Power Distance, Women and Political Participation in Bangladesh: Union Parishad Perspective

Public Affairs and Governance
Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021, pp. 42-61 IndianJournals.com

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DOI: 10.5958/2321-2136.2021.00003.5
Power Distance, Women and Political

Participation in Bangladesh: Union Parishad
Perspective
Nusrat Jahan Nipu
Received: 27-11-2020; Accepted: 11-03-2021
ABSTRACT
This paper tries to analyze the situation of women’s political participation
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with respect to power distance orientation from the Union parishad

perspective which is considered as the most popular democratic local
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government institution at the grassroots level in Bangladesh. The deep-

rooted social realities of women’s subordination and dependence on male
counterparts and the acceptance of women members that power will be
unequally distributed between male and female members is found to be the
main catalyst for the invisibility of women in public space and political
arena. The current study has made deliberate attempts to assess the extent
of power distance orientation among the women members (reserved seats)
of union parishads of Bangladesh and to explore the impact of power
distance orientation of women on decision making process and mainstream
activities of Union Parishad. This study is qualitative research though
some mechanisms of quantitative methods have been employed in limited
form to easily analyze the data. Total 21 women (reserved seat) members of
nine Union parishads of Southern Bangladesh have been selected as
respondents.
Keywords: Power distance, Women, Patriarchy, Political participation,
Decision making, Union parishad
INTRODUCTION
The plethora of male domination over female counterparts in all spheres of
life is as old as human civilization. In different writings of ancient philosophers
Lecturer, Department of Public Administration, University of Barisal, Kornokathi, Barisal-
8254, Bangladesh
Email id: nusratjaman11@gmail.com
42 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

Power Distance, Women and Political Participation in Bangladesh
women were seen as second class citizen of the state. Even Aristotle who
was considered as one of the greatest intellectual figures of western history
also held deep-seated misogynistic philosophical views believing that “the
relation of male to female is by nature a relation of superior to inferior and
ruler to ruled” (Collette, 2018). He also believed that women were naturally
inferior to men, physically, spiritually, and intellectually and considered women
as human without soul (Collette, 2018). Unfortunately, with the passage of
time, these ill conceptions regarding women have not been demolished rather
adorned with different new names like patriarchy, gender discrimination,
gender segregation etc. In reality, the main theme of women’s subjection to
men or men’s superiority over women has remained the same as past. A
great gender disparity between male and female with respect to their
representation in politics, public service, and in almost every sector of public

life has been noticed in most Third World countries (United Nations, 1989;
UNDP, 1995) cited in (Pandey, 2013). Especially in the Indian sub-continent

region which includes India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the social institutions
and structures themselves prescribe different restrictive codes of behavior
for women and restrict their participation in social, economic and political
arena by setting social arrangement of dependence on men (Kabeer, 1988).
Being born and brought up in such social arrangements and power structures,
women themselves accept and expect that they will be dominated by the
male and power and authority will be distributed unequally between male
and female. The power distance orientation, a cultural dimension proposed
by Geert Hofstede to describe national culture, is closely connected with the
social acceptance of unequal distribution of power, prestige and honor
(Hofstede et al., 2010).
Advancing the meaningful participation of women in all spheres of life,
especially ensuring women’s participation in national, local and community
leadership roles has become a crucial issue for global development policy
(Pepera, 2018). While creating state policies and governance based on gender
fairness, women’s equal participation in the political arena has become an
urgent and significant concern (USAID and Kemitraan Partnership, 2014)
As a signatory of several UN conventions, global development policies and
initiatives like Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) etc., the Government of Bangladesh has initiated
Public Affairs and Governance 43

