Unravelling Livelihood Vulnerabilities of Widowed and Destitute Women in Bangladesh: Evidence for Effective Policy Interventions

Abstract

Widowed and destitute women in Bangladesh have constant socio-economic insecurity as a  result of poverty, gender discrimination, scarce employment opportunities and ineffective  institutions, even though there are government social safety net programs. The aims of this  research are to investigate the multidimensional livelihood vulnerability of widowed and  destitute women and derive evidence-based policy outcomes in order to enhance social  protection and sustainable empowerment in Bangladesh. A mixed-method type of exploratory  design was taken to cover 180 widowed and destitute women in Dhaka and Kurigram districts  by means of surveys, twelve (12) case studies, and six (06) focus group discussions to be  triangulated. The results indicate serious socio-economic deprivation, as 62.2% and 67.8% are  illiterate and get less than BDT 10, 000 a month, respectively. The majority of respondents  (71.1%) were widows who mostly worked in informal jobs, especially in domestic work  (66.7%). The most common vulnerabilities were economic (90th), social (83.3), institutional  (78.9), physical (76.7), and mental health (71.1). The most notable ones were irregular income  (77.8%), extreme poverty (74.4%), gender discrimination (65.6%), poor access to healthcare  (65.6%), fear of future insecurity (72.2%), and problems with bureaucracy (65.6%). The  underlying reasons included chronic poverty (78.9%), loss of primary earners (71.1%), low  education (63.9%), and low employment prospects (61.1%). The respondents prioritised support for social safety net allowances (82.2%), creating jobs (72.2%), vocational education  (63.9%), access to medical care (62.2%), and awareness of legal issues (54.4%). Additional  qualitative data outlined psychological distress, social exclusion and lack of institutional  responsiveness. To enhance social protection, there is a need to engage in gender and  multisectoral interventions that are integrated and that focus on providing sufficient financial  resources, jobs, legal literacy, health, and community membership to achieve sustainable  empowerment and dignity.