Gendered Experiences of Mobility

Travel Behavior of Middle-class Women

in Dhaka City

Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

University of Dhaka

Abstract
This article examines the travel behavior of middle-class women in Dhaka,
the capital city of Bangladesh and one of the world’s largest and most densely
populated cities. In particular, we focus on women’s use of non-motorized
rickshaws to understand the constraints on mobility for women in Dhaka. Pri-
mary research, in the form of an empirical study that surveyed women in six
neighborhoods of Dhaka, underpins our findings. Our quantitative and quali-
tative data presents a detailed picture of women’s mobility through the city. We
argue that although over 75 percent of women surveyed chose the rickshaw as
their main vehicle for travel, they did so within a complex framework of limited
transport options. Women’s mobility patterns have been further complicated
by government action to decrease congestion by banning rickshaws from major
roads in the city. Our article highlights the constraints on mobility that middle-
class women in Dhaka face including inadequate services, poorly maintained
roads, adverse weather conditions, safety and security issues, and the difficulty
of confronting traditional views of women in public arenas.

Keywords
cycle rickshaw, Dhaka city, middle class, rickshaw ban, women

Introduction

The primary question of this study, how middle-class women experience

travel in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, connects obviously and clearly to a broad
understanding of mobility.1 Women move about the city for numerous rea-
sons, including travelling to workplaces and educational institutions, or to
accompany children to school and take elderly relatives to hospitals. In the
process they may undertake journeys by foot, or by one of the many options
for vehicular transport. Within Dhaka, these modes of transport range from
the rickshaw (both non-motorized and motorized versions) to public trans-
port such as buses and private transport such as bicycles, scooters, and cars.

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Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

Dhaka has a high proportion of pedestrian traffic with estimates suggest-

ing that over 60 percent of daily travel is undertaken by foot.2 Many of these
daily journeys undertaken by its citizens, particularly women, take the form
of multi-part trips that connect bodily movement to vehicular movement of
various kinds and in various combinations—a creation of “chain trips” that
map everyday activity onto the geography of the city.3
Yet, as Tim Cresswell notes, the mobility paradigm invokes more than
physical movement; instead, it becomes an “ethical and political issue.”4 The
subject of our study exemplifies this “mobilities approach;” research in travel
behavior within South Asian countries indicates gender difference in the con-
text of cultural and socioeconomic conditions. Much of this difference stems
from the long-established social attitude towards women’s traditional roles as
homemakers and caregivers for children and the elderly in their families. As
such women’s mobility outside their homes was largely restricted irrespective
of their religion or social class. Thus, in examining the pattern of middle-class
women’s movement in Dhaka, we need also to consider how the social mi-
lieu for women in Bangladesh intersects with and impacts on the transporta-
tion flows within Dhaka itself. This more comprehensive framework means
that travel within the city must be interrogated as an experience that “lies at
the centre of constellations of power, the creation of identities and the micro-
geographies of everyday life.”5 That is, through our surveys and interviews, we
examine middle-class women’s travel in relation to their position and pro-
file in society; their interactions with people, places and objects connected
to travel around the city; and the way they negotiate movement from place
to place in a society that has not always encouraged the presence of women
in the public sphere. Thus, our discussion is not only about mobility, but it is
more specifically about the gendered experience of mobility.
The gendered experience of mobility in Dhaka needs to be understood
within several contexts: the historical context of purdah; the development of
Dhaka as a city and its transportation patterns; and recent attempts by local
and national governments to improve women’s position in Bangladeshi so-
ciety, including access to transport. As Cresswell has observed, the mobility
paradigm enables us to link together different elements and scales of move-
ment; thus, this contextual information is significant as it will deepen readers’
understanding of middle-class women’s mobility patterns in Dhaka.6 Back-
ground information provided in the next section will be developed further in
later sections of the article when we examine the responses from our survey
and interviews.
The practice of purdah is a religious and social norm that developed from
segregation of the sexes and respect for family traditions into the seclusion of
girls and women away from the public eye. The observation of purdah may
mean physical separation of women and girls within the household or the
covering up of their bodies outside their family spaces.7 Although purdah has

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not been uniformly observed in Bangladeshi society across time and place, it
is an important part of our discussion as it contributes to restrictions on wom-
en’s mobility and visibility in public space.8 Purdah is often seen as a strict
imposition of limitations on female mobility within a patriarchal society, yet
the interpretation of religious teachings that restrict women’s movement may
be flexible: a woman’s economic status, age, religion, and geographic location
may all mitigate the impact that purdah may have on individual women or,
more broadly, groups of women in specific communities.9
The practice of purdah is generally seen as more prevalent in rural areas
than in major urban areas; however, steadily increasing migration from ru-
ral areas into Dhaka and the existing cultural norms of the city have meant
that purdah is an important factor in women’s visibility and ability to access
transport. In a report investigating gender and transport in the metropolitan
areas of Dhaka in 1997, Pratima Paul-Majumder and Masuda Khatoon identi-
fied purdah as a “dominant part of the culture” that would continue to restrict
women’s access to public transport in the city.10 Nevertheless, more recently,
Kamal Siddique and his colleagues reflected that conditions for women have
“come a long way from the strict purdah observed by Dhaka women in the
1950s.”11 An alternative view is provided by Salma Islam, who identified Dhaka
as less conservative, and therefore less dominated by strict observation of pur-
dah, than other Bangladeshi cities such as Chittagong and Noakhali, largely
because of the historical and contemporary opportunities for women’s work
in Dhaka.12 Growth in women’s employment opportunities, especially within
the garment-manufacturing industry, means that working-class women are
more visible on Dhaka’s streets. Increasing educational opportunities for
young women have also led to a decrease in the strict observance of purdah,
as well as the need for middle-class women to negotiate city life on behalf of
their families—shopping or taking children to school, for example. Thus, the
mobility of women has expanded and the attitude towards women travelling
around the city for various reasons has also changed.
Understanding the historical development of Dhaka is also integral to un-
derstanding the changing patterns of women’s mobility. Dhaka is the capital
city of Bangladesh and is also the national center for much of the adminis-
trative, financial, and manufacturing activity of the country, consequently
attracting large numbers of migrants from rural areas. Geographically, it is sit-
uated in the middle of the country, on the north-eastern side of the Buriganga
River.13 Dhaka was world-renowned for its muslin industry in the Mughal pe-
riod (fifteenth to sixteenth centuries). This industry, which was capitalized on
by foreign traders, especially during the British period, is significant because
it embedded women’s employment in the area well before the recent phase
of globalization; indeed, Islam notes that women’s historical “participation
in the paid labor force in Dhaka has been higher than in any other part of the
country.”14