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
numerous plans and programs for ensuring women’s full and effective
participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-
making in political, economic and public life. All the post-independence
governments of Bangladesh have given special attention on ensuring full and
effective participation of women in local and national level politics through
special arrangements such as reserving 50 seats for women in the national
parliament, initiating reserved seats in local government institutions and also
initiating 33% reservation of seats in party politics through Representation of
the People (Amendment) Order Act 2009 (IDEA, Inter-Parliamentary Union
and Stockholm University, 2020). But these institutional and legal arrangements
are seemed to be able to bring only a quantitative shift rather than a qualitative
one in terms of active political participation of women in Bangladesh. Evidence
show that it is the societal and cultural structure of Bangladesh, not the legal
and institutional arrangements, is actively working against the equal access
of women to power through promoting stereotyped roles of women and men

and making women believe that their role is subordinate to men’s (Pandey,
2013). This stereotyped imposition offered by the societal structure causes
low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence (Pandey, 2013) and makes them
believe that politics in Bangladesh is a system created by the men, for the
men, it is not for them (Nazneen and Tasneem, 2010). Bangladesh, being a
large power distance orientated society (score of 80) (Hofstede et al., 2010)
and exercising unequal power distribution between male and female members
and men’s predominance over women in all aspects, the current study tries
to assess the level of power distance orientation of women in the grassroots
based local government in Bangladesh, i.e. Union Parishad (UP) and attempts
have been made to explore the impact of power distance orientation of women
on the decision making process and mainstream activities of Union Parishad.
Objectives of the Study

The study aims to shed light on the impact of power distance on the political
participation of women in union parishad perspective. Thus the objectives of
this study are-
 To examine the level of power distance orientation among the women
union parishad members (reserved seats) of Bangladesh.
44 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

 To assess the influence of power distance orientation on the participation

of women members in the decision making process and mainstream
activities of union parishad.
An Overview of Women’s Political Participation in Bangladesh: Union

Parishad Perspective
Bangladesh has 64 administrative districts, and below these a tiered system
of local government comprising three levels of rural councils, with a Zila
Parishad at the top, Upazila Parishad as the middle tier and a Union Parishad
at the base as well as single-tiered unitary urban municipalities known as
City Corporation and Pourashava (Pandey, 2013). From the British colonial
period to the independent Bangladesh, there was no provision for women to
be selected or elected in local government bodies prior to 1976 (Rupa and

Karim, 2011). The first reform initiative of incorporating women in local
government bodies was the enactment of Local Government Ordinance in

1976 through initiating two reserved seats for women in Union parishad who
were generally selected through nomination. The most ground breaking reform
initiative was taken in 1996 through the enactment of Local Government
(Union Parishad) Second Amendment Act, 1997 which was provided for the
selection of women members in reserved seats through adult franchise and
the territorial jurisdiction for women (reserved seat) members has been also
demarcated through this act (Pandey, 2013). But despite having reasonably
strong Constitutional, legal and institutional arrangements guaranteeing
women’s right in Bangladesh (UN Women, 2020), an alarming rate of
reduction in the number of female candidates in UP elections have been
noticed over years. Statistics show that the number of female candidates
contesting for reserved seats of Union Parishad in 2003 was decreased to
1,30,000 and 90,000 in the election 2011 accordingly from total 1,80,00
candidates in 1997 UP election (Akter and Nipu, 2018). Karmakar (2006)
stated that around half of the women members elected in 1997 didn’t dare to
compete in the election of 2003 due to their previous bad experiences (Pandey,
2008). Rahman (2019) opined that women members encounter extreme male
domination and the existing structure of present UP system comprising of 3
women reserved seat members and 9 general members and one chairman
who are generally male creates an extremely adverse working environment
for women and the male members often promote male hegemony in the

