Living on the Edge: Women’s Health and Healthcare Dynamics in the Slums of Kamrangirchar and Hazaribagh under Dhaka City in Bangladesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65826/JSAI.1.1.2026.50Keywords:
Women’s Health, Urban Slums, Dhaka, Social Autopsy, Gender InequalityAbstract
Women’s ill health and health-related vulnerability in urban slums of Dhaka is a significant but largely invisible problem. Despite having access to better healthcare facilities like in the capital, slum women face multiple barriers due to poverty, overpopulation, gender inequality and limited healthcare. Thus, the study was undertaken mainly explore the social and cultural factors behind women’s health problems; assess healthcare providers’ perceptions of women’s health, disease and mortality; and determine structural barriers to women’s health. The study was conducted at Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data were collected from 90 respondents through qualitative social autopsy methods, which used in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and participatory observation. The results revealed key obstacles include poverty, illiteracy, delayed decision-making, misconceptions, mistrust of medical institutions, and infrastructural limitations for women’s access to healthcare. A community-based survival model has been proposed which that has focused on education, poverty reduction, awareness, improved facilities, and trust-building. Implementing these measures could reduce preventable deaths and support broader goals of health, equity, and sustainable development.
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