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In order to fight gender discrimination, feminist activists and intellectuals have embraced the notion of empowerment. However, following its standardization by development actors including UN agencies, many studies have criticized the risks associated with a neutral, technical, and depoliticized vision that would no longer allow for a transformation of the causes of subordination. Two case studies of two non-governmental organizations in Bangladesh show how empowerment practices fluctuate between social struggle and cohesion. Analyzing the ways in which women’s trajectories circumvent the obstacles stemming from norms and powers, the article analyzes how emancipation is achieved in connection with the social fabric.