Women's Rights in Bangladesh

What is it like to live as a female in Bangladesh?


I can't speak from experience, I grew up in the United States and I've only visited Bangladesh twice in my life. The experience of going to Bangladesh was a complete culture shock. The differences between my life and theirs was so apparent. Where I live, I am allowed to do many things freely. I don't think about doing those things too much because it's a norm. 

Women aren't as pushed as men to pursue an education. The norm is that they'll get married and become occupied with household chores anyways. Instead of pushing education, they spend more time grooming their daughters into "the perfect wife". Forced marriages also occur a lot, meaning women are handed away to men they don't like or know. Oftentimes these females are minors and the men they are married off to are at least 10 years older. Another norm in the village is that men typically don't marry women their age, they usually are much younger which is concerning. Women don't usually go anywhere alone. It's simply not safe for them, sexual assaults and rape is quite common. Females have to cover up when they dress and the same is not expected from men. My mother gave me an example of how she and her sister didn't receive things that are considered "female essentials" growing up because women were not allowed to go to the market. It was a strictly male area and she grew up in the 90s so it was not that long ago. She also explained how there weren't "male" friends, if women were seen speaking to the opposite gender, rumors were spread that day through out the village. Domestic Violence is also so common in Bangladesh and no one talks about it. Women know little to nothing about their bodies and reproductive health because it's seen as taboo. 

I love my country, but seeing stuff like this saddens me. It's a problem with many factors attached ,but one of the main problems is mixing culture with religion. Islam is used as a way to back up immoral acts in our culture and pushes misogyny in out Bengali communities. I think one of the ways we can reduce this is by providing and pushing the education of both women and men of all ages. Not just academic learning, but Islamic learning too. 

Women deserve to be able to pursue their dreams and ambitions. Getting married and having kids isn't their only purpose in life. Bangladesh would progress a lot more as a country, if they allowed women to contribute and show their true potential. I know it will take time to undo this because it has been going on for many years, but that's okay with me. Little change is better than no change at all.  

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