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
Union parishad. Women are often excluded from the decision making process
and important areas of participation in UP which include infrastructure, budget
decisions, different Standing Committees and Project Committees on UP
(Rahman, 2019).
Mukhopadhyay and Meer (2004) claimed that women members are
symbolically devalued by being placed at the bottom of lists of elected
representatives in the Union Parishad offices and they often face hostility
from male representatives and male chairmen which restrict them from active
participation in mainstream activities. Women members are often viewed as
less legitimate than the general seat members and often called as
backbenchers by the public (Paasilinna, 2016). Pandey (2008) has emphasized
on the influence of patriarchal societal culture on women’s political
participation as one of the major constraints stating that the existing male-
dominated society of Bangladesh is not ready yet to accept women domination
in the process of decision making and offers little space for women to develop
their authority and agency. It results in women’s symbolic representation in
decision making process (Pandey, 2008) and women members (reserved
seats) virtually have no power in the decision making process compared to
the general seat members and are also denied access to mainstream activities
(Islam and Islam, 2012). ADB (2001) in its study added that in most cases
the elected women members are systematically discriminated by male in
both resource allocation and mainstream activities, are verbally and mentally
abused and harassed and are always assigned to some specific development
committees like women and gender issues and excluded from arbitration
committees etc. and the women UP members themselves felt they often
lacked knowledge and information on the overall functions of the UP, their
roles and responsibilities as an elected member, government resources, such
as, allotment and distribution system of relief, food for work, VGD cards, old
age allowances etc. (Gaol and Sattar, 2003). Studies revealed that in
Bangladesh, the chairman holds relatively powerful position and often takes
decisions with a small circle of associates and women members are often
tried to be excluded from the decision making process (Aminuzzaman, 2011);
Mohiuddin and Ahmed (2019). argued that under the existing system,
everything is centralized in the office of the chairman. So the extent of women
participation in decision making and mainstream activities of UP mainly
46 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

depends on the relations with the chair of the UP. Besides, women members
are often harassed or misbehaved by the chairman and other male colleagues,
even the paid employees like secretaries of UP also misbehave with them.
Sometimes, the chairman and other members underestimate the female
members in front of the mass people and office staffs (Rupa and Karim,
2011).
Conceptual and Theoretical Understanding of the Study

Participation is a development approach which generally refers to a voluntary
process by which people, including the disadvantaged (in income, gender,
ethnicity, or education), influence or control the decisions that affect them.
Exercising voice and choice through contributing, influencing, sharing, or
redistributing power and of control, resources, benefits, knowledge, and skills

is the essence of participation (Participation, 2021). Political participation is
a basic concept in political science which refers to the actions of private

citizens seeking to influence or support the public affairs i.e. formulation,
passage and implementation of public policies directly or to influence
governmental decision making. McClosky (1968) defined political participation
as the voluntary activities by which members of a society share in the selection
of rulers and, directly or indirectly, in the formation of public policy” (McClosky,
1968) while Townsend (1969) defined political participation as the process
through which an individual consciously tries to give a particular direction to
the conduct of public affairs, excluding activities of an occupational or
compulsory nature. The human civilization had to wait till the 18th century to
witness the struggle of women to participate in politics in America and some
other European countries while in Asia, Latin America and Africa, it took
another century to witness of the political participation of women (USAID
and Kemitraan Partnership, 2014). From the experiences gathered from the
last two centuries’ struggles of women for ensuring active and meaningful
participation in politics, it is crystal clear that in most of the countries progress
has been very slow and even in some countries it has been regressed (USAID
and Kemitraan Partnership, 2014). Literature provides evidences that there
are multi-dimensional factors inhibiting the active political participation of
women. The UN (2011) stated that women in every part of the world are
largely marginalized from the political arena as a result of discriminatory

