Women‟s Empowerment and Political Participation: A Study of Local Government Institutions in Bangladesh

Abstract

It is impossible to have a truly democratic and representative government without women's empowerment and participation in the political process. Women should have equal access to political participation in democracy, including being able to fully exercise their rights. A proper democratic society might well be established by ensuring that men and women are empowered holistically, with political empowerment serving as the primary condition for women's empowerment. The construction of access to political party constitutions, manifestos, and state policy structures, as well as establishing equal involvement in all facets of society, became important to women's political participation, leadership, and fundamental contributions to society. In Bangladesh, the participation of women in local government bodies and parliament is mandated by law and constitution respectively. However, this commitment to a quota system does not guarantee the naturalness of women's political engagement overall, from the local to the policy level. Women's political engagement is more hindered by society's patriarchal structure, religious beliefs, and cultural norms. A total of 450 respondents participated in this study as part of the quantitative data collection. In addition, for in-depth understanding, another 12 participants were interviewed as case studies, and 3 FGDs were conducted. According to the findings of this study, the majority of the respondents see social and cultural factors as the key barriers. The dual function of women, politics based on religion, Islam's ban on women in leadership positions, the lack of a women-friendly election system, as well as the current unfavorable psychology of women in politics serve as obstacles. Findings show that respondents view politics as dirty, dissuading women from entering the field and disliking it as a livelihood. Violence against women has also been related to the contemporary political environment. The patriarchy system of society had an impact on the social and cultural climate of society and the polity, which was designed to support the ideologies and policies of political parties with a male preponderance. As a result, it primarily had a negative impact on the attitudes of women toward politics. Due to their exclusion from this patriarchal power structure, women are unable to participate in decision-making in their surroundings and domain. Additionally, women are typically the victims of conventional values that view males as superior. In this sort of socio-economic and political environment, quota systems may be useful in influencing women's political engagement for a brief period of time, but for the long term, more beneficial programs are required to guarantee that women are actually participating in politics. The number of women iii nominated for general office must increase; money and muscle power must be under control; and a welcoming electoral environment must be created in order to accomplish this goal. Women must also participate more in mainstream party politics and in the political parties' policy-making processes. Above all, empowering women on a social and economic level can possibly be done by implementing a cross-cutting strategy for gender equality in all political choices, institutional structures, and the allocation of resources, as well as altering men's attitudes toward women's equality of participation in the development of democracies.