Dokument #1062275
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
General information on the status of women
in Bangladesh is contained in the December 1993 Human Rights Brief
paper entitled Women in Bangladesh, available at Regional
Documentation Centres. Regarding information on the status of
teachers, the 1989 Bangladesh: A Country Study states
that:
in 1986, [...], at the secondary-school level, only 30 percent of
the teachers were trained. Contributing to the shortage of trained
teachers was the low socioeconomic standing of educators. The
social image of teachers had been gradually eroded, making it
difficult to recruit young graduates to the profession (1989,
86).
The scarcity of women teachers is mentioned
in a World Bank country report which reports that:
neither the Government's quota of 15% of the jobs in staff ranks
nor its policy of reserving 50% of the primary school teacher posts
for women have been achieved. [...] According to 1986 estimates,
out of 164,157 staff employed by different departments,
directorates, and Boards (including the textbook board) under the
Ministry of Education, only 8% were women (1990, 61).
The same report lists the following five
major factors related to the shortage of women teachers:
One is the educational requirements for teachers are higher than
the majority of potential female teachers can meet. [...] The
second problem relates to restriction against women travelling or
living away from the family home. Third is the need to reach
appropriate family agreements and to obtain adequate living
accommodations for women who may be able to accept new teaching
positions in distant locations. Fourth, physical security is
critical for women. Finally, teachers who are mothers are in need
of child care assistance when traditional family support systems
are not accessible (ibid.).
A 17 February 1994 Inter Press Service
article indicates that one of the objectives of the "female
secondary school assistance project" (FSAP), which will be
completed in 1999, is to raise the number of female teachers. For
further information on women in the labour force and on female
education, please refer to the attached extracts from
Bangladesh: A Country Study (1989, 84-88) and Bangladesh:
Strategies for Enhancing the Role of Women in Economic
Development (1990, 23-36, 49-67).
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
sources consulted in researching this information request.
Bangladesh: A Country Study.
1989. Edited by James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden. Washington,
DC: Secretary of the Army.
Inter Press Service. 17 February 1994.
Tabibul Islam. "Bangladesh-Education: Girls to be Paid to Stay in
School." (NEXIS)
The World Bank. 1990. Bangladesh:
Strategies for Enhancing the Role of Women in Economic
Development. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Area Handbook Series: Bangladesh: A
Country Study. 1989. Edited by James Heitzman and Robert L.
Worden. Washington, DC: Secretary of the Army, pp. 84-88.
The Christian Science Monitor. 31
January 1994. Linda Feldmann. "Study Finds Boys Attend School More
Than Girls." (NEXIS)
The Dayton Daily News. 27 March 1994.
City Edition. "News Digest." (NEXIS)
Inter Press Service. 17 February 1994.
Tabibul Islam. "Bangladesh-Education: Girls to be Paid to Stay in
School." (NEXIS)
_____. 14 December 1993. "Education:
Breaking the Gridlock of Female Illiteracy." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 18 April 1994. BC Cycle.
"Bangladesh Laws Deprive Women of Rights - UN Body." (NEXIS)
Win News [Lexington, Mass.].
Spring 1994. Vol. 20, No 2. "Educational Experiments," p. 69.
The World Bank. 1990. Bangladesh:
Strategies for Enhancing the Role of Women in Economic
Development. Washington, DC: The World Bank, pp. 23-36,
48-67.
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices. Yearly. Department of State. Washington, DC:
Government Printing Office.
Expanding the Boundaries of Women's
History: Essays on Women in the Third World. 1992. Edited by
Cheryl Johnson-Odim and Margaret Strobel. Indianapolis: Indiana
University Press.
Sisterhood is Global: The
International Women's Movement Anthology. 1984. Edited by Robin
Morgan. New York: Anchor Books.
Trade Unions in the World. 1989.
London: St. James Press.
White, Sarah C. 1992. Arguing with
the Crocodile: Gender and Class in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Zed
Books.
Women's Movements in the World.
1990. London: Longman.
The World's Women. Yearly. New
York: United Nations.
On-line searches of news articles.
Oral sources.