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With the partition of British India in 1947, Dhaka became the provincial
capital of East Pakistan. The mass migrations that accompanied partition had
a significant impact on Dhaka as its Hindu population diminished and was
replaced with a Muslim majority. The struggles in Muslim politics between
East and West Pakistan in the 1960s culminated in the War of Liberation in
1971 and the birth of the independent nation of Bangladesh. Dhaka evolved
from a provincial capital into a national capital and became one of the
fastest-growing cities in Asia. The impoverished situation of the war-torn
country worsened and more women from poor families engaged in work out-
side the home to contribute to their family income; similarly, families from
poor rural areas migrated to the city to find employment. In the late twentieth
century, the population of Dhaka comprised about 25 percent of Bangladesh’s
urban population and the city grew at an average annual rate of 7 percent, put-
ting extreme pressure on the provision of adequate housing and infrastructure
for its inhabitants.15 Dhaka City, administered by the Dhaka City Corporation
(DCC), is now the largest single urban concentration in Bangladesh, with a
population currently in excess of 15 million and projected to grow beyond 25
million by 2025. The city is divided into four zones and seventy-five municipal
wards, with twelve thanas (see figure 4).16
As Siddique et al. point out, population growth has far outpaced the city’s
ability to plan, build and maintain roads.17 Narrow and unplanned lanes and
roads continue to emerge alongside larger infrastructure projects supported
by financial institutions such as the World Bank. These narrow lanes are pres-
ent mostly in areas inhabited by the lower middle class and in the unplanned
Zones 1 and 3, where most of the city’s poor and working class live. Zone 4, the
area occupied by the upper middle class and the wealthy, is serviced by wider
roads. In 2005, less than 10 percent of residential roads in Dhaka were wide
enough for two cars to pass each other, while over half of residential roads
were so narrow that they would only allow two rickshaws, or one rickshaw
and one car, to travel side-by-side.18 Residents of Zones 3 and 4, in particular,
highlighted these narrow or unsuitable roads and lack of road repair as major
and ongoing civic concerns.19
Similarly, the number of motorized vehicles is not increasing as per the
needs of the city population. A study by Mannan and Karim shows that in the
year 2001 there were only 2,630 vehicles (all types) per 100,000 population of
Dhaka and among these about 2,195 were non-motorized vehicles, mainly the
human-driven three-wheeler cycle rickshaws.20 According to a World Bank
study non-motorized transport (NMT) contributes significantly to the trans-
port system of Dhaka and cycle rickshaws are the notably preferred mode of
transport by middle-class people.21
The city’s growth has also meant a growth in crime and general percep-
tions of safety and security. In Siddique et al.’s gathering of statistical data
on Dhaka in 2005, crime (related mostly to theft, robbery and hijacking) was

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mentioned as one of the two most pressing civic problems by inhabitants in

all four Zones.22 Eighty-six percent of respondents in this important longitudi-
nal study suggested that the position for women was “insecure” in Dhaka City,
with the worst problems perceived in Zone 2. Women in public places, espe-
cially at night, were believed to be at risk of harassment or attack, including
hijacking and rape.23 These complex factors of Dhaka’s growth clearly have a
direct relationship to the availability and accessibility of transport for women
in the city.
Our study also needs to be placed in the context of broader social and po-
litical goals in Bangladesh in the last part of the twentieth century and in the
early parts of the twenty-first century. Salma Chaudhuri Zohir, in her case
study of gender issues in transport in Bangladesh (a project completed un-
der the auspices of the Dhaka Urban Transport Project, with support from the
World Bank) methodically notes the political framework for advancing wom-
en’s rights in Dhaka.24 For example, men and women have formal equality
within the Constitution of Bangladesh, with various articles specifying equal-
ity before the law and equal rights in “all spheres of the state and of public
life.”25 Bangladesh also ratified the Convention on Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), with some reservations in 1984.
However, Zohir also notes that, despite the preparation of the National Land
Transport Policy (drafted in January 2003), the issue of gender in transport
policy and practice was often overlooked. In the report, Zohir argues that
“several policy objectives could promote gender equality,” including safe, re-
liable and environmentally sustainable transport.26

Modes of Transportation in Dhaka

The available literature does not provide much specific detail about the forms
of transport that existed in the city before the seventeenth century; however,
it can be assumed that people in the past used to move in and around the city
mostly on foot—as they still do now. Other modes of transport in the city were
boats, horse-driven carts (tonga), and bullock and push carts. For the upper
classes, the horse-drawn palanquin was the main form of transport. Huq in-
dicates that the boats that linked the city with other parts of the country were
the primary means of transport in seventeenth-century Dhaka.27 These boats
were also used to travel within the city’s numerous canals and water bodies.
During the British period few cars were introduced on the roads of Dhaka;
the most significant development of transport and the overall expansion of
the city started when Dhaka became the capital of East Pakistan and later the
national capital of Bangladesh. Motorized transport such as buses were intro-
duced in the city but cycle rickshaws and push carts were the common non-
motorized vehicles which plied almost all roads.

