4. Access of rural women to productive resources in Bangladesh

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(Anon., 1995). Despite their tremendouscontribution to food production and well-being forthe household, rural women are underestimatedand overlooked in development strategies.Various socio-cultural and structural barriersaffect their access to formal and non-formalinstitutions and extension services (Murshid andYasmeen, 2004).It is praiseworthy that the government ofBangladesh has adopted a national policy for theadvancement of women since 1997. Forimproving the socio-economic condition ofwomen, the efforts of different NGOs are alsovery significant. Various development agencieshave undertaken some initiatives andprogrammes focusing on education and skilldevelopment, credit, health and nutrition, politicalempowerment, gender awareness, human rightsand oppression. Some innovative steps like freeeducation for girls with special stipends,reservation of seats for women in localgovernment, special quota in services andamendment of laws have been promotingwomen’s empowerment as well as reducing thegender disparity. However, women’s propertyrights are highly constrained in Bangladesh, as itis governed by religious laws. Under the MuslimLaw, a daughter inherits one-half the share ofher brother, a wife receives only one-eighth ofthe deceased husband’s property while a mothergets one-sixth (ADB, 2001; Ramachandran,2006). Due to lack of land ownership, women aregetting inadequate attention by manydevelopment agencies. For example, theagricultural extension delivery services inBangladesh are still concentrated on malefarmers and consequently, fail to reach themajority of rural women with modern informationand technologies.Access to resources is one of the elements ofwomen’s empowerment and a base for theattainment of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs). Many international conferences havebeen held to improve rural women’s equitableaccess to and control of land and property inrecent years. The United Nations has outlinedseven interdependent strategic priorities withregard to MDG-3 in altering discriminationagainst women. Two strategies are to ensurewomen’s property and inheritance rights and toeliminate gender inequality in economic sectors(World Bank, 2007). The 4th World Congress ofRural Women, held in South Africa in 2007,reiterated the need to provide full and equalaccess for rural women to productive resources,including the right to inheritance and ownershipof land and other property, credit/capital,appropriate technologies, markets andinformation. Considering this complex situation,the researcher attempted to examine some ofthe productive resources accessible to ruralwomen and explore enabling and limiting factors,with the intention of making them powerfulagents for change over time.THEORETICAL FOCUSAccess is the right or opportunity to use, manageor control a particular resource (Nichols et al.,1999). Resources may be economic (e.g. landand credit), political (e.g. participation in localgovernment and community decision-making)and social (e.g. education and training). Ingeneral, women and men require different levelsof access to resources based on theirproductive, reproductive and communitymanaging roles (Moser, 1993). Whendisadvantaged women have the ability to controltheir own environment by gaining greater accessto material and intellectual resources,Musokotwane et al. (2001) have called thisprocess ‘empowerment’.Many studies have already found that access toproductive resources for women enhancesknowledge on farm management and incomegeneration, develops bargaining and decisionmakingpower, improves children’s schoolingand health, increases self-confidence and socialnetworks and provides security in old age(IFPRI, 2000; Grace, 2005; Pitt et al., 2006).Poverty alleviation in rural areas is significantlyrelated to women’s increased access toproductive resources (Adereti, 2005). Thus,efforts to build social capital among rural womenare necessary for sustainable production andhousehold food security through provision offacilitating resources (Meludu et al., 1999; Flora,2001). All actors in development must providethem with support in this regard. At the sameInternational Journal of Ruralvol. 15 no. 1 April 2008Studies (IJRS)ISSN 1023–2001 www.ivcs.org.uk/IJRS Article 4 Page 2 of 8
time, raising social awareness of people aboutthe symptoms, causes and consequences ofoppressive economic, cultural, familial, religiousand legal practices is necessary for changingtraditional gender roles and mindsets (Acharya,2003).RESEARCH METHODOLOGYLocation of the studyThe study was conducted in three villages ofMymensingh District in Bangladesh. Thevillages, namely, Boyra, Sutiakhali andDaribhabakhali were selected purposelyconsidering the location of BangladeshAgricultural University, Bangladesh Institute ofNuclear Agriculture and Bangladesh FisheriesResearch Institute, good access to governmentand non-government services andcommunication facilities. It was assumed thatrural women had better access to variousresources because of the level of modernisationin these villages.Sampling designThe population for the study consisted of themarried women in farm households in thesethree villages. A representative sample of 159was drawn (53 from each village) based onarbitrary allocation (Cochran, 1977). Therespondents were selected from different farmhouseholds by random sampling.Data collection and analysisThe primary data were collected betweenJanuary and March 2007. In order to collectqualitative data, three group discussion sessionswere arranged separately in three villages; eachgroup contained 10 participants. During thesegroup sessions, several open-ended questionswere asked of the respondents in order to collectdeeper information about their accessibility toresources along with many hidden facts andfactors. Based on this information, the researchinstrument was prepared and a pre-test wasconducted with 18 respondents for its necessarymodification. Finally, interviews were made with159 rural women in a face-to-face setting usingthe pre-designed schedule. The respondentswere requested to provide information abouttheir socio-economic condition, accessibility ofresources and constraints to these resources.Four key informants (one male and one femalecommunity leader, one extension and one NGOpersonnel) were also interviewed to give theirexpert views in order to formulate strategies forrural women’s empowerment.Books, journals, reports and internet documentswere used as secondary sources of datasupporting or supplementing the empiricalfindings of the study. Data were analyzed usingthe Statistical Package for the Social Science(SPSS) and some descriptive statistics, such aspercentage, mean, standard deviation (SD),coefficient of variation (CV) and rank were usedto interpret the data.Measuring access to productive resourcesIn this study, access means the ability of a ruralwoman to get seven socio-economic resourcesand accrue benefits from them. The full meaningof these resources is illustrated below.• Access to land: power to use familyfarmland, ownership of land and controlover it.1. Access to capital:opportunity to get loans, micro-credit andbanking services from any formal orinformal institution.2. Access to extensionservices and training: Opportunities todevelop technical skills for productionthrough training and obtain informationabout development aspects from anyextension agency.• Access to technologies: availability ofcost-effective and appropriatetechnologies for production, post-harvestand household tasks. Thesetechnologies included improvedvarieties/breeds, artificial insemination,vaccines, weeders, threshers, sewingmachines and improved stoves.International Journal of Ruralvol. 15 no. 1 April 2008Studies (IJRS)ISSN 1023–2001 www.ivcs.org.uk/IJRS Article 4 Page 3 of 8
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