Women in Bangladesh, From Inequality to Empowerment

Dr. Nazmunnessa Mahtab is Honorary Professor in the Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Dhaka. She is also one of the founding members involved in the establishment of the Department in 2000. She had been a teacher in the Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka from 1972 to 2003. Dr. Mahtab served as the Chairperson of the Department of Public Administration from 1986-1989 and Chairperson of the Department of Women and Gender Studies from 2003-2006. She had participated in national and international seminars and conferences both at home and abroad and has written extensively on women’s issues and problems. Dr. Mahtab has been actively involved in her teaching profession. She has been working as an Adjunct Faculty at North South University (The first Private University in Bangladesh) since 2002 and at Independent University (IUB) since 2014. She has been working on women’s issues and concerns for more than four decades, and has conducted many researches works on diverse aspects of women’s lives. Her areas of specialization and interests include: Women and Poverty, Gender and Development; Women and Education, Women in Politics, Violence Against Women; CEDAW and Women’s Rights; Gender and Governance, Women in Public Policy and Leadership and Empowerment of Women. She is associated with many women’s organizations, both at home and abroad. Dr. Mahtab possess the experience and expertise of working as a Gender Consultant with the Government as well as with many international agencies, such as, the UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, ILO, WHO, USAID. She has worked with many NGOs assisting them in developing a Gender Policy for their respective organizations. Dr. Mahtab also participated in gender training programs first as a trainee and later on as a trainer. She had participated in national and international seminars and conferences both at home and abroad and has written extensively on women’s issues and problems. She has published three books: 1) Women in Bangladesh: From Inequality to Empowerment (2007); 2) Introduction to Women and Gender Studies: Selected Texts on Issues and Concepts, (2011); 3) Women, Gender and Development: Contemporary Issues (2012, & 2015). Her recent publications include: 1) “Women’s Transformational Leadership in Bangladesh: Potentials and Challenges,” published in Women, Political Struggles and Gender Equality in South Asia edited by Margaret Alston, Palgrave Macmillan, August 2014; 2) A co-edited book entitled: “Digital Public Administration And E-Government in Developing Nations,” published by IGI Global Publishers, USA, in August, 2014. She (co-edited): 1) Discourse Analysis as a Tool for Understanding Gender Identity, Representation and Equality, and 2) Revealing Gender Perceptions and Inequalities in the South Asian Countries through Discourse Analysis published by IGI, Global, USA, June, 2016; 3) Women’s Issues and Rights in the Developing World, published by IGI Global Publishers, September, 2017.