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E-book Renegotiating Patriarchy : Gender, Agency and the Bangladesh Paradox

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Penilaian

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A paradox, as the definition above suggests, refers to something that runs contrary to expectations or preconceived ideas. Recurring references to the ‘Bangladesh paradox’ in the development studies literature are shorthand for the unexpectedness of certain aspects of the country’s development experi-ence. Bangladesh has progressed on the social dimensions of development in ways that have not only run contrary to received wisdom in this field but have also confounded the gloomy predictions that accompanied its independence in 1971. Here is one attempt to convey this:Would you say that a country was likely to reach any of the Millen-nium Development Goals if it is affected by adverse geographical conditions, has a state apparatus perceived as chronically corrupt, is subject to substantive political instability and is also perceived as moving away from democracy? No, we would not. Yet, Bangla-desh, once famously dubbed a test case for development, has made impressive progress in many areas of the MDGs. This is good news. But the really interesting bit is that progress was achieved against the odds, because many would have predicted otherwise. (Asadullah and Savoia 2018)In fact, the really interesting bit is not only that this progress has been achieved against the odds but that it has been both pro-poor and gender-equitable. In a country that had been described as among the very poorest in the world, with a particularly extreme form of patriarchy, this was another aspect of the paradox: ‘Bangladesh stands out as the shining new example in South Asia of a poor country achieving impressive gains in gender equality’ (World Bank 2008, p.3).We can distinguish three dimensions to the Bangladesh paradox. There is an economic dimension, the view that a country needs to accumulate a minimum level of wealth before it sees an improvement in the health and wellbeing of its population. Indeed, some scholars adhere to what Sen (1999) describes as a ‘growth-mediated’ model of social progress, the idea that eco-nomic growth is a necessary condition for countries to progress on the social front. Yet Bangladesh has performed better on its social development indica-tors – and on the gender equality of these indicators – than other countries at similar, and even higher levels, of per capita GDP. It is regarded a ‘positive outlier’ on the international stage (Asadullah, Savoia and Mahmud 2014).There is a political dimension, reflecting the argument that the quality of governance in a country can make a difference, that responsive states can steer ‘policy-supported’ pathways to social progress – sometimes regardless of lev-els of GDP (Sen 1999). But here, too, Bangladesh has defied expectations. Its state has been widely depicted as corrupt and inefficient, with the politics of clientelism and rent-seeking permeating all levels of government. This has not prevented the country from achieving a pro-poor development trajectory.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

305.3 KAB r

Penerbit

London : LSE Press., 2024

Deskripsi Fisik

358 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781911712237

Klasifikasi

305.3

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Gender

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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