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
laws, practices, attitudes and gender stereotypes, low levels of education

etc. In addition, Shvedova (2005) has categorized the factors into three areas:
political, socio-economic, and ideological & psychological (or socio-cultural).
Krikpatrick (1974) cited in (Walby, 1990) suggested four main forms of
constraints holding back women from participating in active politics:
physiological, cultural, role and male conspiracy. Evidences showed that a
large number of scholars have pointed out the psychological or socio-cultural
factors which include patriarchy, gender stereotypes and attitude, tradition
etc. as one of the major constraining women from active and qualitative
participation in political arena in compare with their male counterparts.
Especially in the Indian subcontinent region which includes India, Pakistan
and Bangladesh, women’s exclusion from formal politics is seen as being
part of a historical tradition and is generally considered as the result of

patriarchal ideology which is deep rooted in the societal structures of these
countries. The word patriarchy originated from the Greek word “patriarkhes”
which can be literally translated as “the rule of the father” (Green, 2010;
969). Walby (1990) defines “patriarchy as a system of social structures and
practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women”. So in general
term, patriarchy can be defined as a system where manifestation and
institutionalization of male dominance over women in familial and societal
structure has been established as a social norm (Sultana, 2012) and women
are kept subordinate to men in a number of ways (Bhasin, 2006:3). Walby
(1990) has separated patriarchy in private domain where the area of patriarchy
is the household and public domain including the structures other than
household (USAID and Kemitraan Partnership, 2014). Men as fathers or
husbands who exert direct control over women both in the reproductive process
(biological and social) and the household’s domestic environment and gain
economic-political and social-cultural benefits by suppressing women represent
the patriarchy in private domain (USAID and Kemitraan Partnership, 2014).
On the contrary, public patriarchy allows women to enter the public and
private domains but it always maintains the subordination of women to men
(Walby, 1990). Women in the public domain are exploited at all levels and are
disadvantaged at each institution but are not excluded from any institution.
The patriarchs collectively maintain authority and control over women’s
resources and decide the level of respect they will offer to the women
counterparts (Walby, 1990). Walby (1990) stated that the current trend of
48 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

patriarchy practiced is of a more public kind and opined that women have
entered into the public spheres but are still in a subordinate and inferior position
to their male counterparts. This subordination and inferior position of women
to the men at all levels can be correlated with the concept of Power Distance
orientation proposed by Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede to define national
culture by measuring the level of acceptance of a hierarchy of power and
wealth the individuals constituting the population of an organization, culture
or a nation (Kenton, 2020). Geert Hofstede defined Power distance as the
extent of accepting and expecting the unequal distribution of power by the
less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country
(Hofstede et al., 2010). Hofstede (2001) showed power distance as the
social acceptance of unequal distribution of the power and opined that this
inequality is generally connected with prestige, wealth and power (Bialas

and Gdyni, 2009). This power distance index proposed by Hofstede is
comprised of two dimensions–high power distance and low power distance

orientation based on three survey items used for composing the power distance
index to get index values ranging from about 0 for a small-power-distance
country to about 100 for a large power- distance country. The survey items
were expressing disagreement to boss, subordinate’s perception of the boss’s
actual decision-making style and preference for their boss’s decision-making
style and these items were based on the basic question of how to handle the
fact that people are unequal (Hofstede et al., 2010). The members of the
societies with high power distance accept and desire that power should be
unequally shared (Santilli, 2010) and agree with the notion that it is right and
natural to obtain numerous privileges by the people with higher social position.
Generally, an autocratic management style has been followed where the
managers should make most of the decisions without consulting subordinates
and employees should not disagree with the management decisions. According
to Hofstede (2001), there may still be “…a latent conflict between the
powerful and the powerless, a basic mistrust that may never explode,
but is always present (Hofstede, 2001). In small power distance society, the
subordinates and superiors consider each other as existentially equal and the
hierarchical system is considered just a division of roles, established for
convenience. Subordinates in societies with lower power distance orientation
are less dependent on their boss and can easily approach and contradict their
bosses.

