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In what ways are Bangladeshi women oppressed?

Bangladesh is a very patriarchal society, where
the male plays the dominant role within the
family, the community and the society as a whole.
Economic institutions and trade are also
male-dominated.

Particularly in the villages the strong,
hierarchical order is prevalent. For instance,
all decisions in the village are made by a body
of males called the Shalish. Religion has also
been used traditionally to limit the economic,
political and social role of women.

How has the recent rise of fundamentalism impacted on women?

It has traditionally been the case that the
oppression of women by religion has been tied to
their economic oppression by the state. In this
way, religion has been used all over the world to
relegate women ideologically and economically and
to suppress them so that there is no resistance.

The recent rise in fundamentalism is closely
linked with the collapse of the Soviet Union,
with the collapse of what was seen by most people
as socialism, and the need to find an alternative
ideology. Religion is being used as an
alternative to capitalism. It has experienced an
expansion all over the world, both
politically/ideologically and financially.

Fundamentalism is also a way of suppressing women
in an age when they are gaining greater freedom
and independence. Bangladesh has been through
many liberation struggles in which women have
participated. There has been an increase in
poverty, forcing women into work and out of their
traditional roles. The impact of non-governmental
organisations has also resulted in the creation
of alternative employment for women. Women are
being given more options and are emerging as a
force, and it is this that the fundamentalists
want to suppress.

Tasleema Nasreen has been portrayed as a champion
of women’s rights in the Western media. What
impact has she had on the women’s movement?
Tasleema Nasreen has been very strong and direct
in addressing issues regarding patriarchy. But
the media in the West and outside of Bangladesh
have given her the image of being the vanguard of
a movement, which she is not. The women’s
movement in Bangladesh is a strong, unified
movement with a long history. Tasleema has played
no role in that movement.

The Western media portrayed Tasleema as the
victim of an oppressive society where women are
cloaked in silence. They gave the impression that
as soon as anyone resists fundamentalists, they
are crushed. This denies the reality where
hundreds of women, every day in their ordinary
lives, are confronting fundamentalism and
resisting it. When you are an individual like
Tasleema fighting the fundamentalists, it is a
lost cause. The only effective way to resist and
survive in a country like Bangladesh is to be
part of a movement. The women in the villages can
fight the mullahs and landlords because they are
united and have the numbers.

How have women organised themselves?

Women have largely been organised under NGOs.
There are many progressive NGOs doing
consciousness-raising work among poorer women and
village women.

Trade unions have only recently started
organising women. Previously women have worked
mainly in the unorganised sectors, but more and
more women trade union activists have been
working with these women.

Women in the garment industry, where there are no
trade unions, have recently been organising
strikes and demonstrations.

There are also various middle class
organisations, such as the research organisations
into issues such as dowry and violence against
women. Professional women’s organisations such as
lawyers and teachers are quite strong and
progressive. There are also many women students’
associations in the schools and universities.

All of these different groups work together
around various issues. There is a very strong
support network. For instance, if a dowry issue
arises, the lawyers’ organisations provide legal
representation, the research groups provide
material, and the mass organisations do
propaganda work and organise demonstrations.

This uniting of broad layers of women around
particular issues usually cuts across class
lines. It means middle and upper class women are
being made aware of the rights of lower class
women.

How successfully has the left taken up the
challenges that the women’s movement has put
forward, not only in terms of policy and action,
but also of training women in leadership roles?

One of the biggest threats facing women now is
fundamentalism, and the left is the main
political force taking up this issue. The major
political parties, even the ones that consider
themselves secular, have compromised on this
issue.

Therefore the coming together of the left and the
women’s movement is crucial. Women are very
affected by the destruction of the environment.
Here again the left is doing a lot of work,
drawing out the ways in which capitalism and the
dictates of the international economy are
depleting the environment.

There have been strong individual women in both
left and right parties in Bangladesh. Individual
women leaders are seen as acceptable because they
are considered to have transcended their
sexuality and “become like men”. But, as a
general trend, women are not involved much in
political organising.

Socially and culturally women are at a
disadvantage because they do not have the same
space for growth and development as men.
I don’t think that the left has made enough of an
attempt to encourage women. But I think that in
the next decade we will see many more women
becoming involved in left parties, not as an
organised women’s faction, but actually taking up
leading roles.

In what ways are women affected by the policies
of the World Bank and IMF and agreements such as
GATT?

Traditionally, women have played a large role in
the agricultural sector. They would decide which
seeds to plant, which environment was best for
which seeds. They would do all the processing of the crops.
Women had a strong role within the economy even
if it was not materially valued.

Under the New Economic Policy [the government’s
austerity policy], embankments are being built
which prevent water from irrigating the crops.

This means that there is much greater dependence
on pesticides and fertilisers. Crops are becoming
commercialised so that seeds are not locally
stored and must be procured from the seed dealer.
Women are becoming much more like paid workers
and labourers on their land to service the needs
of an international market.

The government is trying to create the ideal
conditions for an export-oriented economy. This
has resulted in small shareholders losing their
land to landlords for large commercial crops. To
maintain this land, the landlords employ small
armies to repress the villagers. Women bear the
brunt of this violence, especially in terms of
rape.

The damage that commercial farming does to the
environment is recognised by women. They, much
more than men, talk about the different types of
birds, fish and insects that are lost and how the
use of pesticides damages the soil and harms
their children and animals.

An export-oriented economy also requires cheap
labour, and women in the industrial sectors form
a large proportion of this.

What links can be made between the women’s
movements in the West and in Third World
countries like Bangladesh?

In many areas we have commonalities. The whole
growth of religion and social controls against
women’s rights and women’s choice is something we
need to be clear about.

Some Western women feel that they cannot talk
about Islamic fundamentalism because that
denigrates another’s culture.

But religion is used everywhere to justify the
oppression of women. It is a trend deliberately
organised to stop any strong, active movement of
women coming together. In the US doctors
performing abortions are being shot by Christian
fundamentalists. In India there is the rise of
Hindu fundamentalism.

As the economic institutions become
international, we have to counter this by having
much stronger links. We can no longer fight
solely in the villages, we must link up with the
urban centres and also internationally. For
instance, we need to let you know the stories
about what goes on here in the name of economic
development, so that the movement in Australia
can be aware of what your government is doing. If
we can share our experiences, we can be much
stronger.