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Most of the literature on women in politics and political empowerment in Bangladesh has either focused on the elected women representatives at the union level in rural areas and the constraints they face or on the ineffectiveness of women Members of Parliament (MPs) in reserved seats. In this chapter, we shift the focus from rural areas and women MPs to women councillors in urban government. …

The issue of women's empowerment has a long history. This article intends to trace the issue of women's empowerment in the area that now forms contemporary Bangladesh. In this regard, we have delved into the early part of the twentieth century to look into women's writing in numerous journals that were beginning to be published in that era. Looking into Muslim-edited journals, we look into how issues of women's education, writing and the place of women in society were being debated. …

This article is based on the experiences and reflections of a group of researchers in Bangladesh (of which we were members) studying women's empowerment. We investigate the kinds of epistemological and ethical dilemmas that arose from how they selectively presented their identities to gain access and tried to create ‘positional spaces’ in conducting fieldwork. We also explore how these researchers engaged in co-production of knowledge with research participants and tried to balance our multiple accountabilities in this process. By exploring these issues, we analyse assumptions about ‘feminist’ research practices and our struggles to live up to these. …

‘Women community health workers were pioneers in bringing rural women to outside formal paid work and breaking conservative norms and female seclusion’, said Simeen Mahmud, lead researcher, at a research findings seminar held for this quantitative study in Dhaka in May 2010. …

Pathways of Women’s Empowerment South Asia based at the BRAC Development Institute launched four research reports in Bangla at the Ekushey Book Fair, the largest and the most prestigious book fair in Bangladesh. The reports are aimed at reaching a wide spectrum of Bangla speaking audiences around the country. Dr. Imran Matin, Deputy Executive Director of the BRAC Africa Programmes, launched the publications on 20 February 2010 at the ‘Nazrul Moncho’ within the grounds of Bangla Academy, where the month-long Book Fair was held. …

Pathways South Asia enjoyed a successful launch of their new book ’Mapping Women’s Empowerment: Experiences from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan’, organised by BRAC Development Institute and held at the CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka on 8 July 2010. It received coverage in the local newspapers and also featured in television evening news broadcasts. …

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), situated in the south-eastern corner of Bangladesh, is a distinct region in terms of its ethnic, cultural and environmental diversity. The CHT people have been deprived of many socio-economic and political rights and an armed insurgency was waged against the government until the signing of a Peace Accord in 1997. …