Socioeconomic development initiatives and women’s experiences of marital violence in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Socioeconomic development initiatives (SDIs) have become a controversial issue. In giving skill trainings and credit supports, practitioners assume that SDI participation will enhance women’s income/dignity. Some studies have indicated that SDIs reduce women’s exposure to marital violence (MV), while others have shown that they increase spousal conflicts/MV. Our study explains how SDI participation may influence women’s marital life. This explorative study adopted a grounded theory design. Data included 17 participating-women’s interviews. It revealed that many women experienced further marital subordination, spousal conflicts, and MV. Yet women with strong motivation increased marital dignity/safety. Caring husbands facilitated this. If men can be involved in supporting women, impacts of SDIs will be substantial.

Keywords

Bangladesh marital violence socioeconomic development initiatives

Introduction

Socioeconomic development initiatives (SDIs) are regarded not only as vehicles for poverty eradication but as the advancement of gender equality through increasing women’s income, autonomy, and safety from marital violence (MV) in many low-income and lower middle–income countries (Al-Shami et al., 2017; Dineen and Le, 2015; Hamad and Fernald, 2015; Kabir and Huo, 2011; Madhania et al., 2015). Increasing women’s income opportunities is also placed at the center of many SDIs implemented in rural Bangladesh. This is in part because women are considered the main victims of gender inequality in the country (Baden et al., 1994).

MV against women is a serious public health problem in Bangladesh. According to a recent survey, 70 percent of the married women experience physical or sexual abuse by their husband (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics [BBS] and Statistics and Informative Division [SID], 2016). MV against women is a crucial feature of gender inequality in Bangladesh. People used to accept this abuse as women are considered the dependent members of household (Jesmin, 2017). Husbands have guardianship over their wives. Social norms restrict women’s mobility in the public sphere. Thus, increasing women’s income has become the prime aim of many SDIs.

It is expected that participation in SDIs will enhance women’s income and dignity as well as protect them from being exposed to MV. SDIs have had many positive impacts on women, such as their increased employment and health-seeking behaviors (Kabir and Huo, 2011). However, women’s increased economic autonomy may challenge men’s traditional family authority in a patriarchal society (Karim et al., 2018). A tension within the patriarchal family can further deteriorate women’s vulnerability to MV (Ashraf Ali, 2014; Enloe, 2015). Studies in other countries based in Bolivia, Canada, China, Ghana, Honduras, India, Mexico, and Zambia also unveiled that SDIs may sometimes lead to unequal work burdens for women (Hippert, 2011; Liu et al., 2018; Lyon et al., 2017; Reid and Ledrew, 2013; Vonderlack-Navarro, 2010; Whitehead, 1999), spousal conflicts, and their increased exposure to MV (Angelucci, 2008; Enloe, 2015; Ganle et al., 2015; Krishnan, 2005; Vonderlack-Navarro, 2010).

In general, there is lack of studies analyzing how women’s participation in SDIs is linked with their income, socioeconomic status, and the risk of MV in rural Bangladesh. Lack of evidence is detrimental not only to the efficacy and sustainability of the SDIs but also to the empowerment, health, and well-being of women. The current study explains how female-focused SDIs may influence women’s vulnerability to MV in rural Bangladesh. It focuses on both barriers to and possibilities for women’s safety from MV through participating in SDIs.

Background

Bangladesh is a lower middle–income country situated in South Asia. Around 25 percent of the people still live below the poverty line – earning less than US$2 a day (World Bank, 2019). Most of the Bangladeshi people (almost 70%) live in rural areas where poverty is extremely severe, especially among women. Thus, women have become the primary target population of SDIs implemented in rural Bangladesh (Kabir and Huo, 2011; Madhania et al., 2015; Nahar et al., 2011). Gender inequality is widespread in Bangladesh, currently ranking 129 (out of 162 countries) in the Gender Development Index (GDI) (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2019). This gender inequality is well-reflected in women’s lack of access to economic resources and employment, their restrictions in public domains, male control over women’s life choices, and their high exposure to MV (Kaiser et al., 2015; Yount et al., 2016). Against this backdrop, SDIs are broadly targeting rural women for incorporation into mainstream productive domains – expecting that this will not only empower them but reduce their vulnerability to MV (Ahmed et al., 2001; Hadi, 2005).

The SDIs implemented in rural Bangladesh have largely emphasized poverty reduction and empowerment of underprivileged population, and they primarily target women. They work for agricultural expansion (modern farming, irrigation, farmers’ cooperatives etc.), social development (non-formal education, skill training, employment creations, family and child welfare, youth welfare, etc.), and health promotion (family planning, immunization, safe water and sanitation etc.). All agencies have some women’s welfare components. While women are historically deprived of economic opportunities in rural Bangladesh (Kabeer, 1990), these SDIs try to give women an income of their own, make them economically independent, ensure their marital equality/dignity, and increase their health/well-being through providing them skill training, microcredit support, and community engagement (Department of Social Services [DSS], 2011, 2015). It is argued that without including women (half of the population) in development, the targets of national growth would never be realized (DSS, 2011).

