A Quiet Violence: View from a Bangladesh Village

"This book was written by two Americans, both of whom spoke Bangla and spent nine months living in a village. It describes in detail the nature of exploitation that the rural poor face, by describing individual characters and using their own words. It’s also very good at addressing the issue of landlessness. Whilst this book is more focused on class issues rather than patriarchy, it has a great deal of relevance for those wishing to better understand the specifics of life in a village as a woman. Over the years I have found that fighting patriarchy is much more difficult than addressing issues of class. When it’s the latter, the ‘enemy’ are the other and the harm is arguably more visible – whether it’s land grabbers trying to prevent you from accessing resources, or siphoning off funds. It’s not your husband, brother or whatever that you have to fight against. And no one wants to fight all the time with the people they live with. That said, I find it much easier to work with issues of gender amongst the rural peasantry, including the men, than with the urban elite. The male urban elite are much more resistant to change – perhaps because they think they have more to lose."