Diagnosing Norms & Norm Change in Rural Bangladesh: A Qualitative Exploration of Gender-based Social Norms & Women’s Empowerment 公开
Chandramohan, Shivani (Spring 2021)
Abstract
Background: Bangladesh has been significantly progressing in several indicators of women’s empowerment, however rural regions continue to face issues surrounding gender inequality and health disparity, both of which can be tied to disempowerment. One such rural region, Sylhet Division, is reported to be the wealthiest region in Bangladesh and yet was ranked the lowest in women’s empowerment and has the worst nutritional outcomes among women and children. Women’s empowerment and related health outcomes can be affected by inequalities sustained by social norms. In order to change disempowering practices, it is important to identify the underlying social norms that motivate and perpetuate such practices and develop targeted interventions to address these perceptions.
Objective: This qualitative study aimed to diagnose gender-based social norms and document evidence of norm change over time in The Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) population, an intervention assessing the interaction between nutrition, gender, and empowerment in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh, using Christina Bicchieri’s theory of social norms and model of norm change.
Methods: Twenty-six interviews and four sex-segregated focus group discussions were conducted with a total of sixty-three participants, consisting of both women (n=33) and men (n=30). Participants were sampled from the FAARM trial’s intervention arm and were assessed on general perceptions of empowerment, ability to express different dimensions of agency, overall life events as well as community perceptions on norms and gender roles. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: Evidence of social norms that informed three specific practices related to women’s agency were identified through the analysis: decision-making, mobility, and financial independence. Social norms dictated the degree to which women were able to participate in house-hold decisions, the locations they were able to access, and their autonomy to spend finances through both empirical and normative expectations, in accordance with the framework. There was also evidence of advances in altering gendered social norms among the study population and the desire, among some, to abandon restrictive norms. Certain intersecting factors, such as education and employment, were identified as facilitators and barriers to women’s empowerment and the related gendered expectations.
Discussion: Findings relate with existing norms literature and indicate social norms have a greater role in impacting behaviors, when compared to individual beliefs. It is essential to address these social expectations and perceptions in order to create effective and lasting change. Future studies and interventions aiming for developments in women’s empowerment should combine awareness on the importance of norm-change with opportunities for jobs and education, in order to effectively overcome restrictions on women imposed by gendered social norms.
Keywords: social norms, women’s empowerment, norm change, agency
Table of Contents
Chapter I: Introduction................................................................................................................ 1
Defining Empowerment .......................................................................................................................... 1
Impact of Empowerment on Health ........................................................................................................ 2
Social Norms & Gender .......................................................................................................................... 3
Study Context .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Study Aim and Research Question.......................................................................................................... 5
Chapter II: Review of the Literature .......................................................................................... 7
Diagnosis of Norms................................................................................................................................. 7
Norm Change ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Chapter III: Student Contributions .......................................................................................... 12
Overview of the FAARM Intervention ................................................................................................. 12
Student Contribution to Thesis.............................................................................................................. 12 Methods................................................................................................................................................. 13
Chapter IV: Journal Article ...................................................................................................... 20
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 20 Methods................................................................................................................................................. 29
Results ................................................................................................................................................... 32
Discussion ............................................................................................................................................. 50
Disclosure statement ............................................................................................................................. 53 Funding.................................................................................................................................................. 53
Chapter V: Public Health Implications .................................................................................... 54
Future Directions................................................................................................................................... 55
Recommendations to Improve Future Studies and Public Health Practice........................................... 57
Strengths & Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 58 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................. 59
References .................................................................................................................................... 60 Appendix...................................................................................................................................... 64
Appendix 1: Interview Guides .............................................................................................................. 64
Appendix 2: Participant Characteristics ................................................................................................ 94
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