However, women’s participation in development is to a large extent contradictory to the traditional gender norms in Bangladesh. People believe that men have the primary financial responsibility for their families and that women have primary responsibility to care for the family members (Kabeer, 1990; Karim and Law, 2013). SDIs have challenged the traditional gender norms. They have had positive effects such as women’s increased participation in income-generating activities, improving their socioeconomic status and health (Ahmed et al., 2006; Al-Shami et al., 2017; Dineen and Le, 2015; Hamad and Fernald, 2015). But the increasing focus on women’s participation in the labor market may also contribute to unsuited gender relations (Ashraf Ali, 2014; Karim et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2018; Lyon et al., 2017; Reid and Ledrew, 2013): the fact that women partake in financial activity may lead to men losing their traditional family position and authority. Instability within the patriarchal family is also likely to increase the risk of MV (Angelucci, 2008; Enloe, 2015; Krishnan, 2005; Rahman, 1999; Vonderlack-Navarro, 2010). Although, in the long-term, women’s earnings increase their human rights, health, and quality of life (Madhania et al., 2015), they may immediately lead to unequal work burdens for women (when domestic work is not taken on by men), conflicts with the spouse, and male frustration reflected by MV (Angelucci, 2008). With regard to SDIs implemented in low-income countries, previous studies have also come up with inconsistent findings. A body of studies have indicated that participation in SDIs may increase women’s socioeconomic status, health, and safety from MV (Kumari, 2011; Nahar et al., 2011; Schuler et al., 2013). On the contrary, other studies have revealed that women’s participation in SDIs may create tension within the patriarchal family unit, resulting in an escalation of women’s exposure to MV (Ashraf Ali, 2014; Enloe, 2015; Ganle et al., 2015).

Previous studies conducted in African and Asian countries further indicated that women’s exposure to MV through their participation in SDIs might be related to the way SDIs are designed and implemented (Galab and Rao, 2003; Ganle et al., 2015; Karim et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2007; Krishnan, 2005; Kumari, 2011; Mayoux, 1998). Studies of Kim et al. (2007) and Leach and Sitaram (2002) showed that when female-focused microcredit-based income-generation interventions incorporated other gender issues, like awareness building of gender roles, gender norms, domestic violence, sexual rights, HIV risk and its prevention, and inclusion of men, the projects contributed to improve women’s economic well-being and empowerment, reduced men’s hostility to the project, and also reduced MV against women. However, without taking into account contextual gender norms and gender needs, women’s participation in SDIs may not necessarily be beneficial to the women (Kim et al. 2007; Moser, 1993). Evidence suggests that giving credit supports to women does not assure their control over their use; and demands of repayment created a huge burden of responsibilities on the women (Goetz and Gupta, 1996; Kabeer, 2001; Karim and Law, 2013; Mayoux, 1998). Providing loan to women (a challenge towards traditional male privileged norm), husbands’ loan control as well as loan-repayment stress among female loan-borrowers increased their conflicts with their husbands, resulting in an escalation of MV (Ganle et al., 2015; Hashemi et al., 1996; Krishnan, 2005; Rahman, 1999).

Previous studies provided plenty of evidence that women’s participation in SDIs has significant potential for their agency and empowerment (e.g. economic independence, autonomy, and a reduction of their exposure to MV) (e.g. Kim et al., 2007); however, it may also lead to the disempowerment of women in a patriarchal social context (e.g. husband’s loan control, women’s burden of repayment, spousal conflicts, and an escalation of MV) (e.g. Rahman, 1999). However, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding about how women may experience these positive or negative outcomes regarding their agency (Campbell and Mannell, 2016). Indeed, there may be multiple factors, such as women’s agency and motivation, family and spousal support, community reaction, gender-sensitive components in the SDIs, and societal gender norms that may influence women’s experiences of MV through participating in the SDIs. Thus, it is important to understand under what conditions women may experience positive or negative issues within marital relations due to their participation in SDIs in rural Bangladesh.

Aims and research questions

The aim of this study is to examine how SDIs may influence women’s economic independence, marital dignity, workload burden, as well as their exposure to MV in rural Bangladesh. Specifically, the study asks the following research questions:

a) What are women’s experiences, both positive and negative, with the SDIs regarding economic independence, workload burden, and exposure to MV?

b) What are the barriers to and possibilities for preventing women from being exposed to MV through their participation in SDIs in rural Bangladesh?

Data and methods

Research perspective

The current study adopted a qualitative methodological approach. Previous studies mainly estimated the proportion of women who experienced MV through participating in SDIs (Ashraf Ali, 2014; Bajracharya and Amin, 2013; Dineen and Le, 2015; Karim and Law, 2016), but they generally lacked in providing a comprehensive understanding to explain the phenomenon. Qualitative study intends to develop a general understanding on an issue, not to generalize the findings. We also followed a social constructive perspective, which denotes that the reality is socially and subjectively constructed (Dahlgren et al., 2007). In order to construct knowledge about social realities, the constructivist perspective emphasized joint efforts between study participants and researchers (Dahlgren et al., 2007). We considered that the social constructive perspective is suitable for examining how SDI-participant women created subjective meanings of independence/dignity or marital crisis (Charmaz, 2006).

Study design

This study was explorative in nature. We adopted a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach, which is considered more appropriate for exploring, understanding, and modeling the experiences of the study participants (Charmaz, 2006). We followed CGT in order to understand women’s experiences, both positive and negative, related to their SDI participation. As presented by Charmaz (2006), CGT is an inductive approach that seeks to investigate a social phenomenon for producing a theory/model or providing an understanding constructed jointly by the researcher and respondents. It facilitated studying multiple factors linking individual, community, and societal contexts regarding women’s experiences of MV. CGT was also important for understanding the barriers to and possibilities for women’s marital well-being through SDIs. We adopted a reflexive stance for maintaining relationships with the study participants. We ensured that the study findings were grounded within existing social conditions as well as the study participants’ meanings and actions (Charmaz, 2017). Although grounded theory is often said to be used for developing new theory in order to explain the studied phenomenon, based on existing theories, it can also be employed for providing a comprehensive theoretical/conceptual understanding or developing a model/hypothesis on a contextual issue (Dahlgren et al., 2007). In this study, our aim of adopting CGT was to develop an understanding of the complex relationship between SDIs and women’s experiences of independence, workload burdens, and MV in rural Bangladesh. We did not aim to establish the statistical significance of the relationships (Charmaz, 2006).

