Naina Fahima HussainPaper 2Anthropology: South Asian PerspectivesDr. DeNicola1st April 2014

Stigma, Madness, and Possession of Women in Bangladesh

As someone who grew up in Bangladesh, there were many patterns amongst the

behavior, treatment, and social status’ of women in the country that I grew up in. Even

after 44 years of the country’s independence, women’s rights is a problem that is yet to

be solved and worked upon regardless of the several non-governmental organizations that

are seeking out to women to ensure their voices are heard. However, one of the other

forms of issues that many women of Bangladesh, mostly in rural areas are associated

with is, possession. Women are often oppressed and stigmatized within society—and

sometimes seclusion and isolation from the society leads to symptoms of madness (even

though minor) and is often misunderstood as “possessions of the evil spirit”. Possession

and exorcism are common themes of storytelling that I grew up around, and most of the

time I heard about them from my buas1. One of the more interesting aspects about these

stories was the fact that it was always women who were possessed, and never men. Men

were usually the ones who would help drive the spirit away.

A lot of times, a group, community, or a nation faces isolation and threats from an

opposing party due to forms of threat the success or wellbeing of the stigmatized group,

may impose. In a patriarchal society like Bangladesh, women are often not given as many

opportunities as men. In Alyson Callan’s Female saints and the practice of Islam in

Sylhet, Bangladesh, Callan states that while the oppression of women is not ‘uniform’ in

all areas of society, patterns are more visible in rural areas: “A daughter can be seen as a

1 Bua: Bengali term to refer to a nanny, or housekeeper

burden before marriage, (and a lot of care is taken to ensure she does not get spoiled

before marriage). After marriage, a woman is feared by her husband’s kin as a sorcerer.”

(Callan 2008: 397) It is important to know this fact because Callan further mentions an

issue that is prevalent and visible in many women’s households: “Marriage is recognized

as a stressful time for women, and new brides have been known to go mad shortly after

marriage.” From an anthropological perspective, madness caused by isolation can be

explained through social structures. Concepts created by culture and society further

contribute to the perspectives through which a subject is looked at. Consequently, the

presence of the concept of jinns and supernatural spirits is perhaps a socially constructed

theory that is most prevalent in South Asian communities. Therefore, the existence of the

concept of jinns, or so-called spirits could possibly be “complex arrangements of cultural

memory, political strategy, mental illness, and individual subjectivity.” (Khan, Mines,

Lamb 2010: 279)

Individuals with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia are often referred to, as

pagla—a derogatory term to define ‘crazy, mad’. A common cause of madness is anxiety;

and oppression and stigmatization of women within households contributes to greater

levels of anxiety among many women of Bangladesh, especially in rural areas: “Rural

women are referred to with stigmatizing terms, are taunted by in-laws, and sometimes are

even deprived of food.” (Van der Geest 2014: 384-385) In an interview presented by

James M. Wilce Jr. in “I can’t tell you all my troubles”: conflict, resistance, and

metacommunication in Bangladesh illness interaction, Wilce presents the story of

Fatima, a 45 year old woman whose disease that caused fainting and loss of speech

(possibly due to lack of nutrition and health issues) was referred to, as a “male spirit

silencing her”. (Wilce 1993: 946) A lot of times, mental illnesses associated with

individuals are treated as possession and thus, patients are taken to exorcists rather than a

psychologist or a doctor for treatment. During Fatima’s interview, the power relations

between a daughter in-law and the in-laws can be observed deeply and is noticeable that

newly wed women are often not given the opportunity to voice their opinions as freely.

As mentioned by Alyson Callan, marriage can turn out to be a stressful time for

many women in Bangladesh, especially in rural areas. Unlike Western society, the culture

of marriage in Bangladesh is such that women often receive negative treatment from in-

laws after moving into her husband’s house: “Older women achieve a higher status as

mothers and, as mother-in-law, may oppress their sons’ wives.”(Callan 2008: 397-398) A

cycle of oppression of women, by women is created within the system. The theory of this

can be explained through an event that Beth Roy had mentioned in Trouble with Cows:

Making Sense of Social Conflict: “The decision to riot was deeply informed by an

awareness of history understood in terms of lived experiences.” (Roy 1994: 169) A lot of

oppression within the communities is greatly affected by story telling. I know from my

mother’s experience as a wife in a well-educated Bangladeshi household, that well

educated in-laws also oppress women in Bangladesh. I believe that story telling engraves

experiences of both personal, and of those close to you and creates a sense of revenge

within the mind. Thus, it further contributes to greater levels of social conflict within the

system.

