provides a detailed account of the efforts made since the British colonial period to reform local government, particularly at the grassroots level. Reference has been made to the constitutional status of local government and measures the successive governments have taken to translate constitutional provisions into a reality. The context of the 1997 reform has been explained in detail in this chapter. The reform, according to the author, can be seen as a revolutionary step toward encouraging women's political participation, particularly creating an environment where women have begun to exercise their voting rights. Chapter four identifies the attitude of government and political parties toward the issue of the empowerment of women, while chapter five explores the role of other key actors – women's organisations, NGOs, donors and international conventions – in promoting women's rights in the political arena, particularly at the local level. The author argues that internal factors were more important than external influence in encouraging the 1997 reform. The AL has a better record of encouraging local reforms, particularly those that relate to women's participation, than the BNP. The most important factor that discouraged the BNP from adopting any affirmative action was its alliance with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) which opposes women's participation in public arenas. On the other hand, the proactive role of the AL has been attributed to a number of factors, of which the willingness of the Prime Minister [Sheikh Hasina] to promote reforms, her personal relationship with leaders of different women's organisations and the contribution of [LGRD Minister] (late) Zillur Rahman and (late) Ivy Rahman (p.117). Chapter six provides an empirical account of the role of women members in the Union Parishad. It identifies a number of areas to check the extent of women's involvement – in decision-making in UP, in committees, party politics, and project distribution. The perception of both male and women councillors has been explored and explained, and factors hindering a genuine participation of women have been identified and analysed. The findings largely corroborate the conventional orthodoxy about the lack of participation of women in local politics – lack of a proper work environment, the hostile attitude of their male colleagues, and the lack of family and societal support. Women members, as the author has argued, "have not yet achieved equal status with their male colleagues in the Union Parishad meetings and work as they are not allocated equal shares in project distribution or committee membership and their opinions in Union Parishad decision-making are generally ignored" (p.x). What has mostly remained unexplored is the extent to which local government as a whole has the scope to play any proactive role. The 1997 reform revolutionised the expectation of those who wanted to play an active role in local politics. But after getting elected to the UP on popular votes, many elected representatives have found their role largely constrained not only because of the hostile social/political environment but also for several structural reasons. For a balanced assessment one thus has to look into the issue of empowerment of local government itself. Under the existing arrangement, local government is no better than an extended arm of government. Local councils are given responsibility for performing functions that the centre does not find interesting and/or profitable, and not those functions that local councils mostly want and/or are capable of doing. Unless the existing imbalance in power between the central government and the local government is corrected, councillors as a whole, no matter male or female, will largely remain disadvantaged. However, within the existing system, women remain more disadvantaged than men. The findings of the study have reconfirmed it. The issue of empowerment of local government has been dealt with briefly in chapter three but more could have been done. This book is a useful and welcome addition to the existing 'sparse' literature on local government and women's participation in politics. The work stands by itself as valuable and well defined and articulated. It does an excellent job of setting up the problem – both through a thorough review of literature and a sound treatment of the peculiarities of the Bangladeshi case. The actual analysis has applications which extend from Bangladesh to other emerging democracies. In this respect, the book comprises a major contribution to its field of inquiry. It is unpretentious, accessible and stimulating. The chapters are clearly written. Each is succinct. The level of documentation is commendable. Those interested in the study of local politics and the empowerment of women at the local level will find the book an accessible reference and an indispensable reading. Overall, this is a very readable book and an extremely useful contribution to the literature on women's participation and local politics in Bangladesh. It is expected to appeal to a wide audience of feminist scholars, local government researchers, and practitioner of (local) politics. Nizam Ahmed is Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong
Women's Political Participation in BangladeshInstitutional Reforms, Actors and Outcomes
Pranab Kumar Panday
New York SpringerIt is now widely recognised that women, who constitute half of the population in most of the countries of the world, have similar, if not exactly the same, potential as men to engage in politics and in other professions. Until recently, however, politics was considered to be the preserve of men; women were seen as 'unfit' to play any major role in the political arena. In fact, in most of the democratic countries of the world, women were enfranchised much later than men. Elected bodies at national and local levels were considered to be 'men's clubs'. Any attempt by women to enter into these 'clubs' was looked upon with suspicion; it was considered to be an intrusion. The situation, however, has changed over the last few decades. One can now find more women in leadership positions in different countries at both local and national levels than before. Bangladesh is not an exception. More women contest elections and also get elected to different elective bodies in Bangladesh now than in the past. Several reasons account for an increase in the number of 'political' women in Bangladesh, of which a change in government policy to encourage the empowerment of women is crucially important. Development partners of Bangladesh as well as different women's organizations have influenced, through dialogue, negotiation and 'tacit' pressure, a change in government policy aimed at improving the representation of women in politics. Several studies have examined the reasons for the under-representation of women and/or for an increase in the number of women in recent years. But the 'limited' role of women in the making of policies and/or their implementation and reasons underlying it mostly remain unexplored. The issue of 'representation without participation', which is widely noticed in Bangladesh, has not received the kind of attention it deserves. One major exception is "Women's Political Participation in Bangladesh: Institutional Reforms, Actors