Project under study

Rural Mother Centre

We studied the beneficiaries of an SDI called Rural Mother Centre (RMC) implemented in rural Bangladesh (DSS, 2015). RMC is a women-focused poverty alleviation initiative under the Department of Social Services (DSS) of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB). RMC is now in its sixth phase implemented in conjunction with another DSS project called ‘Rural Social Services program (RSS)’. RSS is the largest community development initiative in Bangladesh, while RMC is its women and family development wing. In 1975, RMC was formed in order to provide income, water and sanitation, nutritional, and family planning supports to the rural women of Bangladesh. An RMC may include 20–30 rural married women. There may be several RMCs in a village. Women joining the RMC received a small loan (usually BDT 5000 in the first phase; after successful utilization of the loan, one can receive up to BDT 50,000 a year), skill trainings, and supervisions. On the other hand, with 10 percent service charge (interest fee), they need to repay the loan in 12 monthly installments. With the financial assistance of the World Bank and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), RMC is currently in operation in all 318 rural sub-districts (of a total 488 sub-districts) of Bangladesh; and the total numbers of the RMCs and their target beneficiaries are estimated at 14,806 and 130,07,026, respectively (DSS, 2020).

Study villages

Fieldwork was conducted in three purposively selected sub-district-level RSS settings in rural Bangladesh. The first sub-district was about 18 km northwest of Rajshahi district headquarters, the second one was nearly 25 km west of the Rajshahi city headquarters, and the third one was located 30 km south east of the district headquarters. The widespread presence of RMCs was taken into account in selecting the sub-districts. The study was conducted in three purposively selected villages from these sub-districts, respectively. Since 1998, women of these villages have been integrated into development initiatives by RMC (DSS, 2015). There were nine RMCs consisting of nearly 200 female married members in the selected villages; many of whom have significantly contributed to their families through earning an income. We considered these villages as representative as they were typical in northwest Bangladesh regarding people’s occupation, education, and cultural practices. Around 33 percent of households fall below the poverty line in the studied villages, which is quite similar to the poverty ratio in northwest Bangladesh. Another reason for selecting the villages was they were convenient to be visited.

Selection of study participants

Married RMC members were the primary sources of data in this study. We selected the RMC members purposively. The purpose of sampling in qualitative research is not to select a representative number of samples that may be helpful in the generalization of findings; rather it seeks to purposively identify and select the information-rich cases for the most effective use of limited resources (Creswell, 2007). This involves identifying and selecting individuals or groups of individuals who are especially knowledgeable about or experienced with a study phenomenon (Creswell, 2007, 2012). While probability or random sampling is used to ensure the generalizability of findings (statistical significance), the purpose of sampling in qualitative study is to purposively identify and select the samples who can provide all relevant data for answering the research questions (Creswell, 2012).

Using an emergent/theoretical sampling design often used in qualitative research (Coyne, 1997), we purposively selected 17 married women who had maintained at least a 1-year membership with the SDI. We used an emergent/theoretical sampling procedure because it helps the researcher to select the most relevant next samples based on the findings of previous samples (Coyne, 1997; Dahlgren et al., 2007). We selected the women in three phases from the study villages. The first few women were selected with the help of local social workers. As the study adopted an emergent sampling design, the next women were selected by focusing on the necessity of new information. We focused on the women who could enrich our findings with new data. In qualitative studies, sampling could be accomplished step by step so that the researchers are able to include information-rich participants, until they reach at a saturation point of the findings. Thus, data analysis and identifying next possible sample (who could add more information) can be conducted simultaneously in qualitative studies (Coyne, 1997). The emergent sampling design helped us to collect new data for extending our understanding. We wanted to understand the many different ways the SDIs could impact women’s marital life. Hence, we were seeking new data to check, fill out, and extend the categories to illustrate how women experienced MV from participating in SDIs (Charmaz, 2006). We accomplished our sampling task through a constant adjustment of the focus of interviews and finding the woman to talk to next. After conducting 13 interviews, we reached the saturation point; no new data emerged. However, we conducted four more interviews to check the categories.

We tried to include women from different educational and age groups. Table 1 provides the background characteristics of the study participants. The average age of the women was 35.7 years (22–57) and age at marriage was 15.8 years (12–20). Their rate of fertility was 1.94 children per woman. On average, the women attained 4.6 years of schooling (35% had no education); 53 percent of them had no individual income (see Table 1).

Table 1.

Sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants.

No.	Pseudonym	RMC village	Age in years	Age at marriage	Education in years	Number of children	Individual SDI income
1	Mukti	Village 1	32	14	0	1	Low
2	Chitra	Village 1	38	20	8	2	No
3	Shufia	Village 1	30	15	10	2	Low
4	Baby	Village 1	22	14	8	1	No
5	Kamrun	Village 1	36	18	5	3	No
6	Jahanara	Village 2	50	14	10	3	Low
7	Julekha	Village 2	50	13	0	4	Medium
8	Harina	Village 2	43	12	0	3	Medium
9	Khurshida	Village 2	57	17	8	2	High
10	Moyna	Village 2	30	19	5	1	No
11	Renufa	Village 2	36	14	0	3	No
12	Shonia	Village 3	30	14	6	1	No
13	Moslema	Village 3	32	17	0	2	High
14	Halima	Village 3	35	18	2	2	No
15	Nargis	Village 3	37	18	0	1	Medium
16	Jannati	Village 3	26	18	8	1	No
17	Shova	Village 3	23	14	9	1	No
Average (x̅)/prevalence (%)			35.7	15.8	4.65	1.94	No = 53%

RMC: Rural Mother Centre; SDI: socioeconomic development initiative.

