Empowerment of Women and Their Participation in Local Government Politics: A Comparative Study of Some Selected Rural and Urban Areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study is an attempt to discuss some pertinent issues of women's participation in Local Government Politics and to assess their empowerment position in the same sphere. The study was conducted in some selected rural and urban areas of Rajshahi district in the northern region of Bangladesh. Different dimensions of women participants' socio-economic characteristics, political background, nature of participation in political process and role performance in Local Government Institutions are discussed and analyzed in the present study. Women's participation in political sphere is a recent phenomenon in our country. Traditionally, politics is considered as male dominated public sphere where women's accessibility is not easily encouraged. But in the present context, family support and people’s encouragement regarding women's participation in Local Government Politics tends to indicate that the aforesaid notion is gradually changing. Successful participation in politics requires mobility, freedom or expressing opinions and views, ability to take self decision, ability to influence other's opinion etc. This study tries to investigate the extent to which women participants of Local Government Politics can exercise the above-mentioned rights through the process of their participation. In addition to that the nature or women's participation in electoral politics is discussed with due emphasis with a view to understanding how the women participants are able to exercise their rights in performing political activities to improve their empowerment position in this regard. In the total process of participation, it is found that women can efficiently perform different political activities. They have gained mobility, freedom of expressing opinions, ability to take decisions in conducting election campaign etc. However, it should be noted that in the bodies of Local Government Institutions, they are generally discriminated and often ignored in matters of decision-making and implementation or different projects.