Paper short abstract:

We argue the economic well-being of a household does not guarantee food and nutrition for individual household members. Women from well-off families continue to suffer from inadequate nutrition. Given this reality, we explored the causality behind the intra-household food and nutritional inequality.

Paper long abstract:

Policymakers and development practitioners argue that the enhancement of agricultural production offers pathways to poverty alleviation and hence food security. Feminist scholars emphasize gender-inclusive development in the agricultural sector for better nutrition and food security. However, the narratives about gendered food and nutrition only partially consider the contextual processes and causal structures. This study examines how causal processes and structures lead to diverse food and nutrition outcomes, food and nutritional insecurity or inequality at the intra-household level. Even after decades of development interventions, undernutrition continues to persist amongst farming households in rural Bangladesh. We use the case of Bangladesh to assess the gender-nutrition linkages within agriculture. Combining ethnographic investigation and quantitative analyses across three villages in Bangladesh, we argue that the economic well-being of a household does not guarantee food and nutrition for individual household members. Women from well-off families continue to suffer from inadequate food and nutrition.