Disempowerment of the Women in West Bengal: A Comparative Study of Howrah and Jalpaiguri Districts

Abstract

This study delves the disempowerment scenario and associated aspects in Jalpaiguri and Howrah districts of West Bengal – the districts which are socio-economically and demographically diverse. To capture the multidimensional aspects of disempowerment of women this study applies Alkire and Foster (2011) methodology using the data of 800 ever-married women within the age group 15 to 49 years from a primary household survey conducted in these two districts in 2022-23. Apart from the reporting of women disempowerment index (WDI) for the sample districts we have analysed the contributions of each selected indicators in disempowerment and contributions of different sub- groups, such as place of residence, official caste, religion and education, in district WDI. The study finds that half of the women are disempowered in both the districts. However, the disempowerment level of the women is not severe in the sample districts. The main barriers to women's empowerment are the restriction towards movement outside the family and acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV). Further, in both the districts, the burden of disempowerment is borne more by the rural women, it is the highest among the women belonging to the scheduled castes (SC) and the illiterate women. Apart from these affinities in disempowerment, differences in disempowerment between the sample districts prevail in other aspects. There is rural-urban gap in disempowerment in both districts but this is more profound in Jalpaiguri district than that in Howrah district. Moreover, the contribution to disempowerment is more severe for SC women as well as illiterate women in Jalpaiguri district than in Howrah district.