Marriage is the only secure institution the society grants to Bangladeshi women. In a society where male-dominated institutions tend to shape the life and role of a woman, the situation of a woman after marriage disruption in most cases may become unsecured. Although the possibility of such insecurity is obvious, not much has been systematically documented in this regard. Lacking also is an understanding of the factor responsible for disruption other than widowhood; nature of problems faced by women afterwards, the coping strategy they adopt, extent and adequacy of the social and institutional support. This study attempted to explore the situation in light of the above by applying social science methods in the Matlab field site of ICDDR,B. The study area covers 6 villages. In-depth interviews with 18 women were carried out repeatedly from January to April of 1995. It was revealed that in addition to divorce and widowhood, marital disruption also takes place due to the abandonment of the wife by the husband. After marital disruption, some women with single status lived on their own, and some were dependent on others (both parents and in-laws). The living arrangement affected greatly her workload and opportunity to utilize economic avenues open for her
Authors: Momen, Mehnaaz; Bhuiya, Abbas; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
Type: Working Paper
Year: 1995
