Assessment of Rural Women’s Daily Activities, Life Satisfaction and Decision-making Power in Chitalmari Upazila of Bagerhat

Laxmi Rani Bashu; Mohammad Bashir Ahmed; Md. Matiul Islam

doi:10.53808/KUS.2026.23.01.1527-ls

Authors

Laxmi Rani Bashu Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh
Mohammad Bashir Ahmed Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh
Md. Matiul Islam Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53808/KUS.2026.23.01.1527-ls

Keywords:

Rural women, Daily activities, Life satisfaction, decision-making, Women Participation

Abstract

Women’s unpaid care work, sense of family responsibility and type of income-generating activities influence their satisfaction level which was defined by their ability to make decisions. This study evaluated rural women’s daily activities, life satisfaction and decision-making power using three frameworks: the Modified Thurstone Scale, Cantril Ladder and Pretty’s Participation Spectrum. Data were collected from 120 women from villages, sub-urban areas and towns of Bangladesh. All of respondents were engaged in household work and on average 7.38 hours/day while two-fifth of them (40%) participated in cattle rearing and most (84%) were engaged in child-rearing. Women cared for children on average 5 to 10 hours daily. Women’s contributions to agriculture post harvesting duration were significant, yet their role in marketing and pre-stage production was minimal. Among 20 decision-making indicators most women’s involvement intensity was low on Pretty’s Spectrum scale. Poor decision-making power persisted in critical areas like asset control, marriage, voting and education but women had strong participation in family nutrition, cooking, medical treatment, child stress handling and children education.

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