Honour, Survival and Protection

Violence and vulnerability shape and reconfigure the everyday realities and livelihoods of the socially and politically marginalised urban poor. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork undertaken with women experiencing homelessness in Dhaka, Bangladesh, this article argues that reductive livelihood approaches fail to adequately take account of the workings of power or gender dynamics within socio-cultural contexts. In doing so, it engages in a deeply qualitative and ethnographic exploration of how precarious livelihoods are built, lost and rebuilt by homeless women who face chronic vulnerability and uncertainty. Women's livelihood priorities in this context included concerns over protection, survival and honour.