As Bangladesh turns 50, the secret to its progress: Educate girls
| Rangpur, Bangladesh
Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon was silent about the genocide of unarmed Bengali people at the hands of the Pakistani army. In the end, Bangladesh declared its independence. But the country was born into flood and famine, corruption and coups. Echoing another鈥檚 comment, Henry Kissinger, Nixon鈥檚 security adviser, called the country a 鈥�.鈥�
The situation was dire for decades. Twenty years ago, a pregnant woman from my village, struggling to reach the hospital, died in the middle of the journey because there were no vehicles or paved roads.
Today, it takes me only two minutes to get in an auto rickshaw and go to the nearby town from that same village. Apart from paved roads and motorized auto vans, we now have electricity and satellite connections. Residents can access the internet, schoolchildren have smartphones for taking online classes, and the community has a health care center right here in the village.聽
Why We Wrote This
On Dec. 16, Bangladesh celebrates the 50th anniversary of Victory Day, commemorating its independence. The country has exceeded expectations about lifting citizens out of poverty, based, in large part, on its commitment to educating girls.
Brushing aside all the odds and criticism, Bangladesh has emerged as an economic power in South Asia. Education has brought blessings to hundreds of thousands of people here. An emphasis on girls鈥� education has played an especially vital role.
As in developing countries around the world, so in Bangladesh, girls鈥� education has had a ripple effect, improving families, communities, and national economies.
Shahana, who completed 10th grade, works in a garment factory. Her father is ill and unable to work much, so she is helping her family. In addition to sending money home, she鈥檚 building a brick house and plans to buy a piece of farmland in her village.
A reliable lever of progress
Bangladesh is not alone in reaping the rewards of educating girls, especially in secondary school (grades 6-12). Among the universal , UNICEF notes lower child marriage and maternal mortality rates, healthier children, and 鈥渄ramatically鈥� increased lifetime earnings.
Measuring lost potential, the World Bank that the 鈥渓imited educational opportunities for girls and barriers to completing 12 years of education cost countries between [U.S.]$15 trillion and $30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings.鈥�
On average, among the world鈥檚 least developed countries, the number of years girls spend in school has over the last half-century, from 2.8 years in 1970 to 8.9 in 2017. The region making the most progress is South Asia, where girls went from spending 3.8 years in school to 12. Bangladesh is a big contributor to that progress.
In 1994, the country introduced the Female Secondary Stipend and Assistance Program to boost girls鈥� school attendance in rural areas. To receive the stipend and tuition subsidy, which supports more than 2 million girls a year, recipients must meet attendance and performance requirements and cannot marry before they finish secondary school. With the help of FSSAP, are now enrolled in secondary school. A next step is to increase girls鈥� grade-12 completion rate 鈥� which was only 鈥� so that higher education becomes an option for more of them.
鈥淚 want to go to Canada for my master鈥檚 degree,鈥� Jhorna told me recently. (Both Shahana and Jhorna聽asked that their last names not be used for cultural reasons.)聽I taught Jhorna when she was in 10th grade. Now, she is pursuing a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, with hopes of later studying abroad. There are thousands of other Jhornas, eager to receive higher education from foreign universities and then get respected work positions back home.
Other signs of advancement
Bangladesh鈥檚 economy also shows a strong upward trajectory. Per capita gross domestic product from $293 in 1991 to $1,968 in 2020, surpassing both India鈥檚 and Pakistan鈥檚, according to World Bank data. That increase in GDP has significantly the number of people living in poverty (based on the international poverty line), from 43.5% in 1991 to 18% in 2020.
That sharp decline in the poverty rate helped Bangladesh become a 鈥渓ower middle-income鈥� country in 2015, up from a 鈥渓ow-income鈥� one. And the United Nations last month that Bangladesh will graduate from being a 鈥渓east developed鈥� country to a 鈥渄eveloping鈥� one in 2026.
I see evidence of that progress in my family and community. My father sold his labor for 10 hours a day, returning home with only 25 taka, which was less than 40 cents. Today, my brother sells the same amount of labor for about 500 taka, which is more than $5.
I know personally聽about a dozen families in northern Bangladesh聽who聽now have small farms and fisheries after receiving聽one of the millions of聽microcredit loans that Grameen Bank, a nongovernmental organization,聽has made to help lift people out of poverty.
鈥淚 have two cows now,鈥� Rahim Badsha told me on an afternoon walk. Mr.聽Badsha is a peasant who once could not afford food for his family even twice a day. Now one of his cows is milking, after giving birth to a pretty little calf.
Bangladesh has plenty of work ahead to provide opportunity to people at all levels of society, but the country has made great progress in its 50 years of independence. We are not a basket case. We have much to celebrate on Dec. 16, Victory Day.
Rezaul Karim Reza is a substitute English teacher in Bangladesh and a freelance writer.聽
