Fourteenth International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

This study explores the occupational health risks of women rubbish pickers and the nature of gender culture in Bangladesh using a narrative framework. Historically, socioeconomic, and political situations in Bangladesh have been shaped by post-colonial rituals along with religious beliefs particularly Islamic rules and non-liberal thoughts. Consequently, all these socio-political situations generate an unhealthy and oppressed culture among marginalized communities for example women waste pickers in Dhaka City. The social life and livelihood of these women are growing up in a social context and this social context is important because it takes place privately and the public, the family, and the state. The paper also explores how urban authorities deal with their marginalized communities and what are the social policy constraints for the access or availability of health care services for these women in Bangladesh in order to generate recommendations for improving the social condition and reducing structural oppression of these communities. I employ qualitative research methods primarily such as semi-structured interviews of women (up to 20), key-informant interviews of urban authorities such as government officials, NGO workers (up to 10), and secondary methods such as case studies, reports of government and related literature reviews. To analyze content from various sources, such as interviews of respondents, FGDS, KII, and case studies, I use narrative analysis to understand within the context of social constructionism and symbolic interactionism. This project is helpful to understand the cultural practice, political domination, and religious beliefs - particularly Islamic practices.