ABSTRACT
In cultural terms, Bangladesh was and remains a relatively homogeneous society: in 1994, 90 per cent of the population was Muslim and 98 per cent of the population spoke Bengali. Like its South Asian counterparts, Bangladesh was and is a highly patriarchal society. Men mediated women's access to social, economic, political and legal institutions. Women were dependent on men throughout their lives, from fathers through husbands to sons. State legislation and institutions served to reinforce this gender subordination and relationship of dependence, in spite of constitutional affirmations of equality between women and men. Men's authority over women was also reinforced by pervasive gender-based violence. The Women's Action Committee and the first gender training course in BRAC provided opportunities for those individuals who were courageous enough to share their experiences to begin publicizing the scope and size of the issues facing BRAC women staff and the women clients with whom they worked.
