Social media: A game-changer for Bangladeshi women

The prime minister is a woman. The main leader of the opposition is a woman. The speaker in the Parliament – the citadel of democracy – is also a woman.

If the question is about the presence of women in high offices, Bangladesh has established its mark across the world.

But if the question is about whether the goal of women's empowerment has been achieved, one has to admit that there is a long way to go.

There is a general notion that the rise of women's representation in public offices will herald a new era of women's empowerment. While it cannot be denied that there is a clear need for more women in public office, that alone cannot ensure improvement in the quality of lives of ordinary women.

Participation of women in electing a government is also an important parameter in assessing the extent of women's empowerment. Our country scores high on this count as well because Bangladeshi women do participate in significant numbers when it comes to voting. A voting day looks like a celebration as women stand patiently in long queues to exercise their franchise.

But the same women often shy away from engaging in public and political debates, and instead allow the male members of their families to represent their concerns or views. Ordinary women somehow maintain an arm's length from public dialogues in the country and it has often surprised social scientists.

But a silent change is sweeping across the country with social media becoming an important aspect in the lives of women, especially those who live in urban and semi-urban areas and have access to the internet and smartphones. These women are making their voices heard, clear and loud, in social media. And the trend is not only encouraging, but also raises hope for an equitable society.

That's what I found out while conducting a research study using both quantitative and qualitative techniques as part of my academic curriculum at Visva Bharati University in West Bengal.

Though internet penetration in Bangladesh is low and only a small percentage of women (around five percent) use social media their voices are being heard as they express their views – be it a case of domestic violence or a current international event – in public and feel more and more empowered. And as a trend, this is significant in a country where women have, over generations, chosen to remain silent.

The quantitative side of the research – based on interviews of 50 women from urban and semi-urban areas – resulted in numbers which prove that social media has become a part and parcel of women living in these areas. With 83 percent of the respondents claiming that they have used social media to share their views and 85 percent thinking that social media has empowered them in some way and that their freedom would be curbed in the absence of social media tools, there is little doubt that social media is making a considerable impact in the lives of women.

The manner in which women's presence exploded on social media during some recent developments – be it against the whims of a celebrity hero or assault on women – confirms these numbers. Not only is social media helping women express themselves by writing blogs, or connect with each other, it has also given them the chance to contribute to family income. Women with entrepreneurial abilities are using social media to sell an entire range of items—from homemade food to designer clothes.

Given the urban-rural divide in a country like Bangladesh, one has to admit that the phenomenon of social media has, till now, been urban and semi-urban in nature. And it can be said with certainty that the trend is likely to be replicated in rural areas as women in urban and semi-urban areas have always acted as role models for their counterparts in rural Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government is working hard on its mission of Digital Bangladesh and taking internet to the remotest corners of the country, and there is little doubt that use of social media is likely to grow exponentially in the country in the coming days. In the eighties and the nineties, Bangladesh made its mark in the world by empowering women through microcredit institutions. Going by the trend in modern day Bangladesh, one can say with certainty that the next big push towards empowerment will come through social media.

The writer is a final year student of Centre for Journalism and Mass Communication in Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan in West Bengal, India.