THE advancement of women has for three decades reflected in various development indices, capturing the attention of the world. From increased female participation in education and their pivotal role in the apparel industry work force to a decline in the maternal mortality rate, their presence is booming in all tiers of governance, from local councils to the parliament.
Bangladesh has carved out a significant position in South Asia in gender development. The progress, especially in the education and the health sector, has won praise on the international stage. Beneath this success, however, lies a complex reality. As women’s visibility has increased, so, too, has the intensity of social, cultural and political resistance against them. Fuelling this trend is the active resurgence of right-wing sentiments.
Bureau of Statistics and United Nations Population Fund data sow that about 76 percent of women in the country experience violence at some point. Most of such incidents never come to light as abuse is still frequently perceived, in many contexts, as a strictly domestic or private matter. This culture of silence further reinforces the normalisation of violence.
The proliferation of digital technology has at the same time given rise to new forms of violence, including online harassment, blackmail, the dissemination of misinformation and the misuse of personal photographs. Among the issues, attacks launched by online activists affiliated with religious groups are a frequent topic of discussions. Consequently, while women’s participation and visibility have, indeed, increased, they have been met with a corresponding surge in attempts at control and resistance that has created the reality of a structural ‘gender backlash.’ Why is this happening? And who are the forces behind this resistance?
Women’s empowerment is never a unidirectional process. Women’s entry into the realms of education, employment and politics inevitably challenges the balance of social power. This reactionary response manifests across three distinct levels. The primary strategies involve socially policing women’s mobility and behaviour, culturally attempting to redefine women through the lenses of morality and religious identity and politically seeking to curtail their rights through legislative and policy measures. Collectively, the layers exert a profound influence on women’s freedom and their civic participation.
The roots of this backlash can be traced back to the 1990s, during the regime of Hussain Muhammad Ershad. It was during that period that NGO-driven development initiatives began to significantly boost women’s economic participation. Prominent leaders such as Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia were also active in the political arena that time. Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, left-wing forces, too, remained quite powerful. Consequently, the trend of women’s empowerment has continued in a phased manner ever since the liberation war. Both the leaders played a pivotal role in this regard. Their leadership was instrumental in enabling women to break societal taboos and enter the work force as well as to participate in politics.
In rural areas, however, women working outside the home or participating in organised activities was often viewed as a transgression against the established social order. Opportunities for political participation were scarce and religion-based political parties were not particularly active either. Nevertheless, there had always been attempts at various levels to impede women’s progress. In 2011–2013, this resistance took on a distinctly political character, fuelled by debates surrounding the National Women Development Policy and the movement led by Hefazat-e-Islam. The issue of women’s rights increasingly came to be framed as being in conflict with religion, morality and social stability. Consequently, despite enjoying legal recognition, the social acceptance of women’s rights remained tenuous.
This resistance is equally evident regarding women’s presence in public spaces. Whether on city streets, on university campuses or at cultural events, women’s presence remains far from unproblematic. They are often subjected to control through social surveillance, moral policing and, at times, outright violence. Furthermore, the fear of going ‘viral,’ perpetuated through social media and a patriarchal mobile journalism landscape, instils deep anxiety in many women. The rise of ‘bot armies’ has only exacerbated this sense of alarm. In recent years, several incidents of harassment against women in public spaces have sparked widespread debate, demonstrating that women’s safety remains unassured even within modern and educated environments. This makes it clear that public spaces are not yet gender-neutral.
In the digital realm, the gender backlash has assumed an even more complex form. A significant number of women, as BBS and UNFPA reports show, fall victim to online violence. There has been a surge in coordinated trolling, doxing or leaking of personal information, image manipulation and character assassination, targeting journalists, politically active women and university students. Research has identified these acts collectively as ‘doxing-style harassment.’ In many instances, religious and moral narratives are weaponised to portray women as ‘sources of instability’ or ‘agents of moral decay.’ Consequently, online violence has evolved from mere personal attacks into a calculated organisational strategy aimed at stifling women’s freedom of expression and their participation in the public sphere.
Women’s rights have now also become an integral part of political discourse. In electoral politics, women are frequently portrayed primarily as mothers, wives or guardians of the family unit, which is a framing that effectively obscures their distinct political identities. Various political and religious groups have attempted to frame women’s development and equal rights as a conflict between ‘culture versus modernity’ or ‘religion versus rights.’ Consequently, while women’s political participation has increased, their effective presence in decision-making remains limited and, in many instances, merely symbolic. The most recent elections, too, revealed that female candidates did not participate extensively in direct electoral contests. Religion-based parties including the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Khelafat Majlish, did not field a single female candidate in the direct elections that sparked off controversy throughout the entire election period.
The women’s movement also faces various limitations. Given that most women’s movements are urban-centric, middle-class-oriented and NGO-dependent, they have not always succeeded in establishing an effective connection with the realities faced by rural and religiously conservative women. The discourse of rights often fails to engage in a meaningful dialogue with local culture, religious values and the sense of familial security. Consequently, a disconnect has emerged between the rhetoric of women’s rights and the lived experiences of the general populace. Simultaneously, reactionary groups are exerting greater influence on society by employing simple, identity-based rhetoric.
All things considered, women’s progress and a ‘gender backlash’ co-exist. As women’s visibility has increased, new forms of control and resistance have emerged. Women’s rights are no longer merely a matter of development indicators. They also constitute an ongoing social and political struggle. To ensure sustainable gender equity in future, it is imperative to foster an inclusive dialogue encompassing development, culture, religious narratives and political structures.
Siam Sarower Jamil is a PhD research scholar in the University of Delhi.