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
So based on the above conceptual and theoretical understandings, the extent

of power and authority exercised by the superiors, the extent of loyalty and
obedience offered by the subordinates to the superiors and the extent of
offering access to information, resources and decision making process by
the superiors to the subordinates can be considered as the parameter for
measuring power distance orientation of the respondents of this study. So the
dependent and independent variables of this study have been set as follows.
Independent Variables Dependent Variables
Power and Authority

Obedience and dependence on Superior
Access to Information Power distance

orientation of an
Access to and control over resources
Individual
Access to decision making process

Voice behaviour and expression
Figure 1: Variables of the study
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This is mainly a qualitative study, but quantitative methods have also been
used in very limited form where data is more available in the form of numbers.
The number of total respondents is 21 and as the current study aims to shed
light on the impact of power distance on the political participation of women
in union parishad perspective, the women members (reserved seat) of Union
parishad are considered as the respondents of this study. A questionnaire
survey on 18 women UP members from six union parishads of six districts of
Barisal division(three respondents from each union parishad) and an in depth
interview of three women members from three union parishads of Pirojpur
district have been conducted for collecting the required data. A purposive
sampling technique has been used to select the respondents and stratified
random sampling has been employed to determine the sample area of this
study. Both primary and secondary sources of data have been gathered to
conduct the study.
50 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Socio-demographic Profile of Respondents
The following part will show a brief description of the socio-demographic
characteristics of the respondents. Based on the research objective, an analysis
of socio-demographic profiles of women members including their age
composition, educational qualification, marital status and dependency for
livelihood will help to develop a comprehensive idea about them. The socio
demographic profiles of women members will also help us to examine the
extent of the influence of power distance orientation on participating in decision
making and mainstream activities of Union Parishad.
Age Composition Age Limit Number Percentage

25-35 04 19
36-45 14 66
46-55 02 10
56-Above 01 5
Education Level Level of Education Number Percentage
Illiterate/Self-educated 0 0
Primary (1-5) 5 23
Secondary (6-10) 2 10
S.S.C 9 43
H.S.C 4 19
Marital Status Status Number Percentage
Unmarried 0 0
Married 19 91
Widow 3 9
Dependency for Livelihood Status Number Percentage
Self–Dependent 8 38
On husband 13 62
Power Distance Orientation and its Impact on Political Participation

of Women
Authority and power
Authority and power is an important indicator for power distance orientation.
People with high power distance orientation are more likely to expect leaders

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
to have more authority (Naser, 2015). The power of the organizations is

centralized in few hands as much as possible and the hierarchical systems
from superior to subordinates are totally based on existentially inequality where
superiors and subordinates consider each other as existentially unequal
(Hofstede et al., 2010). Literature showed evidence that in most high power
distance organizations, managers exercise extensive power over their
subordinates. In the study, an unequal and centralized power structure has
been seen in the context of the union parishad system of Bangladesh.
According to the Local Government (Union Parishad) Act, 2009, the Chairman
is given the sole authority of decision making, directing and distributing tasks
among the members, monitoring and evaluating the performance of the
subordinate members and staffs etc. In our study, we have found that in all
of the sample union parishads, chairmen exercise predominance over UP
members, staffs and others in almost every case. A strong hierarchical

structure has been seen in every union parishad where the chairman holds
the top position of the pyramid and due to the patriarchal nature of our social
structure, the women members remain on the lower positions of the power
structure. According to the Local Government (Union Parishad) Act, 2009
and other laws relating to the functioning of UP, there is no difference between
the general members and women reserved seat members in terms of roles
and responsibilities and power except the area of constituency of the members
(Pandey, 2013), but in reality, an unequal and biased preferential treatment
of chairmen towards general members who are mainly male has been noticed
by more than half of the total respondents (62%). Data gathered in the study
provides evidence that this unequal treatment towards women members
occurs mainly in case of project and resource distribution process, enrollment
of women in different committees and ignoring women in the decision making
process. But women members reported that in most of the cases (86%) they
remained silent because they are very well known that whoever holds the
power is right and the powerful should have privileges and due to existing
strong hierarchical system prevailing in UP system, women members dare
not to raise their voice in terms of their given power and authority.
Obedience and dependence to the superiors