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According to Zohir, when the World Bank began its appraisal of roads and
transport in Dhaka in the late 1990s, the following patterns were noted: non-
motorized transport (NMT) and walking comprised the majority of mobility
modes, with almost 60 percent of Dhaka’s inhabitants walking to work. Ad-
ditionally, 19.2 percent engaged manually pedaled cycle rickshaws while
a much lower number (1.4 percent) used auto-rickshaws. These are locally
known as auto tempos or CNGs, and are improvised vehicles, powered by
compressed natural gas (CNG), with long seats on both sides that can carry
eight to ten passengers. The study also noted that some 9.2 percent of Dhaka’s
inhabitants travelled by bus, while 3.1 percent used private cars, and the re-
maining 7.7 percent of local travelers employed other modes.28 More recently,
these figures have been updated in a study of traffic conditions by Mahmud,
Gope and Chowdury, who observed that buses are now more in use than in
the latter decades of the twentieth century, operated by both private compa-
nies and the state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC). The
authors also identified Dhaka’s traffic system as “one of the most chaotic ones
in the world,” and noted that rickshaws (both cycle and auto) dominate the
city’s roads. There are conflicting reports on the current number of rickshaws
in Dhaka: according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, in 2011 there
were 121,702 registered rickshaws and 84,776 non-registered rickshaws in
the Dhaka metropolitan area.29 However, Mahmud and his colleagues suggest
that almost 400,000 rickshaws are in circulation in the city each day although
only a relatively small number (about 85,000) of these are licensed by the city
government.30 They also believe that this is the largest number of rickshaws
operating in any city in the world, and like Zohir, they agree that the cycle
rickshaws are non-polluting and low-cost as well as offering accessible em-
ployment to poorly educated workers, many of whom are recent arrivals from
impoverished rural areas; however, all authors agree that the cycle rickshaws
are a significant factor in the growing traffic problems in Dhaka.31
Despite this negative profile of rickshaws, they are the most common ve-
hicle for travel for women in the city, particularly for those from the lower
and middle classes. This is for a number of reasons: they are more convenient
than other public modes of transport such as auto rickshaws and buses; taxi
cabs are less available in the city and tend to be expensive; and the cycle rick-
shaw is the only kind of vehicle that can be ridden in any neighborhood of the
city, many of which have narrow streets and lanes; thus, passengers can use
rickshaws for door-to-door service. Conversely, traveling on public transport
such as buses can be difficult for women because of the various kinds of ha-
rassment and abuse by the drivers, helpers, and some male travelers. This is
particularly the case when women must compete for seats with men in rush
hour in overcrowded buses. In their rush to complete journeys, bus drivers
sometimes start moving before passengers have boarded. Passengers then run
to catch the bus and many women are injured in such circumstances. Thus,

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for women the rickshaw has been the preferred and main mode of transport
in the city. It may be noted here that the huge number of low-income women
who work in the readymade garment industry may walk for long distances
to save money on transport. But these women, who often have to travel after
dark, are always fearful of sexual harassment in the street due to the absence
of safe and secure transport facilities and street lights. For safety reasons, they
prefer to ride in rickshaws when they travel at night to their place of residence
in the poor neighborhoods. They also feel that the rickshaw pullers are their
escorts and can help them in case of any problem. Rickshaws are also chosen
by women for traveling in adverse weather conditions ensuring safety and se-
curity. On a lighter note, rickshaws may also offer privacy, providing a space
for romantic expression for young couples. As the rickshaw is central to our
discussion, we provide now some history of the vehicle and its use in Dhaka.
The word “rickshaw” comes from the Japanese word “jin riki sha,” which
literally means “man-powered vehicle.”32 The name was originally given to
the hand-pulled rickshaw which was seen in Asian cities in the 1920s and
1930s, but Gallagher suggests that it also applies to the cycle rickshaws of In-
dia and Bangladesh.33 The first cycle rickshaw in Bangladesh was introduced
in the 1930s. Rashid states that “in 1938, a Bengali Zamider of Sutrapur and
a Marwari Gentleman of Wari area of Dhaka purchased about six rickshaws
each to introduce them in the town.”34 According to Banglapedia (the national
encyclopedia of Bangladesh), “this new imported vehicle from Calcutta cre-
ated huge curiosity among the people of Dhaka.” Despite this curiosity, the
number of rickshaws increased slowly, from only 37 rickshaws in 1941 to 181
rickshaws in 1947.35 The first licensed rickshaws plied the city roads during the
British period in 1944. The growth of cycle rickshaws up to 1989 in Dhaka has
been studied by Amin (see Table 1).36
After the introduction of rickshaws in Dhaka in 1944, women used this ve-
hicle mainly for occasional social visits but under strict purdah. The rickshaw

Table 1: Trend in growth of rickshaw numbers in Dhaka

Year Number of Rickshaws Remarks
1938 6 Rickshaw industry begins
1944 100 British first licensed rickshaw
1960 4,000 Denotes early sixties figure
1967 18,000 Liberal licensing policy of the Dhaka Municipality
Chairman Contributed to this big increase.
1978 40,000 Lower bound
1987 100,000 Upper bound
1989 300,000 Upper bound
Source: A.T.M. Nurul Amin, “Dhaka’s Informal Sector and Its Role in the Transformation of Bangla-
desh Economy”, in DHAKA Past Present and Future, ed. Sharif Uddin Ahmed (Dhaka: The Asiatic
Society of Bangladesh, 1991), 455.