Data collection

We conducted in-depth individual interviews with the women to grasp how they experience marital life. The interviews included women’s experiences with economic independence and marital equality, work burdens, marital conflicts, and exposure to MV in relation to their participation in SDIs. We focused on women’s expectations, motivations, and influence of husband/family members and RMC staff. Interiews also covered how they experienced community and societal reactions toward their participation in SDIs. Background data were collected on age, education, occupation, loan, income, marriage length, family size, and so on.

We focused on very sensitive data. We ensured maximum confidentiality of both interviews and interviewees. Therefore, it was not plausible to use other types of qualitative data collection methods such as focus group discussions and observations. People may be hesitant to share sensitive personal experiences in a group discussion. This may also increase the risk of further victimization. Marital experiences may also not be observed. As a part of private life, researchers often rely on individual interviews to collect data on marital relationships.

The fieldwork was accomplished between 2008 and 2016. Five women were interviewed by the first author in the first study village. After conducting in-depth interviews with six more members in the second village, a trained female interviewer (social work graduate) was engaged to conduct interviews with another six women in the third village. All interviews took place in private in the participants’ homes when the husbands were away.

Data analysis

Data analysis followed the CGT approach (Charmaz, 2006). The aim of the data analysis was to explore the theoretical categories/themes from the interviews (Dahlgren et al., 2007). All recorded interviews were transcribed in Bengali. The first author (R.K.) transcribed the audio-recorded interviews into text and then read the interview text thoroughly before conducting line-by-line initial coding of the data. As suggested by Charmaz (2006), at this stage, the codes were continuously compared with each other as well as from one interview to another interview for understanding their properties and dimensions. In the next step, focused coding was used to decide on and further develop the most significant initial codes to be able to integrate, categorize, and synthesize the data. This process generated theoretical categories, which were the interpretative abstractions of data. Throughout the coding processes, R.K. wrote memos that included reflections/interpretations of the categories. R.K. also translated the interview text into English for the research team.

Trustworthiness

Various strategies were used in order to ensure the validity (trustworthiness) of data as well as the findings. We used member checking, triangulation of data analysis, and peer debriefings (Creswell, 2007; Dahlgren et al., 2007). To secure member checking, we presented a summary of their interviews as well as the relevant findings to the study participants. We also sought the participants’ approval for using their personal quotes (without traceable identity) in the report. Triangulation of data analysis was ensured through involving other researchers in the process of transcription, translation, coding, categorization, and theorization of data. A multinational research team went through the entire data analysis process. This triangulation of data analysis ensured the trustworthiness of the findings. In addition, we conducted a peer debriefing session with a number of local scholars in a Bangladeshi university close to our study area. The local scholars were quite familiar with our study. Most of them supported our findings and explanations (e.g. use of ecological framework in theorizing the findings). We also accommodated their feedback (insights) and revised our report accordingly. All these increased the credibility of our study findings. We also presented the quotes of our respondents and a description of contexts. This increased the transferability of findings.

Ethical consideration

We followed the ethical guidelines of research recommended by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC). All study participants were informed about the objectives and importance of the study and the content and procedures of the interviews. Their consent was also sought prior to audio recording. They were informed that their participation in the study was voluntary. Moreover, they were assured that the data would be kept confidential and their identities would not be mentioned in any report. Study design and consent procedures were approved by the Ethics Review Committee (ERC) of BMRC (Permit No.: BMRC/ERC/2007-2010/889).

Results

The interviews revealed that the SDI influenced women’s marital life both negatively and positively (see Table 2). Data showed that, in general, SDIs escalated women’s marital sufferings, for example burdens of workload, marital conflict, and spousal abuses. However, the study also revealed that SDIs facilitated some women to increase economic independence, marital dignity, and safety from MV. We also explored the barriers to and possibilities for women’s empowerment potential through their participation in the SDIs (see Table 2).

Table 2.

Research questions and key findings.

Research questions	Key findings
What are women’s experiences, both positive and negative, with the SDIs regarding economic independence, workload burden, and exposure to MV?	• The SDI provided women with loans and skill trainings • It generally created income opportunities for women • Many women became further subordinated as loans were mostly controlled and used by their husbands • Women’s workload increased without economic gains • Male loan misuse increased women’s repayment stress • It increased marital conflicts regarding loan use and control • MV occurred as a result of male loan misuse and conflicts • Few women were able to use the loans/earned an income • It increased their independence, dignity, and marital equality • They were to share domestic chores with husband and children • It increased marital safety from being exposed to MV
What are the barriers to and possibilities for preventing women from being exposed to MV through their participation in SDIs in rural Bangladesh?	• Societal traditional gender norms (male privilege – male household breadwinnership and guardianship) restricted women’s potential to be empowered through the SDIs • Male normative right to abuse wife (social acceptance of MV) influenced women’s exposure to MV regarding the SDIs • Spousal inconsiderate and dominating behaviors further increased women’s sufferings from work burdens and MV • Women’s sense of dignity, motivation, and self-confidence influenced their economic independence and marital equality • Supportive family environment and considerate husbands facilitated women’s independence, safety, and well-being

Research questions

Key findings

What are women’s experiences, both positive and negative, with the SDIs regarding economic independence, workload burden, and exposure to MV?