While stigmatization and isolation of women, especially in rural areas, causes

negativity within the community, I also think that “madness” or paglami2 as many may

call it, through expression of possession opens up a pathway for many women towards

2 Paglami can be defined as craziness

freedom. In the case study of Rani provided by Jim Wilce in Madness, Fear, and Control

in Bangladesh: Clashing Bodies of Power/Knowledge, Wilce mentions how Rani was

laughed at for her mental illness and how she was forced to answer Wilce’s questions by

her family members. Rani was also dancing in front of Wilce, and was being encouraged

by family members to do so. In this scenario, it is perfectly portrayed how Rani’s mental

illness has allowed her to express herself freely. In a society like Bangladesh where many

women are restricted from expressing themselves freely, Rani was an exception because

of her mental condition. (Wilce 2004: 369-370)

There are also many instances where having experiences of possessions and

spirits or jinns, many women find ways to change power relations within the society.

Such examples may be presented through the scenario of spiritual healers most prevalent

in South Asian communities, especially in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Joyce

Burkhalter Flueckiger presents the story of Amma and Abba from the Indian city of

Hyderabad. In patriarchal societies such as many South Asian communities, are able to

move up the social ladder through apparent experiences with jinns and their power to heal

patients through spiritual blessings. Amma, in Flueckiger’s study is able to acquire the

position of a traditional male healer, and is able to further gain power: “…it is her gender

that most uniquely characterizes her practice; she sits in a traditionally male ritual role…”

(Mines and Lamb 2010: 292) Similarly, Nadira and Shuli’s stories presented by Alyson

Callan, presents instances of where Shuli and Nadira were able to change the structure of

power relations within the community in Sylhet which is highly patriarchal and extremely

religious. Shuli and Nadira are both spiritual healers who have had apparent experiences

with jinns are considered special in the society: “Shuli’s mother goes on to imply (after

denying that her daughter has a jinn) that Shuli has a more direct connection with Allah.”

(Callan 2008: 405) Their experiences have not been associated with any forms of

madness, but rather has been supported by the community and expressed as a

supernatural power that the two ladies possess.

In the case of Shuli’s story presented by Callan, it is noticeable that not only has

Shuli been able to change power dynamics within the society and how society views her

work, but she has also been able to take advantage of her husband’s migration for work to

Saudi Arabia and support the family while he was away. Shuli was also able to work with

men, which is often seen as deviant in society, and gain a form of power and voice in her

community. (Callan 2008: 405-407)

In conclusion, it is evident that most of the time; the concept of mental illnesses or

possession of jinns, especially with women is often referred to as negative and is usually

looked through a negative lens. This constant negativity creates a pattern of

stigmatization of women in Bangladeshi society regardless of class, status or education.

Many of the consequences of stigmatization and oppression of women in the country due

to apparent possessions can be supported by the pattern of how women have been treated

through history, and the lack of ability of family members and society to accept the form

of mental illness, or madness as something psychological rather than the individual’s

personal fault. All of these patterns of repression of women through generations is

created through the forms of stories that are attached to the actions and behaviors. While

there are instances where women are not stigmatized due to their mental illness or

previous experiences with possession, those are very rare instances when they are

excused for their behavior. I feel that there will always be those instances where

marriage, family dynamics and behavior of relatives and acquaintances will be as though

they are trying to oppress the woman. But for this to change there must be communal

change in the perspective through which mental illnesses and the status of women in

society must be seen. But, most importantly, the way people tell their stories and how

those stories are looked at must be changed first.

References Cited:

Lamb, Diane P. Mines and Sarah. Everyday Life in South Asia. Bloomington, Indiana:

Indiana University Press, 2010.

Callan, Alyson. Female Saints and the Practice of Islam in Sylhet, Bangladesh:

University College London, Volume 35, 2008

Roy, Beth. Some Trouble With Cows: Making Sense of Social Conflict: University of

California Press, 1994

Wilce Jr., James M. I can’t tell you all my troubles: Conflict, resistance, and

metacommunication in Bangladeshi illness interactions. American Ethnologist:

American Anthropological Association, 1995

Wilce, Jim. Madness, Fear, and Control in Bangladesh: Clashing Bodies of

Power/Knowledge: Berkeley, California, University of California Press, 2014

Van Der Geest, Sjaak. How Women in Bangladesh Confront the Stigma of Childlessness:

Agency, Resilience, and Resistance- Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Vol. 28:

University of Amsterdam, American Anthropological Association, 2014