In large power distance institutions, the subordinates are more loyal and
obedient to the superior and are willing to comply with the instructions given
52 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

to them from the superior without challenging or questioning them (Naser,

2015). Hofstede et al. (2010) has conceptualized it as right where might
prevails over rights. Here Subordinates expect to be told what to do without
questioning or disagreement. They opined that in large power distance society,
subordinates are unlikely to approach and contradict their bosses directly. In
the context of union parishad of Bangladesh, we have found strong evidence
that the women up members generally tend to be obedient to the directives
of the up chairman and are less willing to challenge the decisions taken by
the up chairman and avoid direct confrontation with them even in case of
unequal and biased treatment. A tendency of maintaining a good relationship
with the superiors through not expressing any disagreement even in cases
where their personal rights have been violated is seen among the subordinates.
The respondents of the study were asked whether they are able to take
necessary steps in their constituency in case of any problem arises or any
decision has to be given. Most of the respondents (86%) admitted that they
do not take any decision or step on important issues without consulting with
the chairman and the respective general seat member of that particular
constituency and most often do their assigned job in accordance with the
instructions prescribed by the chairman. Though the existing laws ensure the
autonomy of women members in taking decisions and necessary steps where
necessary and about 87% respondents claimed that they have adequate
knowledge about their power, duties and responsibilities assigned upon them
as a representative, the women members prefer to rely upon the chairman
and general seat members. The current study found that about 72%
respondents feel more secure and comfortable if they consult with the
chairman and general member of respective area before taking any decision
or step. Even if they take any decision without consulting with the chairman,
they immediately inform the taken steps to the chairman. Besides, about half
of the respondents (48%) are not well-informed about the subject matter of
the given document and files before giving sign on them on regular basis.
About 48% of the total respondents are either informed on irregular basis
(19%) or informed never (29%) before taking signatures on any paper. It
was found that in most cases information is provided when the members
personally try to know about the subject matter of the paper. When asked,
most of the respondents admitted that it is not necessary to know about the
subject matter of the provided documents as their consent is not given much

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
priority by the UP Chairman and other members. In unequal societies like

ours, women members feel that they should not have aspirations beyond
their rank and are subject to the will of more powerful superiors like the
chairman of Union Parishad. So in the context of Bangladesh, a strong loyal
and obedient behavior based on full dependence on superior has been seen
among the women members of Union parishad which indicates that there
exists a high power distance orientation among the women up members of
Bangladesh.
Access to information
Bialas and Gdyni (2009) opined that power distance orientation is closely
linked with the way and quantity of information is transferred between the
superior and subordinates. Thus, access to information of subordinates can

be considered as an important indicator of power distance. In the society
with low power distance, communication is more open and access to

information is allowed to the subordinates. On the other hand, in high power

distance, superiors are not interested to share information with the subordinates
and a rigid internal communication system has been noticed in the organization
In our study, it is found that the UP chairman and general members are found
to be quite indifferent in ensuring access to information to the women members
in almost half of the cases. About half of the respondents (48%) claimed that
they don’t get notification on holding meetings, task and resource allocation
etc. on regular basis. Sometimes, they get notices at the eleventh hour when
it becomes difficult to manage the time gap as women have to manage the
dual role of homemaker and UP member. For this information gap, woman
members often miss important meetings and are deprived of taking part in
decision making process. Sometimes, they cannot reach their voices for
meeting the demands and aspirations of their locality due to lack of access to
information. Earlier mentioned data provided evidences that spontaneous
information sharing is hardly seen in most of the union parishads of the sample
area. Women members have also claimed to be often excluded from important
budgetary discussions and also big development projects of Union parishad.
Even a large number of respondents (45%) don’t even know the provision of
reserving 30% of total resources sanctioned by the government to the Union
parishad to be distributed among the reserved seat members for contributing
in their respective constituency.
54 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