• The SDI provided women with loans and skill trainings
• It generally created income opportunities for women
• Many women became further subordinated as loans were mostly controlled and used by their husbands
• Women’s workload increased without economic gains
• Male loan misuse increased women’s repayment stress
• It increased marital conflicts regarding loan use and control
• MV occurred as a result of male loan misuse and conflicts
• Few women were able to use the loans/earned an income
• It increased their independence, dignity, and marital equality
• They were to share domestic chores with husband and children
• It increased marital safety from being exposed to MV

What are the barriers to and possibilities for preventing women from being exposed to MV through their participation in SDIs in rural Bangladesh?

• Societal traditional gender norms (male privilege – male household breadwinnership and guardianship) restricted women’s potential to be empowered through the SDIs
• Male normative right to abuse wife (social acceptance of MV) influenced women’s exposure to MV regarding the SDIs
• Spousal inconsiderate and dominating behaviors further increased women’s sufferings from work burdens and MV
• Women’s sense of dignity, motivation, and self-confidence influenced their economic independence and marital equality
• Supportive family environment and considerate husbands facilitated women’s independence, safety, and well-being

SDI: Socioeconomic development initiative; MV: marital violence.

The analysis of data provided an explanation of this paradoxical phenomenon (the contradictory influence of the SDIs on women’s marital relation) through developing three theoretical categories: ‘creating opportunities’, ‘reinforcing subordination’, and ‘transforming gender positions’ (see Figure 1). The concept ‘creating opportunities’ featured the context of women’s possibilities through participating in SDIs; ‘reinforcing subordination’ elucidated the barriers to women’s potential; and ‘transforming gender positions’ illustrated their experiences of enhancing independence and dignity. Data indicated that SDIs offered income opportunities for rural women; but their possibilities were mostly diminished by the patriarchal norms prevalent in the rural society. This reinforced women’s traditional subordination within marriage leading to an escalation of their marital suffering, for example burdens of workload, marital conflict, and spousal abuses. The study further revealed that self-confidence and strong motivation for earning an income influenced a few women regarding increasing their economic independence, marital dignity, and safety from MV. Supportive family environment/husbands facilitated their efforts. The categories are described below together with the interview text to support how they were grounded in the data.

Figure 1.

Categories representing women’s experiences of marital relation from participating in SDIs.

Creating opportunities

The category ‘creating opportunities’ illustrates how SDIs created an opportunity for the women to take financial responsibility for their family. The category had two important properties – ‘joining in female working group’ and ‘being offered training and loans’.

Joining in female working group

The interviews showed that SDIs inspired women ‘to join in female working groups’. SDIs took initiatives to include women in development. These offered women an opportunity to take part in them. The interviews of Shufia (30 years) exemplified how they were motivated:

My husband filled up the form to make me an organizer of the group. I needed to collect female members to form a group in the area and to give them advice . . . to tell them how to borrow loan and how to use family planning method, and why they need to send children to the schools . . . This is the way I joined in our female group . . .

Being offered training and loans

The exclusive ‘female-focused training and loan facilities’ also encouraged the women to take part in the SDI. Shufia (30 years) further explained how ‘loan and training facilities’ offered by the SDI inspired them to join in the development initiative:

RMC gave me a way to reduce our family poverty. We used to get training before taking a loan. We got to know how to use the loan and pay it back on time. Attending training encouraged me to earn an income. Initially, I had to hand over the entire loan to my husband . . . I also started using a part of the loan for goat and cow raising.

The interview with Renufa (36 years) also illustrates how she was influenced by the ‘loan facility offered by the SDI’:

I joined in RMC as my husband suggested. He asked me to take a loan . . . First time, I took a loan from RMC Tk. 500 (Bangladeshi Taka 500) and I used the money for goat raising and vegetable farming . . . Now, I have a loan of Tk. 12,000 and I am using the money for cow-raising; the cow costs Tk. 18,000 and hope to get a net profit of Tk. 20,000 . . .

Reinforcing subordination

The category ‘reinforcing subordination’ clarifies the barriers that not only diminish women’s potential through SDIs but escalate their vulnerability to MV. It was the ‘societal male privilege norms’ that restricted women’s potential, together with ‘male misuse of the loans’.

Being trapped by male privilege norms

Interviews showed that women’s experiences of economic dependency, workload burdens, and MV were mainly constituted on an axis of societal male privilege norms. The concept of societal male privilege has two properties: ‘male breadwinnership’ and ‘women’s confinement to home domain’. Both elucidate how women’s potential was diminished.

Male breadwinnership

The norm ‘male breadwinnership’ restricted women from earning an individual income from the SDIs. Since men were supposed to be the breadwinners of their households, women’s participation and loans were mostly controlled by their husbands. One of the interviewees (Moyna, 30 years), indicated how ‘male breadwinnership norm’ reduced her potential: ‘I took the loan; but he [husband] uses it, repay also. I never thought of using the money by myself because he is the breadwinner and doing all for earning an income for this household . . .’. The interview with Nahar (36 years) revealed how SDIs might ‘increase her workload burdens’, while the loan was ‘controlled by the husband, the breadwinner’:

I handed in the entire loan to my husband . . . he used the loan for buying a cow. He bought the cow and I have to take proper care of the cow so that we could sell some milk to increase the family income. However, the money is controlled by him.

The interview of Jahanara (50 years) further indicated that women’s potential was restricted by the norms of ‘male guardianship’:

I used the loan for raising goats. I earned an income of Tk. 2000. But, the profit was controlled by my husband – a school teacher. I sometimes work for tailoring at home; and from this, I earn some money. However, I do not use any money that I earn from this tailoring . . . I give all income to him (husband) as he is the guardian of the family.

