Naina Fahima Hussain

Paper 2
Anthropology: South Asian Perspectives
Dr. DeNicola
1st 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 countrys independence, womens 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 societyand
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 Callans 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 husbands 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 womens 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
paglaa 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 cant 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 Fatimas 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 inlaws after moving into her husbands 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
mothers 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 Wilces 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 Ranis 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 Flueckigers 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 Shulis 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: Shulis 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 Shulis 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 husbands 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 individuals
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 cant 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