Women's Participation in Agricultural Activities and Empowerment in Northern Bangladesh

Abstract

Women's participation in agriculture is not necessarily accompanied by equivalent decision-making authority or control over resources. This study examined participation in five agricultural activities and assessed selected dimensions of empowerment among rural women in northern Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey covered 80 rural women from six upazilas in Rangpur, Dinajpur and Bogura districts, selected through stratified random sampling. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, exploratory factor analysis and a Women Empowerment Index (WEI) were applied. Participation in crop cultivation, poultry rearing, homestead gardening, cattle rearing and fish hatchery activities varied across respondent groups. Educational attainment was significantly associated with agricultural activity type (χ² = 33.895, p = 0.006), whereas associations involving age and asset ownership were not statistically significant. Husbands exclusively owned assets in 68.8% of surveyed households, while personal ownership by women accounted for 8.8%. Exploratory factor analysis identified distinct dimensions related to production decisions, economic participation, household income and savings, individual financial autonomy and asset control. The agricultural WEI score was 3.56 and the non-agricultural score was 3.76, yielding an overall average of 3.66, classified as moderate. In agricultural decision-making, vegetable gardening had the highest score (4.32), whereas input purchasing had the lowest (2.46). The findings indicate that women's involvement in agricultural work varies by activity and that reported authority is relatively limited in selected market-facing decisions. They highlight the relevance of access to assets, inputs and appropriate training for interventions addressing women's empowerment in the study area.