Education not just a right for women, but a condition for development

A country cannot call itself truly developed when half of its population has to fight for the basic conditions required to learn, work and live with dignity.

Women’s education and their safety are often discussed as social or moral issues. In reality, they are much more than that.

They are economic issues, governance issues and national development issues.
Bangladesh has made important progress in girls’ education.

According to Bangladesh Education Statistics 2023, the country has achieved gender parity in access to both primary and secondary education, with the balance now even favouring girls at these levels.

The same report states that the gross enrolment ratio in secondary education reached 74.81percent in 2023, while the net enrolment rate stood at 73.20 percent.

This is not a small achievement. It shows how far Bangladesh has moved from a time when girls’ schooling was treated as secondary to boys’ education. UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report also notes that Bangladesh has made major progress in expanding education, with primary completion rising from 34 percent in 1990 to 90 percent in 2024, and lower secondary completion rising from 23 percent to 74 percent during the same period.

But enrolment alone is not enough. A girl does not become empowered simply because her name is written in a school register. She must be able to attend classes regularly, travel safely, avoid early marriage, use digital spaces without fear and continue her studies without social pressure. Education becomes meaningful only when it is protected by safety.

This is where the national challenge remains serious
UNFPA says Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia, with 47 percent of girls aged 18 to 24 married before their 18th birthday. It also warns that, at the current pace of decline, it could take more than two centuries to eliminate child marriage.

Child marriage is not only a violation of rights; it is also one of the strongest barriers to girls’ education. Once a girl is pushed into marriage, her school life often ends, her health risks increase and her economic future becomes narrower.

Safety is another major barrier
Many girls and women face insecurity on roads, in educational institutions, at workplaces, in public transport and online. This fear shapes decisions inside families. A family may support a daughter’s education in principle, but hesitate when the school or college is far away.

A girl may have talent, ambition and discipline, but may still be forced to compromise because the environment around her is not safe enough.

The scale of violence against women in Bangladesh makes the issue even more urgent. A 2024 Violence Against Women survey released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNFPA found that 76 percent of women had experienced at least one form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, while 49 percent had experienced such violence in the past year. The survey also found that 62 percent of survivors never disclosed the violence they faced.

These numbers reveal a hard truth: silence is still one of the biggest shelters for injustice. When women do not feel safe to speak, report or seek justice, violence becomes normalised. And when violence becomes normalised, education alone cannot deliver empowerment.

The digital space has added another layer to the problem. Girls and women now study, work, communicate and build careers online. But digital platforms have also become spaces for bullying, harassment, blackmail, fake images and intimidation.

A United Nations Bangladesh report on digital violence found that fewer than half of participants in an awareness initiative recognised online bullying or workplace harassment as gender-based violence. Many also said they would handle such situations privately rather than report them, often because of stigma.

This matters because modern education is no longer limited to classrooms. A student needs the internet for assignments, applications, scholarships, freelancing, communication and career growth. If online spaces become unsafe for girls, then digital progress itself becomes unequal.

The economic argument is also clear. Women’s education increases family income, improves children’s health, reduces poverty and strengthens the workforce. But education must lead to participation.

According to the World Bank Gender Data Portal, Bangladesh’s female labour force participation rate remains far below men’s participation, even though it is higher than some South Asian neighbours. This gap shows that Bangladesh is educating more girls, but still not converting enough of that education into full economic participation.

That is a national loss
When an educated woman cannot enter the workforce because of unsafe transport, workplace harassment, family pressure or lack of childcare, the country loses skills it has already invested in.

When a girl drops out because of early marriage or insecurity, the country loses a future teacher, doctor, entrepreneur, engineer, journalist, policymaker or community leader.

The solution cannot be only slogans. Bangladesh needs a practical safety-and-education framework for girls and women.

First, schools, colleges and universities must have functioning complaint systems, safe transport support, trained counsellors and clear anti-harassment policies. A complaint box is not enough if students do not trust the system behind it.

Second, law enforcement must respond quickly and sensitively to violence, harassment and cybercrime complaints. Survivors should not be blamed, shamed or discouraged from seeking justice.

Third, families must change the way they raise boys and girls. Respect for women cannot begin at university or in the workplace. It must begin at home, in childhood, through daily behaviour, language and example.

Fourth, digital safety must become part of education. Students should learn how to report online abuse, protect privacy, identify manipulation and support victims instead of spreading harmful content.

Finally, women’s safety must be treated as infrastructure. A road is not fully developed if women cannot travel on it safely. A school is not fully successful if girls fear harassment on the way. A digital Bangladesh is not truly digital if women are pushed out of online spaces by abuse.

Women’s education and safety are not separate goals. They are connected foundations of national progress. Bangladesh has already shown that it can bring girls into classrooms. The next challenge is to make sure they can remain there, learn without fear, enter the workforce with dignity and participate fully in public life.

A developed Bangladesh will not be built only with bridges, flyovers and export numbers. It will be built when every girl can go to school without fear, every young woman can dream beyond survival, and every educated woman can use her knowledge for herself, her family and her country.

Because an educated and safe woman does not strengthen only herself, she strengthens a family, a community, an economy and the future of Bangladesh.

(The writer is a student of Management Department at Barishal Government
Women’s College)