THE GENDER DIMENSION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS IN BANGLADESH

This article examines the gender dimension of local government institutions in Bangladesh, with a particular focus on the impact of the 1997 law that reserved one-third of seats for women in Union Parishads, the lowest tier of rural local government. It analyzes the historical exclusion of women from formal political structures and assesses the significance of this affirmative action policy as a major step towards women's political empowerment. The study, based on early empirical research, explores the experiences of the newly elected female representatives. It investigates the challenges they faced, including resistance from male colleagues, patriarchal social norms, limited training, and a lack of real decision-making power. However, the research also highlights the positive impacts, such as the increased visibility of women in public life and their role in bringing women's issues to the local government agenda. The paper argues that while legal quotas are a crucial first step, they are not sufficient on their own. The analysis concludes that achieving genuine political empowerment requires a sustained effort to build the capacity of female representatives and to challenge the underlying patriarchal structures of rural society.

The introduction of reserved seats for women in local government was a landmark reform aimed at enhancing the political empowerment of women in Bangladesh. This paper provides an early and detailed analysis of the gender dimension of these institutions. The study begins by providing the historical and legal context for the reform, framing it as a major affirmative action policy. The core of the article is an empirical examination of the experiences of the first cohort of women elected to these reserved seats. It details the formidable barriers they encountered in trying to perform their duties effectively. These included a hostile and uncooperative attitude from many of their male counterparts, who often sought to marginalize them and treat them as "token" members. The paper also explores the social and cultural barriers, rooted in traditional patriarchal norms about women's role in society. A key finding is that many of the elected women lacked the training, resources, and political networks to navigate the complex world of local government, often leaving them with little real influence over key decisions, such as the allocation of development funds. Despite these immense challenges, the paper also documents the positive aspects. It highlights the symbolic importance of having women in positions of power and provides evidence that these female representatives were more likely to prioritize issues of concern to other women, such as maternal health and girls' education. The paper concludes that while the reserved seats were a necessary and important breakthrough, they were only the beginning of a long and difficult struggle for substantive, rather than just formal, political empowerment.