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Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

was wrapped with a long cloth so that the passenger could not be seen by
those outside; the rickshaw pullers were also well trusted. With the expan-
sion of women’s education rickshaws became the prime mode of transport to
take young women to educational institutions and for other visits. The role of
women in the society has changed over time and they are increasingly con-
tributing to the economy of their families and the country by providing vari-
ous services and cash earnings. Such social and economic liberalization of
women is reflected in the changing pattern of the rickshaw appearance from
completely wrapped to half-wrapped vehicles to rickshaws with hoods until
now, when women ride in open rickshaws. This increasing visibility may indi-
cate women’s growing social liberation and empowerment (see figures 1–3).
Huq and Rashid37 note that only 6.8 percent of passengers depend on mo-
torized vehicles while Mannan and Karim indicate that “women make an
average of 2.21 trips compared to 2.76 for males per day by rickshaw.”38 Sul-
tana39 and Shefali40 state that middle-class women are highly dependent on
rickshaws for their intra urban mobility and about half of women’s trips are
on cycle rickshaws. The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA)
indicated that city dwellers make about 25 million daily trips; rickshaw use
comprises 7 million within this total number of trips.41
Over time the rickshaw design has also undergone transformation to ca-
ter for different kinds of needs for low to middle income people. Rickshaws
may be turned into open vans so they can carry more people as well as being
able to carry different kinds of materials through the narrow lanes. Covered
rickshaw vans have been introduced to carry young children to schools from
or into areas where buses cannot enter because of narrow roads. Such school
vans save time for many women who normally accompany their children to
school.
To make the transport system more efficient, the Bangladesh government
with the help of the World Bank initiated a project entitled “The Dhaka Urban
Transport Project” (DUTP). To allow faster movement of motorized vehicles
the Dhaka City Corporation has imposed a ban on non-motorized vehicles
like rickshaws on major roads as these vehicles were thought to be the main
reason of congestion. But counter arguments also exist: some researchers
argue that this project has failed to capture the differential impacts of vari-
ous transports on men and women. Zohir suggests that gender issues have
not been mainstreamed in the strategies to meet the specific problems of
women.42 The banning of rickshaws has seriously affected the mobility pat-
terns of city residents, particularly middle-class women who rely largely on
rickshaws for their transport. The ban has not only increased journey times as
rickshaws have to take alternative routes through secondary roads and lanes
but has also increased the discomfort associated with the journey because
of the rough conditions of such lanes. The longer routes have also increased
the rickshaw fares. Khandoker and Rouse argue that “rickshaws provided af-

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Figures 1–3: Patterns
of rickshaw riding.
Photos: authors.

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Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

fordable means of transport for many middle and lower income people. The
rickshaw ban has resulted in many journeys being made either impracticable
or very lengthy along congested small streets, so some pedestrians have been
forced either to walk or catch buses.”43 To provide alternative transportation,
the BRTC has introduced a small number of “women only buses” on certain
routes. However, many women are not able to access these buses, due to the
infrequent service and erratic time schedule. As such, women have to depend
largely on cycle rickshaws for their mobility.
Given this background, this empirical study focuses on the travel behavior
of middle-class women in Dhaka, looking at their preferred mode of trans-
port; the accompanying advantage and disadvantages of forms of transport;
and their perceptions of the ban on rickshaws from the city streets.

The Method and Findings of the Research Study

Our study is mainly based on a field survey conducted in December 2012.

For gathering primary data, a questionnaire was developed with twenty-eight
indicators having both structured and open-ended questions including costs
of transport and travel behavior during peak and off-peak times as well as sea-
sonal variability. The questionnaire also captured the demographic charac-
teristics of the respondents. Some narratives were collected to substantiate
the study.
Six thanas situated within the Dhaka metropolitan area and in neighbor-
hoods with a large concentration of middle-class residents were selected
randomly for the survey. Three of these (North Shahjahanpur, Khilgaon and
Ramna) are from Dhaka South City Corporation and three (Sher e Bangla na-
gar, Tejgaon and Uttara) are from Dhaka North City Corporation (See Figure
4). From each thana twenty-five samples were collected; the total sample size
was 150. Primary data was collected using a purposive sampling method to
fulfill the objectives. The respondents were selected randomly but attention
was given to all age groups and varied educational backgrounds.
The term “middle class” is critical to the study; it is widely used around the
world and it means different things to different people in different places. In-
deed, definitions may change over time as ongoing debates about the emer-
gence and role of the middle class in society indicate. For example, Roberts
has argued that the middle class represents a significant break in the class
structure both subjectively and objectively.44 Abercrombie and Urry define
the middle class as those “who stand in the middle between the workers on
one side and the capitalists and landed proprietors on the other side.”45 In
Bangladesh, the middle class has been identified by Rajat Sanyal as the “intel-
lectually advanced section of a social group. This group however was not ex-
clusively urban in origin and a substantial section of them lived in villages or

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 Gendered Experiences of Mobility

