The New 21st Century Woman

What is new and different in the formation of the 21st century Bangladeshi woman in comparison to her formation in the 20th century? What forces are at play in the construction of the figure of this new millennial woman? The Pathways of Women’s Empowerment research consortium has identified three themes to map out the progress and changes in women’s lives. The notion of ‘progress’ must be problematized, and a cultural trajectory must be used to see where the conflicts between tradition and modernity are still at play, what these concepts mean in the lives of women, and what are the main cultural factors that pertain to the lives of women today. In this chapter, Azim refers to three broad fields: religion, especially Islam; the role of new media; and the development discourse and analyses their role in the fashioning of the new Bangladeshi woman.