A better Bangladesh for women and girls

Are we doing enough?

A way out

The story of Nahar

Educating girls

"> Photo: hbconsultantsWhen taken a look at Bangladesh's achievement in the Millennium Development Goals, we can see that the country has performed a remarkable feat. The Millennium Development Goal number 2 targets to achieve universal primary education. As far as net enrolment rate (NER) in primary education is concerned, the country has performed very well with a rate of 95 percent. For girls, the NER in primary education is 98 percent (BANBEIS), implying that girls have done better than boys in terms of enrolment in primary.
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Because I am a girl!

"> Photo: StarFor a women the world is of inequality. This is true worldwide. This is true in every walk of her life, such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence and so on.
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The real scenario of enrolment

"> Photo: StarUNICEF, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies have recently launched the Child Equity Atlas: Pockets of Social Deprivation. The report reveals that half of the country's school-aged children are not enrolled in any school. The Bangladesh Primary Education Annual Sector Performance Report and the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics Report 2012 show that 1.91 crore children aged 6-17 are not receiving any schooling. This amounts to 46 percent of the total population of children in this...

Girl children in slums

"> Photo: khabarsouthasiaRuma spends much of her time taking care of the household chores as her mother goes out for work early in the morning. She stops going to school because it is far away from her home and her mother does not feel safe to allow her in the busy streets alone.
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Meena mania!

Like many children of the 90's, Meena has been a happy part of my childhood. I remember vividly, during my kindergarten days, what Meena meant to me, how the title song, “Ami baba-maer shot o adorer meye; Ami boro hoi shokoler bhalobasha niye; Amar duu chokhey onek shopno thake…” used to motivate me, used to make me realise how precious I am to my parents. As if every message of Meena was only meant for me.
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A world of fear

"> China Akhtar, who took refuge at the house of her elder brother Taiyeb Ali in Saidpur of Pirojpur district, poses with first daughter Riva. Photo: StarOn October 1, 2013 a report came out in The Daily Star titled “Peril of being a girl child”. The report brought out the still existent perils of medieval mindset in our society the girl child faces. A young woman named China Akther helplessly took refuge at the house of her elder brother to save herself and her four-year-old daughter from the child's father who allegedly killed their three-month-old daughter on September 14, 2013...