Education of women in Bangladesh

Many factors have influenced women's educational opportunities. Most studies point to poverty as the principal reason why the families either fail to enrol their girls in schools or withdraw them prematurely from the primary schools. It is not just that the direct and indirect costs of school attendance are beyond their means, but also that the children are needed at home to perform duties that fall preponderantly on the girls. Extra income plays only a secondary role in the widespread labour demand for girls, since most of them have to work as unpaid labours: in 2003, 3.4 per cent of the girls in the age group ten to fourteen were reported as "economically active".

The cultural values and norms also responsible for the prevailing state of female education, however. Many parents in the rural areas lack interest or are openly hostile about the formal education of their daughters for reasons related to social and religious norms in general. Many people still quite strongly believes that education spoils a girl's character and undermines her willingness to fulfil her traditional role. Early marriage and the importance of preserving a girl's good reputation lead to widespread withdrawal of girls from school at puberty, especially if they attend coeducational institutions.

Among other factors contributing to gender differentials in enrolments are location and physical facilities of schools, the shortage of female teachers, and a lack of basic amenities (such as latrines). Female education is further constrained by inadequate incentives (food, clothing, and scholarships) to induce the poor to send girls to school.