Gender norms and work spaces for women :

A case study of a handicraft studio in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Women in Bangladesh are regarded as having fewer opportunities to go out due to female segregation norms. Development aid and the growing garments industry have brought women from their homesteads and into the workplace. Especially in Dhaka, it is not unusual to see women out in public. In these changing times, gender norms such as pardha illicit greater discussion focusing on practical activities and space. In this study, I conducted ethnographical research at a handicraft studio in Dhaka to explore how women describe their work and space. The handicraft studio is an arena of social change because it was developed by foreign aid and is managed by Bengali women. Based on the female workers’ reports, I discuss gendered space from two aspects : division of work and activity space. In the former, though women do wage labour to maintain households, they do not challenge the status of men’s breadwinner. In the latter, they see the studio as safe and place of women comparing to garments factories and home. Female workers, who value relationships with family members, define their activity space not only physically but also ideologically. It shows that gender norms seem too inconsistent with modern ideologies, but people have their own abilities to choose what actions to take to better their life.