This field-based qualitative study examines the gendered empowerment outcomes of the
Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities (SWAPNO) project of UNDP
Bangladesh, drawing on evidence from Chandpur and Cumilla districts. Grounded in Naila Kabeer’s
Agency Framework, Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, and the Multidimensional Poverty
perspective, the study investigates how gender-responsive social protection interventions interact
with entrenched socio-cultural norms to reshape women’s economic agency, capabilities, and social
recognition.
Findings indicate that women’s participation in public employment and income-generating
activities has significantly enhanced their control over productive resources, strengthened decision
making within households, and increased social legitimacy in conservative community settings. The
study highlights the negotiated nature of empowerment, whereby women navigate restrictive
norms through culturally acceptable livelihood strategies, localized market engagement, and
collective savings mechanisms such as ROSCAs.
SWAPNO’s impact extends beyond income gains to capability expansion in areas including practical
reasoning, health and nutrition decisions, financial planning, and adaptive entrepreneurship. Case
studies show how women have converted modest resources into sustainable assets, revived
traditional crafts, and, in some cases, assumed community leadership and employment generation
roles. Empowerment emerges as relational and incremental, embedded in everyday practices that
gradually redefine socially acceptable roles for women. Overall, the findings demonstrate that
context-sensitive, gender-responsive social protection can effectively address multidimensional
poverty by expanding women’s real freedoms while maintaining cultural legitimacy. The study
provides policy-relevant insights for designing inclusive social protection programmes that foster
durable empowerment outcomes in socially conservative contexts.