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How women in Bangladesh confront the stigma of childlessness: agency, resilience, and resistance
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 20:08 authored by Papreen NaharPapreen Nahar, Sjaak van der GeestIn a context where motherhood is an integral part of a woman's stereotype, being childless is a devastating experience. We explore how these so-called deviant women manage this situation. The objective of this article is to contribute to the debate regarding infertile women's agency, resilience, and resistance. This article is based on anthropological fieldwork among urban middle-class and rural poor women. Their life histories reveal that childless women in Bangladesh, a pro-natalist, patriarchal society, are not passive victims, but rather actively fight their stigmatization and manage to survive. The childless women follow overt and covert strategies to overcome their stigmatized identity and create space for themselves in various innovative ways. The women do not resist in a coordinated way as a group, but do so individually. Given the collective nature of a society like rural Bangladesh, we believe that the women's individual acts will eventually have collective effects.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Medical Anthropology QuarterlyISSN
0745-5194Publisher
WileyExternal DOI
Issue
3Volume
28Page range
381-398Department affiliated with
- BSMS Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Brighton and Sussex Centre for Global Health Research Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-01-08First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-01-07Usage metrics
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