Pathways to Women's Empowerment in Contemporary Bangladesh: Fertility, Resources, and Intimate Partner Violence

Empirical evidence suggests women’s empowerment, defined variously, and fertility mutually influence one another. Research on this relationship is most abundant in classic patriarchies; historically in these settings proof of fertility and the birth of sons have been critical for a woman’s social standing and economic security according to women’s financial dependence on male relatives, constrained sexuality, and confinement to the domestic sphere. Social and economic changes are transforming classic patriarchal systems and have various potential impacts on women’s societal role and pathways to empowerment. This dissertation conducted three studies in one classic patriarchal setting, Bangladesh, to examine the direct and indirect effects of fertility and other resources on a fundamental dimension of women’s empowerment, household decision making. Study 1 examined effects of women’s cumulative fertility and conformity to community based fertility norms on empowerment. Findings indicated women’s empowerment remains low, and aspects of increased fertility were negatively associated with empowerment. Study 2 reviewed three mediation models examining the net effect of fertility on empowerment as mediated by intimate partner violence (IPV). Results indicated cumulative fertility has only modest influence on empowerment; having at least one child, though not necessarily a son, remain important for women’s empowerment. Study 3 examined customary and contemporary resources for empowerment. Contemporary resources, specifically, women’s recent employment, non-governmental organization membership, and absence of the husband had the strongest and most consistent associations with women’s empowerment. This dissertation contributes to our overall understanding of the complex interplay between the demands of patriarchal structures and women’s empowerment, measured via household decision making. In Bangladesh’s rapidly changing environment, fertility remains influential, but contemporary resources for empowerment such as women’s economic participation and household structure are more strongly associated with empowerment. Efforts to enhance women’s empowerment should consider this changing economic landscape accordingly. Findings may serve to support empowerment efforts engaged in fertility control and its impact on gender systems. Further research is recommended to examine fertility and IPV’s association with additional dimensions of empowerment and within societies undergoing demographic transition. Research should also investigate changes in household power dynamics associated with the presence or absence of the husband.