Another interview (Renufa, 30 years) indicated how SDIs made married women ‘more vulnerable to increased workload’ as well as ‘further subordination to husband’:

My husband controls the money and he makes all decisions . . . He asked me to join in RMC. So I joined after his permission . . . He asked me to take a loan for increasing his income. He uses the loan and he decides how to use the loan for increasing income . . . He takes the responsibility of the loan but I need to work hard for raising his cows.

The interview with Shufia (30 years) also revealed how the gendered norms related to ‘male breadwinnership’ made her overburdened as well as stressed with the workload:

Yes. Sometimes I find it difficult to perform all home-making tasks alone. My body does not respond every day equally. Then I request my daughter to help me in this. I also need to help the business of my husband that he started with the loan . . . I feel bad when I cannot prepare foods for him on time . . . I think this is my duty as a wife.

Women’s confinement to the home domain

Traditional gender norms also stress women’s confinement to the home boundary. Purdah norms (seclusion among women) do not allow women to move freely outside the home, which further reduced their potential. Shufia (30 years) expressed her frustration about not being allowed to use the loan for any extra-household affairs: ‘I handed over the loan to my husband. What will I do with the loan? I cannot go to market. So, I gave the money to him.’ The statement of Renufa (30 years) also indicated the norms related to ‘women’s confinement to the home’: ‘He (husband) prohibits me to go out of home . . . I follow his discretion as it is suggested by Allah . . . my only task is to obey him by cooking and caring . . ..’ As traditional gender norms suggest that ‘women should be confined to the household domain’, Harina (50 years) expressed how she suffered:

When we started working with a SDI, the community ostracized all of us: they even did not allow us to collect drinking water from public tube-wells; they put thorns in front of our doors to restrict our movement out of the home. They used to say that the agency would make us Christian; feed us pork, ask us to disobey our husbands; etc.

The interview of Baby (22 years) also indicated how traditional gender norms made the ‘women restricted to certain positions’, which finally increased their work stress:

He (husband) used the loan for farming . . . I used to be under stress during harvesting season . . . I feel sorrow when I fail to perform all the tasks . . . the work stress increases during tomato harvesting time; I need to carry out all alone . . . I have so stress at the time . . . he does not help me in this regard; probably he thinks all these are my own tasks . . . this is because men earn the income and we perform all home-based tasks . . .

As ‘her life is confined to the home’, the interview with Renufa (30 years) also exemplified how SDIs made her overburdened by workloads without any meaningful gain:

After he (husband) bought cows with the loan, I have no rest at all. I do not know how my morning comes and the day ends . . . I never go out of home . . . he does not like that I go out of home . . . I work inside the home, but I take care all goats and cows and they increase in numbers every year. His income is increasing; but I do not get the money.

Experiencing male misuse of loans

While male privilege/male family guardianship restricted women’s potential, it was also revealed that ‘male misuse of loans’ further increased women’s ‘repayment stress’, ‘spousal conflicts’, and ‘exposure to violence’. The interview with Mukti (32 years) showed how ‘male misuse of loan’ intensified her stress, spousal conflicts, and risk of being abused:

As he [husband] suggested, I took a loan of amount Tk. 20,000.00 whereas I needed to repay the monthly installment of Tk. 2000.00. He gave me words that he would start a small business and the repayment of loan would entirely be the responsibility of him. However, he took initiatives to celebrate our only son’s birthday lavishly using a part of that loan. After that, he misused rest of the money on gambling. I requested him many times not to spend money on gambling, but he started shouting on me. He was thinking to earn big amount of money from gambling so he could start a big business. After two-three weeks, he lost all the money. I became speechless how I make-up the installments. So, when the time came to repay the first installment, I had nothing to give. Officers repeatedly pressurized me to pay back the installments on time, even they insisted on me to sell my properties. So I argued with him (husband) to give me back the full amount of money. But he got angry and at once slapped me in front of my son . . .

The interview with Jannati (26 years) also indicated how she was abused by the husband relating to a ‘conflict over controlling the loan’:

I wanted to use the loan for my own purposes, but he [husband] forcefully captured the money . . . it was so difficult for me to accept this reality; so, I involved in arguments with him . . . and he physically hit me.

Transforming gender positions

The category ‘transforming gender positions’ illustrates women’s potential. A few women transgressed the patriarchal norms. Earning an individual income increased their ‘status as co-breadwinner’ as well as ‘marital dignity and safety’. This category has two inter-related properties ‘having self-confidence and motivation’ and ‘meeting supportive family’.

Having self-confidence and motivation

The interviews revealed that ‘women’s self-confidence and strong motivation’ for earning an income played crucial roles in their ‘transformation’. This sub-category has two dimensions: ‘being eager to enhance the family’ and ‘expecting independence and dignity’.

Being eager to enhance the family

A desire to enhance the family encouraged the women. Women’s income-earning was a part of their desire to keep their family good. The interview of Khurshida (57 years) revealed how ‘self-confidence’ and ‘desires to support the family’ led her transformation:

I was so motivated to earn an income . . . I tried hard and made a promise that I must earn an income by myself to support my family . . . I must send my children to the school. I must not leave them uneducated . . . so I started working with RMC. I made a calculation – how I could use my loan for doing a small business. Since society does not allow women to go out of the home, I used to go out of the village early in the morning and sell products door to door in the city. I started working as a hawker . . .

Another woman, Nargis (30 years) shared her story of how her ‘confidence and devotion to finding a job’ for ‘ending the family poverty’ transformed her family position:

In my household, there were ever sufferings. And I joined in RMC because I wanted to end these sufferings of my household members and children forever. Using the loan, I started a small business; I sell milk door to door . . . just to boost my family.

