Women's household decision-making autonomy in low economic settlements in Bangladesh: Evidence from a cross-sectional study, 2022?

IF 1.9 3区社会学 Q2 WOMENS STUDIES

Womens Studies International Forum Pub Date : 2025-07-31 DOI:10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103181

Saifa Raz , M. Shafiqur Rahman , Bachera Aktar , Sabina Faiz Rashid

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Women's autonomy in decision-making is a crucial indicator of empowerment, with significant implications for their well-being and social status. Several research conducted on women's household decision-making autonomy among women of better socio-economic conditions; however, limited research has been conducted among women living in low-economic settlements. This study seeks to estimate the prevalence of and factors influencing women's decision-making autonomy among women living in low-economic settlements such as urban slums.

Methodology

This research is based on data extracted from the Integrated Health-Wellbeing Survey 2022, a cross-sectional study conducted among marginalized groups residing in three selected slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data were collected from 1248 women through a face-to-face interview using a semi-structured questionnaire. Both bivariate with chi-square test of independence and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the association between socio-demographic variables and decision-making autonomy.

Findings

The findings reveal that about three-quarters of women of informal settlements reported having autonomy in mobility, grocery shopping, and healthcare decisions, while only half reported having money management and child education autonomy. Older women, those heading households, those involved in income-generating activities, and women owning mobile phones demonstrated significantly greater autonomy compared to their counterparts (p < 0.01). Despite evidence from other contexts linking education to autonomy, slum women's decision-making was driven by economic participation rather than formal education.

Conclusion

The findings underscore the importance of income-generating opportunities in empowering women and highlight the need for a multi-faceted approach, focusing on economic empowerment and social support to enhance women's autonomy in low-economic settings.

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孟加拉国低经济住区妇女家庭决策自主权：来自横断面研究的证据，2022？

妇女在决策方面的自主权是赋权的一个关键指标，对她们的福祉和社会地位具有重大影响。对社会经济条件较好的妇女的家庭决策自主权进行了几项研究；但是，对生活在低经济住区的妇女进行了有限的研究。本研究旨在估计生活在诸如城市贫民窟等低经济住区的妇女中妇女决策自主权的普遍程度及其影响因素。本研究基于从2022年综合健康-福祉调查中提取的数据，这是一项对居住在孟加拉国达卡三个选定贫民窟的边缘化群体进行的横断面研究。通过半结构化问卷对1248名女性进行面对面访谈，收集数据。采用双变量卡方独立检验和多变量logistic回归分析来探讨社会人口变量与决策自主性的关系。调查结果显示，大约四分之三的非正式定居点妇女报告说，她们在行动、购物和医疗保健决定方面拥有自主权，而只有一半的人报告说，她们在理财和子女教育方面拥有自主权。老年妇女、户主妇女、从事创收活动的妇女和拥有移动电话的妇女与她们的同行相比，表现出更大的自主权(p <；0.01)。尽管来自其他背景的证据将教育与自主联系起来，但贫民窟妇女的决策是由经济参与而不是正规教育推动的。研究结果强调了创收机会对增强妇女权能的重要性，强调了采取多方面措施的必要性，重点是经济赋权和社会支持，以增强低经济环境中妇女的自主权。

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来源期刊

Womens Studies International Forum WOMENS STUDIES-

CiteScore

2.50

自引率

7.10%

发文量

审稿时长

79 days

期刊介绍： Women"s Studies International Forum (formerly Women"s Studies International Quarterly, established in 1978) is a bimonthly journal to aid the distribution and exchange of feminist research in the multidisciplinary, international area of women"s studies and in feminist research in other disciplines. The policy of the journal is to establish a feminist forum for discussion and debate. The journal seeks to critique and reconceptualize existing knowledge, to examine and re-evaluate the manner in which knowledge is produced and distributed, and to assess the implications this has for women"s lives.