Figure 4: Location of study areas (the straight line denotes the border
between the south and north city corporation of Dhaka City).
Source: Field survey, December 2012

semi urban areas.”46 Sanyal goes on to describe how the middle class “tended
to converge in the urban areas to get suitable education and jobs.”47
Homi Kharas, in a working paper for the OECD Development Center, notes
that “middle class” is an “ambiguous social classification, broadly reflecting
the ability to lead a comfortable life.”48 In the absence of any formal definition
in Bangladesh it is difficult to place people in an income or economic class.
Considering the existing situation, monthly expenditure was taken as the in-
dicator of economic class in this study. The families with monthly expenditure
between 10,000 to 50,000 taka are considered as middle-class families for this
study, which aims to identify the travel pattern of women’s mode of trans-
port in Dhaka City. To complement this definition, we might also consider
the work of Kamal Siddique and his colleagues, whose longitudinal studies of

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Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

Dhaka suggest that continued rural migration into the city may have eroded
traditional middle-class signifiers such as higher education, professional em-
ployment and urban culture.49
Among the 150 respondents, a high proportion (42 percent) was young, be-
longing to the 16–25 age group. About 19 percent of the respondents belonged
to the 26–35 age group and some 7 percent were below 15 years of age. The
proportion of the middle-aged group (46–55 years) was about 5 percent while
only 4 percent of the women travelers were of ages between 55 and 75 years.
In terms of literacy about 18 percent were graduates and 3 percent had
post graduate degrees. Over a quarter (27 percent) of the respondents had
education up to higher secondary and another 25 percent had some second-
ary level of education. About 19 percent had primary education and some 7
percent had no formal education or could sign their names only. About half
(50.67 percent) of the respondents were married and 45.33 percent were un-
married. Some 2.67 percent of respondents were widows and 1.33 percent
were divorced.
Respondents’ expenditure ranged between 10,000 to over 50,000 taka per
month. The proportion of monthly expenditure for 24 percent of respondents
was less than 10,000–20,000 taka followed by 34 percent spending 20,000–
30,000 taka per month. Nearly a fifth of respondents, 19 percent of house-
holds, indicate they spend 30,000–40,000 taka and 10 percent spend up to
50,000 taka per month. Monthly expenditure exceeding 50,000 taka was noted
for 12 percent of respondents.
Responses to the survey indicate that while many middle-class women
would prefer to travel by bus for its low fare and speed, only about 1 percent
use the bus as their main mode of transport. The majority of women use the
rickshaw, either on its own or in combination with other forms of transport.
Thus, the main mode of transport for short-distance travel is still the rickshaw
(even for a walking distance). About 52 percent of the study population said
the rickshaw is their main mode of transport and about 33 percent used a
combination of rickshaw and bus as their main mode of transport. The auto
rickshaw (known as CNG) is used by 3 percent of respondents while 10 per-
cent use both CNG and cycle rickshaw as their main travel mode. Only 2 per-
cent use a private car.
Women in the city make trips for different purposes although most trips are
classified by a single main purpose; for example, travelling to one’s workplace,
to an educational institution, or to a healthcare center. As shown in Table 2,
22 percent of all trips by rickshaw were undertaken for attending educational
institutions. For the remaining women, the breakdown is as follows: some 18
percent of women use rickshaws to travel for social visits; 15 percent for ac-
companying children to schools; about 14 percent for household shopping;
11 percent for recreation or entertainment; and 11 percent for going to their
place of work.

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Table 2: Respondents’ purpose for travel

North Dhaka City South Dhaka City
Corporation Corporation Total
Types of Purpose Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage
Going to place of 17 9.14 21 13.29 38 11.05
work
Attending 30 16.13 46 29.11 76 22.10
educational
institution
Accompanying 31 16.67 22 13.92 53 15.41
children to school
Household shopping 30 16.13 18 11.39 48 13.95
Social visit 41 22.04 21 13.29 62 18.02
Visiting doctor, 18 9.68 10 6.33 28 8.14
health center or
hospital
For recreation or 19 10.22 20 12.67 39 11.33
entertainment
Total 186* 100 158 100 344* 100
Source: Field survey, December 2012; *multiple responses recorded

There is no road or lane where rickshaws are not found in Dhaka. Survey find-
ings reveal that 27 percent use a rickshaw for its door-to-door facility, while
23 percent of respondents use a rickshaw for its easy availability within their
area of residence. The low cost of rickshaw travel over other vehicles for short
distances was the reason given by 20 percent of respondents. A further 17 per-
cent use rickshaws because they are suitable for riding in a narrow street or
lane. Thirteen percent, mostly educated or student respondents, chose rick-
shaws because they were environmentally friendly and comfortable vehicles.
Rickshaws are used mainly for short-distance trips where speed is not a
significant factor. The present survey found that 49 percent or respondents
travel for 1–3 km by rickshaw while 23 percent use rickshaws for distances of
less than 1 km. A fifth of women surveyed (20 percent) travel 3–6 km while a
very small number, only 1 percent travel 12–15 km. However, these trips are
influenced more by the road and daily weather conditions than the distance.
As for the frequency of daily rickshaw trips, 59 percent of respondents use
rickshaws two to three times per day, while 27 percent utilize the vehicles
three to five times, 9 percent ride only once a day and 5 percent of respon-
dents travel by rickshaw more than five to seven times a day. No respondents
reported using rickshaws more than seven times a day. The following narra-
tive, from an interview with Rahela Begum (a 42-year-old housewife), illus-
trates how respondents typically use a rickshaw for multiple trips during one
day: “I accompany my daughter to her school by a rickshaw and take another