The interview of Jahanara (50 years) further revealed how a strong motivation ‘to offer a better life to the family’ with ‘self-confidence’ influenced her transformation:

RMC gave me an independent income. I joined in RMC to increase family income in order to support my children’s education and health. We became health conscious. Previously, we used to defecate at open places like on fields. Nowadays all we use sanitary sealed latrine. You can roam around without hesitation . . . we also use tube-well water for drinking purposes; mother and children are vaccinated regularly.

Expecting independence and dignity

A sense of self-respect also influences women’s transformation. Data showed that the women ‘expecting to be independent’ became successful. The interview with Khurshida (57 years) revealed how she was so keen ‘to be independent’:

I believe that women should also take the economic responsibility of the family . . . I was so motivated to earn an independent income . . . a woman must have her own income otherwise she will not be valued in her husband’s family. Though I had to struggle a lot . . ., I am successful as I had not surrendered ever. I fought against all troubles and now become successful . . . I equally participate in household decisions.

The interview of a young woman (Moslema, 33 years) also revealed how ‘motivation to be economically independent’ played a vital role in her journey toward ‘transformation’:

I was abused by my parents-in-law. Then I made a promise that I must earn my own income. I convinced my husband for leaving his parents’ house and renting a home for organizing our own family separately. Since then, I was eagerly trying to find a way to earn an income of mine. So, when I came to learn about RMC, I took a loan for starting a business. It took 6–7 years to be benefited. Now I am standing on my own feet. Now I can – I have my own income; even if I live in a hut, I am in peace.

Meeting supportive family relation

Interviews revealed that ‘meeting supportive family relation’ further enabled the women to gain socioeconomic transformation. A ‘supportive family environment’ may enable the women to utilize the opportunities. The property ‘meeting supportive family relation’ has also two dimensions: ‘depending on considerate husband’ and ‘sharing domestic workload’.

Depending on a considerate husband

Data revealed that the husband had an influence on his wife’s transformation. A supportive husband may influence his wife’s economic activities even if other family members (in-laws) try to restrict her. The interview of Jahanara (50 years) revealed how she was ‘inspired and supported by husband’:

My father-in-law strongly prohibited me to go out of home . . . but I got the support from my husband. He is an educated man – a school teacher . . . he also convinced others. Indeed it was he who inspired me to join in RMC; and he also convinced his father. He not only inspired me to join in RMC as a secretary, he also encouraged other women. He helped the social workers to form RMCs in this village.

The interview of Khurshida (57 years) also showed how a ‘supportive and considerate husband’ contributed toward increasing her income, dignity, and safety within the marriage:

He (my husband) is rather a liberal person, though people think he is an ‘apathetic person’ . . . He do not say any bad/harsh words to me . . . he never tried to restrict me rather always supported me regarding my income-earning. He also shared my home-making jobs. We have no single guardian in our family – we both equally do the guardianship . . . We discuss together and make joint decisions . . . he respects me. We both earn; we discuss together and make a joint decision – we are peaceful.

It appeared that ‘when family and husband support a woman’, she can progress with her ‘self-confidence and motivation’ to be socioeconomically empowered. The interview of Julekha (45 years) illuminated how she maintained a ‘satisfactory as well as safe marital life’: ‘For me, it (earning an income) was only possible for my husband . . . he is a different person: he has no headache about this tradition (controlling wife); I feel lucky to be with him . . . ’

Sharing domestic workload with husband

Interviews indicated that women’s transformation was also influenced by the possibility of sharing ‘her home-making chores’ with others. Women’s participation in SDIs increased their overall workload. However, ‘sharing domestic workload with husband’ enabled the women to carry out their jobs. The interview with Munira (28 years) exemplified how she was ‘supported by her husband’:

My husband is rather a gentleman. As I am doing my job, it’s difficult for me to carry out home-making chores alone. But he [husband] does all his household work himself and also helps me to fetch water. He takes care of the children. He loves me so much. He wants my works to be shared by him. He does not feel shy to carry out these . . .

Discussion

This study explores how women’s experiences of subordination and independence, marital equality/dignity, workload burdens, spousal conflict, as well as exposure to MV are influenced by their participation in SDIs in the context of rural Bangladesh. It has revealed that women experienced both negative and positive issues within the marriage. We explored the barriers that may not only constrain women from achieving economic empowerment through SDIs but contribute to their further subordination and marital sufferings. We have also shown that there are possibilities of the SDIs that may promote women’s marital dignity and safety.

Data indicate that SDIs generally offer a few income opportunities for rural women, though women’s potential is largely diminished by the patriarchal norms prevalent in the society. Women’s loans, participation in the SDIs, and income are mostly controlled by their husbands. This reinforces women’s traditional subordinated positions within the family unit, which decreases their marital dignity as well as increases their workload, spousal conflicts, and exposure to MV. Conversely, the study notably reveals that their self-confidence and strong motivation for earning an income from SDIs enhance women’s dignity and safety within the marriage when their husbands are considerate and cooperative.

Previous studies have focused on the relationship between women’s participation in SDIs and their vulnerability to MV, though most of them provided very conflicting results. Our study provides very comprehensive findings to understand how SDIs may contribute to women’s further sufferings, and vice versa to dignity/safety within the marriage. The study reveals that SDIs may contribute to women’s further difficulties within the marriage in a patriarchal context whereby men are regarded to be the breadwinners of households. These findings are consistent with the studies of Murshid (2016) and Vonderlack-Navarro (2010) indicating that women mostly joined the SDIs to fulfill the credit needs of their husbands. However, our findings further revealed that these are probably the patriarchal societal norms ‘male privilege – male breadwinnership and male guardianship’ that constrain women from using the loans.

