Conservative outlook, gender norms and female wellbeing: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to test the association between household conservatism and female well-being indicators, by considering the dimension of employment, decision-making autonomy and body mass (nutrition). Finding a suitable indicator of household conservatism is not easy, especially in absence of a household level ‘value survey’. We use the criterion of strict observance of the norm of purdah—the traditional practice of female seclusion—for demarcating conservative households from the rest of the rural society. Specifically, we consider a specific form of veil—through wearing a burqa—as an instrument for testing the association of conservative identity at the household level. Arguably, the burqa is a more conservative form of clothing as compared to other possible forms such as the hijab because it requires the female to wear a garment that covers her from head to toe. We use the second wave of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) conducted by IFPRI in 2015 in rural Bangladesh. Choice of the country context adds additional points of analytical relevance.