Chapter 24 - Gender Movements

Summary

Bangladesh’s gender relations have changed historically, but the late twentieth century saw a new dynamic: social movements that began to challenge the entangled systems of gender, kinship and sexuality – the ideological bedrock of society. They focused on social – rather than economic – change and they were often initiated by middle-class activists. Among these were a robust feminism, a rethinking of masculinities, and same-sex, bisexual and transgender activism. The current gender and sexuality movements build upon local cultural precursors. Distinctly Bangladeshi in character, they develop in constant dialogue with global debates about gender and sexuality, just as their forerunners were also linked to wider concerns and campaigns