Access to and control over resources

Access to and control over resources refer to the opportunity to make use of
resources (tangible or intangible assets essential for translating access into
choice and change) and the ability to choose or define how and for what
purpose it will be used (VeneKlasen, 2013).
The existing laws has prescribed reservation of one-third project development
committees to be chaired by the women members, reservation of one-third
standing committees to be chaired by women members, reservation of 30%
of the total resources provided by the center to be distributed among women
members to ensure access to and control over resources of women members
of the union parishad so that they can participate actively in the mainstream
activities. The study found that the government mandate of incorporating

women in one third of the total project development committees (29%), project
implementation committees (37%) and standing committees (42%) have

ensured almost all of the sample union parishads. But data provided evidence
that provision for reservation of 30% of the total resources allocated to the
UP by the center to be distributed to women members of that Union Parishad
has not been maintained properly in almost 95% cases. Women members
are claimed to be excluded from big development projects and resources are
mainly seen distributed mutually among the general members of the union
parishad except providing them some mere VGD/VGF and old allowances
cards.
Access to decision making process

Hofstede (2002) stated in his study that in the high power distance or
hierarchical organizations, decisions are taken at the top without the
subordinates’ participation, precise instructions about how to execute the
decisions have been given to the subordinates and subordinates execute the
decisions by following the hierarchy (Jamil, 2002). As in high power distance
society, inequality is tolerated and considered natural; the subordinates easily
accept and obey the instructions given to them by the superiors (Sagie and
Aycan, 2003). This inequality belief often also creates fear of punishment if
employees question, challenge, or disagree with their management’s decisions
(Sagie and Aycan, 2003). So it is evident that access to the decision making

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
process is an important indicator for measuring power distance orientation.

The acquired data provides much evidence that the opinion and suggestions
provided by the women members are often disregarded in the decision making
process. By showing various causes and issues, their opinions are often
overlooked. In case of any local. issue, the views of the respective general
members are considered with utmost importance. About 28% of the total
respondents of the current study claimed that their opinion is always
overlooked by other members including the chairman where no one claims
that they always get importance from others. Only 24% respondents admitted
that their opinions are given importance now and then. But in case of some
particular issues related to gender and violence against women, sanitation
etc., the opinions and suggestions given by the women members are given
importance in about 48% cases.

Women members of Union parishads generally represent the needs and
demands as well as the expectation and aspiration of three wards at a time.

So the opinion and demands expressed by them should be given more attention
than others. Relevant laws/rules provide that decision-making in the Union
Parishad will stem from what the majority supports. So it leaves no doubt
that in terms of numerical strength women members are three times weaker
than the other (male) members. A tendency of excluding women members
from the decision making process by holding meetings on odd times and
continuously overlooking and discouraging women members by the general
seat members including the chairman has been also noticed in this study. So
it is apparent that the women members can do a little to influence the decisions
taken in the Union Parishad.
Voice behavior and expression

Voice can be defined as an unrestricted communication of suggestions, ideas,
concerns, and opinions about issues at work with the aim to improve
organizational functioning (Roomer, 2018). Morrison (2011) identified three
elements of voice behavior. It includes conveying a message to the receiver
by a verbal expression, making a conscious choice whether or not to convey
the message and demonstrating “challenging, but constructive opinions,
concerns, or ideas about work-related issues” through the message (Roomer,
2018). Studies show that in such societies, subordinates are also found to be
56 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

reluctant to involve themselves in decisions and this reluctance offers superiors

unlimited power over subordinates (Khatri, 2009). It is seen that when power
distance is large, the individual will be less likely to speak up. In the context
of the sample union parishads of the study, we have found a weak voice
behavior and expression from the women UP members. It was found that in
the official meetings of Union parishad, a noteworthy portion of the
respondents (19%) have been totally passive and inactive in expressing their
opinions and more than half of the respondents (57%) took part in the decision
making process by giving their opinion when they are asked to do so. Only 5
among the total 21 respondents (24%) of this study are found to be able to
boldly express their opinion and raise voice in the decision making process of
UP meetings. Women members (about 71%) are also found to avoid
questioning or direct confrontation with the male counterparts including the