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Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

rickshaw from her school to do daily kitchen market; I take another rickshaw
to come back home from the market. After cooking lunch for the family I shall
go to pick up my daughter from her school by a rickshaw; I make about six
to eight trips by rickshaw per day.” As most rickshaw trips are over short dis-
tances, only very rarely will it take more than 90 minutes to reach a particular
destination. This study noted that 40 percent of women spend 15–30 minutes
on a single rickshaw ride. Twenty-eight percent may spend 30–45 minutes on
a single trip, while the longest travel time spent was 90 minutes. Only 5 per-
cent of respondents travel for 75 to 90 minutes a day on rickshaw. However,
the time spent depends on distance to destination, road congestion, and the
time of day.
Expenditure on rickshaw travel varied among respondents because they
live in different areas of the city and have different reasons for travel. Other
factors relate to demand by other travelers (potential sharing of costs) and the
time of the journey. The study findings suggest that only 3 percent of the re-
spondents spend less than 20 taka per day while a little over 25 percent spend
20–40 taka per day. A more significant amount, 60–80 taka per day, is spent by
22 percent of respondents, while 13 percent spend 80–100 taka per day (see
Table 3). Overall, the average daily expenditure by women travelers is about
15 taka. However, the expenditure increases in unusual circumstances such
as rough weather or when traffic is disrupted in the city.

Table 3: Daily expenditure on rickshaws

Amount (in taka) Number Percentage
Less Than 20 taka 5 3.33
20–40 taka 38 25.33
40–60 taka 33 22.00
60–80 taka 16 10.67
80–100 taka 20 13.33
100–120 taka 19 12.67
120–140 taka 14 9.34
140–160 taka 5 3.33
More than 200 taka 0 0
Total 150 100
Source: Field survey, December 2012

Rickshaws are generally available at all times in most roads except the major
arterial roads of the city. Peak hour of rickshaw demand is from 6 a.m. to 10
a.m. and off-peak times are after 12 p.m. However, the traveler’s purpose and
travel time are important factors that contribute to peak and off-peak demand.
About 20–26 percent of the respondents make rickshaw journeys between
6 a.m. and 10 a.m. while 19 percent make their journeys between 4 p.m. and

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 Gendered Experiences of Mobility

6 p.m. The off-peak hour for women starts from about 7 p.m. onwards when
they remain busy with household work or rest. Farhana Sultana, a banker who
lives about 15 kilometers away from her office, provides us with a glimpse of
the importance of the rickshaw to women travelers.
Sultana uses a combination of vehicles to go to her office. She rides a rick-
shaw to connect to the office bus and comes back in the same manner, spend-
ing 30 minutes on the journey. Sultana observes, “On a strike day when office
bus does not operate and other buses are scarce, rickshaw is the main trans-
port for me to go to office although it takes a long time and [I] have to pay
more fare for travelling.”

The Respondents’ Perceptions of Rickshaw Travel

Most of the respondents prefer the rickshaw because it is the only mode of
transport that can be used for door-to-door service, it is always available and
has an affordable fare for short distances for middle-class families. Some re-
spondents also perceive the rickshaw as a comfortable and environmentally
friendly vehicle, which can give riders privacy, safety and accessibility in nar-
row lanes (see Table 4). It is an important vehicle for making journeys from
the doorstep regardless of possible adverse conditions, including rainy days,
poor road conditions or political strikes.

Table 4: Reasons for using rickshaws as main transport (multiple responses)

Types of reason Number Percentage
Low fare (for short distance) 67 20.49
Environment friendly 41 12.54
Comfortable 40 12.23
Safe 17 5.20
Maintain privacy 6 1.83
Always available 75 22.94
Takes less time to reach the destination 27 8.26
(in some areas)
Easily accessible to narrow lanes 54 16.51
Total 327 100
Source: Field survey, December 2012

Although respondents to our survey indicated their reliance on the rickshaw,

they also expressed concerns about using these vehicles for their daily mo-
bility. Our study found that 29 percent of respondents felt that travelling in a
rickshaw is not safe at all times. Additionally, 24 percent of respondents said
that it is a very risky form of transport on isolated roads and 13 percent of

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Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

women are scared about potential accidents. Other concerns about rickshaw
travel came from 3 percent of respondents who said there is less space for
families; 7 percent said that rickshaws are not accessible on major roads; and
4 percent of respondents said the rickshaw fare is high compared to other mo-
torized vehicles such as buses.
According to the respondents their travel pattern by rickshaw varies with
the season and may be affected by seasonal weather patterns: 6 percent of
respondents indicated that rickshaw travel was not suitable in seasonally ad-
verse weather conditions. Among the respondents 30 percent of women travel
more by rickshaw in spring (February to April) and 16 percent travel more in
autumn (August to October) as the nicer weather is a factor. However, there is
not much variation in rickshaw travel in summer (April to June), the monsoon
season (June to August), in foggy weather (October to December) or in the
winter (December to February) season due to limited choice of transport and
the necessities of life.
Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country and consequently rickshaw travel-
ers may face a range of adverse weather conditions in different seasons. This
study noted that 59 percent of women faced various kinds of problems using
rickshaws during extreme rain, storms, or flooding. During these periods 33
percent of respondents use other transport such as auto rickshaws, 21 percent
use buses, 20 percent avoid going out other than for emergencies, 4 percent
walk and only 5 percent use a private car. To mitigate the problems the re-
spondents carry umbrellas and use synthetic clothing and waterproof shoes
to avoid the dirt and water associated with travelling in a rickshaw. During
these periods, the cost of travel escalates and respondents report that they
have to bear these extra costs. The average extra expense is about 500 taka
per month but some women may pay up to an extra 1,000 taka per month.
Women travelers also remain anxious about their personal security and are
concerned about falling victim to different types of crimes and accidents
while riding a rickshaw. They may be fearful of muggings and feel unsafe on
lonely roads, particularly after dark. They also feel insecure in rough roads
with pot holes that may cause accidents or injuries from falling. Sometimes,
though very rarely, the rickshaw puller himself can abuse or assault a woman
passenger.