The findings of our current study are also in line with another body of previous studies, which indicated that women’s exposure to MV could be increased when women’s participation in the formal labor market is likely to challenge male family authority/power (Atkinson et al., 2005; Rahman et al., 2011). Besides these, our study indicates how husbands’ liberal-supportive behaviors can enhance women’s marital dignity. Most importantly, our findings emphasize that distinct women are able to transgress the traditional gender and increase their marital dignity/safety. The study also shows that women’s transformation can be smooth and easy when their husbands are liberal and supportive. Therefore, the findings suggest a mechanism through which women’s participation in SDIs can efficiently contribute to their marital safety.

Our study also indicates crucial linkages among societal, community, relationship, and individual influences on the issue. As presented in Figure 2, our findings appear to be consistent with the propositions of the ecological framework of MV developed by Heise (1998). Our model explains how women’s experiences of MV may be influenced by an interaction among individual, relationship, community, and societal factors (Heise, 1998).

Figure 2.

The model explaining the barriers to and possibilities for women’s economic independence, marital equality, and marital safety from their participation in the SDIs in rural Bangladesh.

The study has revealed that the community-level SDIs have created some employment opportunities for women in rural Bangladesh. The SDIs offer the women an opportunity to enhance their autonomy/dignity within the marriage.

However, the study has also demonstrated that women’s possibilities through SDIs are largely restricted by the traditional patriarchal norms widely prevalent in the society. In the context of societal male privilege norms, women’s experience of participating in SDIs can be understood as their further subordination reflected in their increased exposure to MV.

Despite the widely prevalent male privilege norms in the society, the study reveals that a few women were able to transform their positions. This implies the agency of women and shows that women are not merely victims of SDIs, they are also able to shape their fortune through challenging traditional gender norms and constructive efforts (Campbell and Mannell, 2016). Since community-level SDIs opened up a few opportunities, women with self-confidence and strong motivation to earn an independent income have experienced economic independence, marital equality, autonomy, marital dignity, and safety within the marriage.

The study also explores relationship-level influences, such as how women’s experiences of economic empowerment through SDIs were enhanced by the supportive family relation. Husbands’ support and cooperation helped the women to have a good work–life balance. Conversely, other women felt overburdened by multiple workloads and work-related stress from participating in SDIs in the absence of spousal support and consideration. Male misuse of loans further escalated women’s subordination, conflicts, and the risk of being abused.

Strengths and limitations

The interviews were conducted over a couple of years, which provided rich data to understand the issues in context. The first author had a prolonged engagement in the study settings. All interviews followed a flexible guide which helped to collect detailed data. The constant comparison of emerging categories was emphasized during subsequent data collection. All focused codes generated from the data were discussed in peer debriefing sessions with local colleagues who facilitated the fieldwork and later with the members of the research team. Although the present study is one of the few studies that has analyzed intra-individual-, relationship-, community-, and societal-level influences on women’s marital experiences of SDIs, we are aware of the limitations caused by relying entirely on women.

Implications

We believe that the current study may have significant policy implications. The study shows that random inclusion of women in SDIs can increase their vulnerability to MV. In order to avoid unintended consequences, we suggest that it is important to take into account the gendered norms before inclusion of women into SDIs. SDIs should address patriarchal norms. They should initiate programs for changing mens’ and boys’ perceptions. SDIs may identify local ‘male ambassadors’– the men who are liberal and supportive toward women’s employment. These men could act as ‘role models’ for motivating other men and boys. Individual women should also be encouraged so that they can realize the worth of individual income.

Conclusion

In the context of the patriarchal social structure in rural Bangladesh, the current study provides a good understanding of how women experience MV through SDIs. Women’s participation in socioeconomic activities appears to be important for increasing their dignity/safety within the marriage. However, it should be taken into account that women’s random partaking in SDIs may bring unintended negative consequences to their marriage. Patriarchal norms prevalent in society may largely reinforce women’s subordinated positions through SDIs. This not only limits women’s potential but also escalates their exposure to MV. The study notably reveals that women’s self-confidence and strong motivation to earn an income from SDIs can increase their autonomy, dignity, and safety within the marriage when they have considerate and cooperative husbands. Our study shows a mechanism of how SDIs can support women to transgress patriarchal norms for achieving their marital dignity/safety.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the contributions of Ms Soheli Sultana during fieldwork.

Authors’ note

Sarah Wamala Andersson is currently affiliated with Mälardalen University, Sweden.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The first author acknowledges the Swedish Institute (SI), Sweden, for a guest scholarship grant (grant no. 05359/2006) to conduct this research at the Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

ORCID iD

Rabiul Karim

Author biographies

Rabiul Karim is a professor in Social Work at the University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. He completed doctoral education from the Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. His research mainly focuses on gender and community development, gender-based violence, prevention of domestic violence, and women’s welfare issues in rural Bangladesh.

Maria Emmelin, BA in Social Work, PhD, is professor in Global Health at the Department of Clinical Sciences, division of Social Medicine and Global Health, Lund University, Sweden. She has special competence in qualitative methods and her research interest include self-rated health in public health evaluation, gender based violence and social aspects of health in Swedish as well as in low- and middle income settings.

Sarah Wamala Andersson, PhD, professor of Health and Welfare Technology, Mälardalens University. Sarah has multi-professional and multidisciplinary expertise in various research areas. She also has long professional experience from academia, public sector and private sector.

Lene Lindberg is associate professor in Psychology and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Her fields of expertise includes health promotion and prevention, family violence, and evidence-based practice.

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