Gender bias

Gender discrimination starts from birth and continues throughout life in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a highly patriarchal society and gender discrimination is evident across all levels. Women are dependent on men throughout their lives, from their fathers through to husbands, brothers or sons. The perceived lesser value and limited roles of girls and women are embedded in the socio-economic system.
As the statistics illustrate, majority of girls are not receiving an education of an acceptable standard. Reaching the 10 per cent of girls who never enrol in school remains a challenge. The exclusion of nearly 1.5 million girls is a violation of the fundamental and basic right of every child to education. Despite having achieved gender parity in primary school enrolments, Bangladesh still has a long way to go to achieve gender equity, access to quality education for all girls, completion of basic education with acceptable competency levels and relevant life skills and equal roles for women in society.