Conclusion

As our study shows, middle-class women in Dhaka City are reliant on the rick-
shaw for their daily mobility. Thus, government action to ban or restrict rick-
shaw travel on major arterial roads in the city area also has a major impact on
women travelers. The perception of the study population in our survey reveals
that the respondents agree that the low speed of the rickshaw may contribute

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 Gendered Experiences of Mobility

to traffic congestion in the fast-moving motorized roads. However, the study

also noted that 56 percent of the respondents do not support the banning of
rickshaws from the main roads. The analysis is complicated by a further 44
percent of respondents who support withdrawal of rickshaws from the main
roads because of the added dangers of rickshaw rides along main roads with
fast-moving motorized transport. The chances of accidents increase when
the rickshaw pullers are new to the city. These respondents would prefer a
separate rickshaw lane at some major crossings so that the riders do not have
to change rickshaws to reach their destination on the other side of the main
roads.
When asked how a total ban on rickshaws in the city would affect middle-
class women, a large majority of the respondents agreed that “it will be disas-
trous and impossible to live without rickshaws in the city:” the rickshaw is the
main vehicle for women’s daily mobility and the effect of the ban will be felt
in every sector of life. The travel cost will be high and the frequency of travel
will be replaced by longer waiting periods. Orna, a student at Dhaka Univer-
sity, illustrates many women’s concerns in her response: “It is impossible to
move in the city without rickshaw. Many like me who not only study but are
also involved in outdoor activities totally depend on rickshaw. Two or three of
us share the fare for going out to save money. The rickshaw ban has seriously
affected us as we have to break our journey in different crossings and change
rickshaw and pay extra fare.”
Orna’s observation supports the general findings of our study. The rick-
shaw still appears to be the prime mode of transport for middle-income
families and women in particular. The increasing economic pressure and ne-
cessities of life has brought increasing number of middle-class women out of
their homes and the proportion of working women has also increased sub-
stantially over the years—all of these women are heavily dependent on all
kinds of transport, but especially the rickshaw. Although public and private
buses have emerged as the cheapest mode of transport in Dhaka, rickshaws
are the most popular mode of transport and dominate the streets, particularly
the lanes and bi-lanes. Transport choices vary significantly depending on lo-
cation and other socio-demographic factors. Research into these choices, and
travel behavior in general, needs to continue to expand our understanding of
how urban mobility affects women in Bangladesh. While the rickshaw ban
has many supporters, it also has serious implications on women’s mobility in
a fast-growing mega-city like Dhaka.

Shahnaz Huq-Hussain is Professor of Geography and Environment at the

University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She received her M.Sc. from the London
School of Economics and Political Science and her Ph.D. from the School of

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Shahnaz Huq-Hussain and Umme Habiba

Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, U.K. Her research
interests include gender, migration, poverty, and environment and disaster
studies. She has over thirty-eight publications in local and international jour-
nals (including book chapters) and has written two books and contributed
to three atlases. Address: Department of Geography and Environment, Kazi
Motahar Hossain Bhaban, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
E-mail: shuqhussain@gmail.com
Umme Habiba is a research officer at the Disaster Research Training and
Management Centre, University of Dhaka. She received her M.S. in Geog-
raphy from the University of Dhaka and is currently a Ph.D. researcher at
the Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka. She is
the co-author of “Gender and Food Security in Bangladesh: A Geographical
Perspective,” Oriental Geographer, 53, Nos. 1&2 (2009): 41–54. Address:
Disaster Research Training and Management Centre, Room No. 241, Depart-
ment of Geography and Environment, Kazi Motahar Hossain Bhaban, Univer-
sity of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. E-mail: uhabiba2006@yahoo.com

Notes
1. The authors deeply appreciate the editorial corrections done by Dr Deborah
Breen, Boston University.
2. Md. Shafiqul Mannan and Md. Masud Karim, “Current State of the Mobility of
the Urban Dwellers in Greater Dhaka” (paper presented at the annual confer-
ence and exhibition of Air and Waste Management Association, Orlando, Florida,
U.S.A., June 24–28, 2001).
3. Salma Choudry Zohir, “Integrating Gender into World Bank Financed Transport
Programs: Case Study of Bangladesh,” Report prepared for Dhaka Urban Trans-
port Project (2003): http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/ssatp/Resources/HTML/
Gender-RG/Source%20%20documents/case%20studies/ICNET%20Case%20Stu
dies%20for%20WB/CSICN5%20BangladeshThirdRural.pdf (last accessed on 26
October 2013; this applies to all following website references).
4. Tim Cresswell, “Mobilities I: Catching Up,” Progress in Human Geography 35 no. 4
(2010): 550–558, esp. 552.
5. Cresswell, “Mobilities I,” 551.
6. Ibid., 552.
7. Salma Islam, “Middle-income Women in Dhaka City: Gender and Activity Space,”
Durham theses, Durham University (1995), 7. Available at Durham E-Theses On-
line: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5235/
8. Astrid Marxen, “Negotiating Gender: Changing Lifestyles of Female Students
in Dhaka,” University of Bielefeld, Germany (n.d.): www.uni bielefeld.de/tdrc/
downloads/lefo_marxen.pdf

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 Gendered Experiences of Mobility