and Outcomes", published recently by Springer, an internationally reputed publishing House. The author, Professor Pranab Kumar Panday of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Rajshahi, has produced a first rate study on the actual nature of women's participation in local politics. The book, which is a revised version of Professor Panday's doctoral dissertation, explores different dimensions of women's political participation. The main focus of the study is on the Local Government (Union Parishad) (Second Amendment) Act of 1997 providing for direct election of women members of the Union Parishad who were earlier nominated by the government or elected indirectly. The author has provided an excellent account of the interaction of different factors and actors that actually limit the participation of women to a minimum. The book, as the author has observed in the preface, identifies two perspectives in the process of women's political participation: identification of the actors behind the reform and secondly, explanation of the impact of reform on women's political participation. The book is well-organised; it contains seven chapters. Chapter one sets the scene, stating the main research problem and dealing with methodological issues. The author has used both secondary and primary sources to collect information and to frame his arguments. Chapter two provides a detailed account of the theoretical issues, focusing particularly on key concepts used in the book and their operationalization. It provides a succinct account of different perspectives of empowerment and identifies a number of indicators to measure empowerment in the context of local government in Bangladesh. The indicators describe the economic freedom and social liberty that these women enjoy after being elected as UP members, as well as their involvement in the political process of the UP.This chapter also identifies actors and institutions that are involved in reform efforts and explains their role. Chapter three provides a detailed account of the efforts made since the British colonial period to reform local government, particularly at the grassroots level. Reference has been made to the constitutional status of local government and measures the successive governments have taken to translate constitutional provisions into a reality. The context of the 1997 reform has been explained in detail in this chapter. The reform, according to the author, can be seen as a revolutionary step toward encouraging women's political participation, particularly creating an environment where women have begun to exercise their voting rights. Chapter four identifies the attitude of government and political parties toward the issue of the empowerment of women, while chapter five explores the role of other key actors – women's organisations, NGOs, donors and international conventions – in promoting women's rights in the political arena, particularly at the local level. The author argues that internal factors were more important than external influence in encouraging the 1997 reform. The AL has a better record of encouraging local reforms, particularly those that relate to women's participation, than the BNP. The most important factor that discouraged the BNP from adopting any affirmative action was its alliance with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) which opposes women's participation in public arenas. On the other hand, the proactive role of the AL has been attributed to a number of factors, of which the willingness of the Prime Minister [Sheikh Hasina] to promote reforms, her personal relationship with leaders of different women's organisations and the contribution of [LGRD Minister] (late) Zillur Rahman and (late) Ivy Rahman (p.117). Chapter six provides an empirical account of the role of women members in the Union Parishad. It identifies a number of areas to check the extent of women's involvement – in decision-making in UP, in committees, party politics, and project distribution. The perception of both male and women councillors has been explored and explained, and factors hindering a genuine participation of women have been identified and analysed. The findings largely corroborate the conventional orthodoxy about the lack of participation of women in local politics – lack of a proper work environment, the hostile attitude of their male colleagues, and the lack of family and societal support. Women members, as the author has argued, "have not yet achieved equal status with their male colleagues in the Union Parishad meetings and work as they are not allocated equal shares in project distribution or committee membership and their opinions in Union Parishad decision-making are generally ignored" (p.x). What has mostly remained unexplored is the extent to which local government as a whole has the scope to play any proactive role. The 1997 reform revolutionised the expectation of those who wanted to play an active role in local politics. But after getting elected to the UP on popular votes, many elected representatives have found their role largely constrained not only because of the hostile social/political environment but also for several structural reasons. For a balanced assessment one thus has to look into the issue of empowerment of local government itself. Under the existing arrangement, local government is no better than an extended arm of government. Local councils are given responsibility for performing functions that the centre does not find interesting and/or profitable, and not those functions that local councils mostly want and/or are capable of doing. Unless the existing imbalance in power between the central government and the local government is corrected, councillors as a whole, no matter male or female, will largely remain disadvantaged. However, within the existing system, women remain more disadvantaged than men. The findings of the study have reconfirmed it. The issue of empowerment of local government has been dealt with briefly in chapter three but more could have been done. This book is a useful and welcome addition to the existing 'sparse' literature on local government and women's participation in politics. The work stands by itself as valuable and well defined and articulated. It does an excellent job of setting up the problem – both through a thorough review of literature and a sound treatment of the peculiarities of the Bangladeshi case. The actual analysis has applications which extend from Bangladesh to other emerging democracies. In this respect, the book comprises a major contribution to its field of inquiry. It is unpretentious, accessible and stimulating. The chapters are clearly written. Each is succinct. The level of documentation is commendable. Those interested in the study of local politics and the empowerment of women at the local level will find the book an accessible reference and an indispensable reading. Overall, this is a very readable book and an extremely useful contribution to the literature on women's participation and local politics in Bangladesh. It is expected to appeal to a wide audience of feminist scholars, local government researchers, and practitioner of (local) politics. Nizam Ahmed is Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong
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