Information concerning the status of women, particularly those employed as teachers, in Dhaka, and elsewhere in Bangladesh [BGD19393.E]

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.

References

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.

Attachments

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.

Other Sources Consulted

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.