9. Mohammad Niaz Asadullah and Zaki Wahhaj, “Going to School in Purdah: Fe-
male Schooling, Mobility Norms and Madrasas in Bangladesh,” BRAC Research
and Evaluation Division, Research Monograph Series No. 57, Dhaka, Bangladesh
(January 2013): http://research.brac.net/srch_dtls.php?tid=747
10. Pratima Paul-Majumder and Masuda Khatoon Shefali, Examining Gender Dimen-
sions of Transportation in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (Dhaka: Nari Uddug Kendra,
1997), cited in Deike Peter, “Gender and Transport in Less Developed Countries:
A Background Paper in Preparation for CSD-9,” Gender Perspectives for Earth
Summit 2002: Energy, Transport, Information for Decision-making, Berlin, Ger-
many (January 2001).
11. Kamal Siddique et al., Social Formation in Dhaka, 1985-2005 A Longitudinal
Study of Society in a Third-world Megacity (Surrey, England: Ashgate Publishing,
2010), 19.
12. Islam, “Middle-income Women in Dhaka City,” 10.
13. Siddique et al., Social Formation in Dhaka, 11, 3.
14. Islam, “Middle-income Women in Dhaka City,” 31.
15. Ibid., 30; and Rangalal Sen, “The Changing Middle Class of Dhaka City and Its
Impact on Bangladesh Society” (paper presented to the Asiatic Society of Bangla-
desh, June, 2008).
16. Thana is the Urdu word for police station; it generally refers to the administrative
area controlled by a local police station.
17. Siddique et al., Social Formation in Dhaka, 11.
18. Ibid., 64.
19. Ibid., 80.
20. Mannan and Karim, “Current State of the Mobility of the Urban Dwellers in
Greater Dhaka.”
21. World Bank, “Bangladesh: Dhaka Urban Transport Project. Mid-term Review
Mission”: http://go.worldbank.org/IIUFI3L6A0
22. Siddique et al., Social Formation in Dhaka, 3.
23. Ibid., 11.
24. Zohir, “Integrating Gender,” 3.
25. Ibid., 6.
26. Ibid., 10.
27. A.T.M. Zahurul Huq, “Transport Planning for Dhaka City”, in DHAKA Past Pres-
ent and Future, ed. Sharif Uddin Ahmed (Dhaka: The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh,
1991), 464–481.
28. Zohir, “Integrating Gender,” 3.
29. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh (Government
of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 2011).
30. Khaled Mahmud, Khonika Gope and Syed Mustafizur Rahman Chowdhury,
“Possible Causes and solutions of Traffic Jam and Their Impact on the Economy
of Dhaka City,” Journal of Management and Sustainability 2 no. 2 (2012): 112–
135.
31. Mahmud, Gope and Chowdhury, “Possible Causes,” 30.
32. Maruf Hossain and Yusak O. Susilo, “The Exploration of Rickshaw Usage Pattern
and Its Social Impact in Dhaka City, Bangladesh,” Transportation Research Record
2239 (2011), 74–83.

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33. Rob Gallagher, The Rickshaws of Bangladesh (Dhaka: The University Press, 1992),
25.
34. Salim Rashid, “The Rickshaw Industry of Dhaka,” Preliminary Findings, Research
Report 51 (Dhaka: Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, June 1986), 2.
35. National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh: www.banglapedia.org
36. A.T.M. Nurul Amin, “Dhaka’s Informal Sector and Its Role in the Transforma-
tion of Bangladesh Economy”, in DHAKA Past Present and Future, ed. Sharif Uddin
Ahmed (Dhaka: The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, 1991), 446–470, here: 455.
37. Ziaush Shams M.M. Huq and Touhida Rashid, “Rickshaw as a Viable Mode of
Transport in Dhaka City” Oriental Geographer 48 (2004), 58–72, here: 61.
38. Mannan and Karim, “Current State of the Mobility of the Urban Dwellers in
Greater Dhaka,” 2.
39. Sayeda Rabeya Sultana, “Accompanying Children to Schools of Dhaka by Parents
and Total Time Spent: A Behavioral Geographical Analysis” (unpublished M.S.
diss., Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka, 1996).
40. Mashuda Khatum Shefali, “Study on Gender Dimension in Dhaka Urban Trans-
port Project,” Report submitted to the World Bank (2000), http://siteresources
.worldbank.org/INTGENDERTRANSPORT/Resources/bangurbantransport.pdf
41. Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, “Dhaka Transport Coordi-
nation Authority (DTCA),” http://www.dtcb.gov.bd
42. Zohir, “Integrating Gender,” 3.
43. Nasrin Khandoker and Jonathan Rouse, “Urban Development and Livelihoods of
the Poor in Dhaka” (paper presented at the 30th Water Engineering and Develop-
ment Center International Conference, Vientiane, Lao PDR, October 2004), www
.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/PDF/Outputs/Urbanisation/R8176-Dhaka.pdf
44. Kenneth Roberts, The Fragmentary Class Structure (London: Heinemann Educa-
tional, 1977).
45. Nicholas Abercrombie and John Urry, Capital, Labour and the Middle Classes:
Controversies in Sociology (London: G. Allen and Unwin, 1983), 50.
46. Rajat Sanyal, “Protiva and Shikha: Two Faces of Literary Culture of Early 20th
Century Dhaka,” in The Freedom of Intellect Movement (Buddhir Mukti Andolan)
in Bengali Muslim Thought, 1926–1938, ed. Shahadat H. Khan (Lewiston, New
York: The Edward Mellen Press, 2007), 287–304.
47. Ibid.
48. Homi Kharas, “The Emerging Middle Class in Developing Countries,” OECD
Working Paper No. 285, OECD Development Centre, January 2010: 7.
49. Siddique et al., Social Formation in Dhaka, 11.

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