Struggles and Social Supports of the Female Heads of Households in Bangladesh

Abstract

This study sets forth to uncover the struggles of the female heads of the households as well as their provision of social supports which helps them to adopt with the constraints resulting from the change of household headship according to their class positions and places of living in Bangladesh context. The study included 22 purposively selected female heads from one urban and two rural communities in Rajshahi – a northwest district in Bangladesh. Data comprise with the voices and real life experiences of the female heads. Using a semi structured interview guide, qualitative in-depth interviewing technique was employed to gather the detailed life story of the women household heads. To generate themes, qualitative thematic analysis technique was used to analyze the interview texts. From the findings, it appears that the dissolution of marriage, either by the death of husband or divorce or separation, is the main reason for the development of (de jure) female headships irrespective of economic class and place of living. Only in few cases, situations like husband‘s out-migration, disability and/or inability to earn an income thrust the (de facto) headship on the women. The study indicates that no women, regardless of their class positions and places of living, take the charge of household headship willingly. However, the experiences of the female heads vary in terms of the constraints they face and the social supports they receive regarding their economic class and the place of living and the routes through which they become the household heads. The study reveals that the female heads from poor class are facing both financial and social constraints whereas the better off female heads are mostly freed from both financial and social constraints. The study also explores that the female heads in rural areas are less likely to face constraints like worry for the safety of the child, and men‘s indecent behaviors, and difficulties in making important decision than the women who live in urban areas. In terms of social support, the female household heads are not appeared to differ much according to their class positions and the places of living. However, the study indicates that the de jure female heads generally lack social supports like the feelings of security as to the presence of a husband. In conclusion, the study provides a rich qualitative data set on the struggles and social supports of the female heads which offers important theoretical contributions and practical implications for social work policy and practice. It is expected that the findings of the current study would expedite the understanding of the emerging needs of the female headed households.