Childlessness in Bangladesh: Intersectionality, Suffering and Resilience

This book explores the intersectionality and stratified lived experience of rural poor and urban middle-class childless women in Bangladesh, highlighting the stigma, abuse, and violence they face. It demonstrates how childlessness transforms into social suffering, showcasing their resilience and agency in overcoming their circumstances. The volume is relevant to scholars in anthropology, reproductive and women's health, global health, gender studies, development studies, and Asian studies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 210 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the intricate intersection of social stratification and the lived experiences of rural poor and urban middle-class childless women in Bangladesh, a country where fertility control plays a central role in health policy. Despite their numerical scarcity, childless women in Bangladesh face a relentless onslaught of stigma, abuse, discrimination, and violence. Papreen Nahar paints a distressing picture of their marginalization within a culture that idealizes motherhood, revealing their harrowing accounts of exclusion and persecution. In this context, the experience of childlessness, particularly for women, can be far more profound and devastating than what is narrowly defined as infertility in biomedical terms. Childlessness, as a complex interplay of biology, society, and culture, manifests in the ways in which infertility transforms a health concern into a societal burden.

Despite the systematic exclusion imposed upon them by various structural forces, childless women in Bangladesh refuse to succumb to their circumstances. Instead, they develop remarkable resilience and agency, emerging as survivors of their newfound, albeit bleak, existence. This book holds immense relevance for scholars engaged in the fields of anthropology, reproductive and women's health, global health, gender studies, development studies, and Asian studies. It sheds light on the complex dynamics that shape the lives of these women, offering valuable insights into their experiences, challenges, and strategies for resilience-building. By examining the intersections of social stratification, reproductive health, and cultural norms, this book contributes to our understanding of the broader societal implications of childlessness and provides a platform for advocacy and change.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367505455