chairman in case of biased and unfair treatment towards them due to fear of
being humiliated and suffered in the long run. Only 29% women members
have been engaged in direct confrontation with the chairman and male
colleagues for being highly discriminated against.
CONCLUSION
The current study showed evidence that due to the existing legal and policy
framework of Bangladesh, women have entered the public domain but they
face extreme male domination in every aspect of their public presence. The
existing deep rooted patriarchal society of Bangladesh prescribes a political
system which constructs the hierarchy of gender relations where men are
privileged and women are always inferior to men. This highly male dominated
political system results in unequal and preferential power distribution between
male and female members consequently excluding women from access to
decision making process, information, resources and bound women to be
loyal, obedient and dependent on the male members in the political institutions
placing themselves as inferior and suppressed. But this tolerance and
acceptance of unequal power distribution between male and female in grass
root level political institutions leads to a weaker local government system
consisting of a number of demoralized and suppressed women representatives
with poor voice and inefficacious participation in decision making process
and mainstream activities of local government in Bangladesh. Thus, a

Nusrat Jahan Nipu
combination of governmental and social interventions to ensure a gender

balanced political spheres as well as increasing women’s consciousness of
their political rights through capacity building is necessarily essential to ensure
active political participation of women in Bangladesh.
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How to cite this article: Nipu NJ, 2021. Power Distance, Women and Political
Participation in Bangladesh: Union Parishad Perspective. Public Affairs and
Governance, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 42-61.

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Public Affairs and Governance

Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021, pp. 42-61 IndianJournals.com

Power Distance, Women and Political

with respect to power distance orientation from the Union parishad

government institution at the grassroots level in Bangladesh. The deep-

42 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

representation in politics, public service, and in almost every sector of public

UNDP, 1995) cited in (Pandey, 2013). Especially in the Indian sub-continent

Public Affairs and Governance 43

of women to power through promoting stereotyped roles of women and men

Objectives of the Study

44 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

 To assess the influence of power distance orientation on the participation

An Overview of Women’s Political Participation in Bangladesh: Union

be selected or elected in local government bodies prior to 1976 (Rupa and

government bodies was the enactment of Local Government Ordinance in

Public Affairs and Governance 45

46 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

Conceptual and Theoretical Understanding of the Study

redistributing power and of control, resources, benefits, knowledge, and skills

a basic concept in political science which refers to the actions of private

Public Affairs and Governance 47

laws, practices, attitudes and gender stereotypes, low levels of education

part of a historical tradition and is generally considered as the result of

48 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

inequality is generally connected with prestige, wealth and power (Bialas

comprised of two dimensions–high power distance and low power distance

Public Affairs and Governance 49

So based on the above conceptual and theoretical understandings, the extent

Independent Variables Dependent Variables

Power and Authority

Access to Information Power distance

Access to decision making process

Figure 1: Variables of the study

50 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Age Composition Age Limit Number Percentage

Power Distance Orientation and its Impact on Political Participation

Public Affairs and Governance 51

to have more authority (Naser, 2015). The power of the organizations is

members, staffs and others in almost every case. A strong hierarchical

Obedience and dependence to the superiors

52 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

to them from the superior without challenging or questioning them (Naser,

Public Affairs and Governance 53

priority by the UP Chairman and other members. In unequal societies like

superior and subordinates. Thus, access to information of subordinates can

with low power distance, communication is more open and access to

information is allowed to the subordinates. On the other hand, in high power

54 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

Access to and control over resources

activities. The study found that the government mandate of incorporating

implementation committees (37%) and standing committees (42%) have

Access to decision making process

Public Affairs and Governance 55

process is an important indicator for measuring power distance orientation.

importance in about 48% cases.

demands as well as the expectation and aspiration of three wards at a time.

Voice behavior and expression

56 Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2021

reluctant to involve themselves in decisions and this reluctance offers superiors

questioning or direct confrontation with the male counterparts including the