Population Council Research that makes a difference

The first part of the project (1997–2001) used data from a long-term village study to assess the impact of educational incentive schemes for children and adolescent girls. Data from the early years of the educational program in 1995–96 suggested that incentive schemes introduced in 1994 resulted in rapid increases in school enrollment. Data from the village study in 2000 and from a larger three-district survey in 2001 confirmed that school enrollment increased more for girls than for boys but also indicated that the risk of dropping out of school remained strongly differentiated by gender and class. Boys in poor households dropped out earlier than nonpoor boys, but all girls faced similarly high dropout risks because of marriage. Girls continued to attend school until they married but often did not delay marriage for school. In addition, dowry payments were a menacing concern for parents, and early marriage was encouraged by perceptions that older girls would require higher dowries.

The second part of the project (2001–03) applied lessons learned from the village study to an intervention program in three rural districts—Chapainawabganj, Chittagong, and Sherpur. A baseline survey conducted in 2001 documented important differences in the three study districts in terms of marriage, dowry demands, reproductive health, and schooling of girls. Between March and June 2003 a follow-up survey was conducted in 68 of the 90 villages initially interviewed. The follow-up survey tracked girls who had migrated out of their own villages to other areas within the district; 23 percent of all girls had moved since the baseline. Researchers found marriage delays that may be attributed to the interventions and that the interventions were more successful among girls in school and from relatively poor households.

The project showed that programs designed to (1) give adolescent girls access to public spaces in which to congregate and interact with their peers; (2) provide life-skills, livelihood skills, and reproductive health training; and (3) provide other support to increase their earning potential can have far-reaching effects. The programs encouraged increased schooling, increased employment and income levels, and delayed marriage. In addition, the interventions have provided rich qualitative data on how such programs can foster and enhance a sense of well-being in participants.

Although the interventions encouraged delayed marriage, they did not specifically discourage dowry payment. One negative finding was that, in general, girls who delay marriage appear to pay higher dowries. Girls’ families believe that paying dowry is a strategy of choice to ensure the well-being of their daughters, despite the fact that those who marry without dowry are found to be better off in terms of suffering less abuse and enjoying more leisure during the early years of marriage.

This project made an important contribution by documenting who among rural residents is most likely to join and maintain program membership. Although programs are more likely to be used by more educated households within a village, in this study this selectivity was counteracted by the fact that programs appeared to be taken up with the most enthusiasm by those in Sherpur, the poorest and least-educated district.

Study results have been disseminated widely among development professionals. In addition, several important policy decisions have been influenced by the study. First, a national adolescent survey was undertaken in 2005 to identify socially and geographically vulnerable areas and populations. Second, the Population Council has begun to collaborate with the World Bank and Bangladeshi organizations to incorporate strategies addressing the issue of dowry into programs aimed at empowering adolescent girls as part of a larger gender strategy. Third, new programs that will include financial literacy training and microcredit initiatives are being put together by development NGOs to provide age- and need-appropriate interventions to improve livelihood opportunities for vulnerable adolescents.

Empowering adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh: Kishori Abhijan (PDF) 
Amin,Sajeda
Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief (no. 13)
Publication date: 2011


Girls' schooling and marriage in rural Bangladesh 
Mahmud,Simeen; Amin,Sajeda; Hannum,Emily; Fuller,Bruce
from Children's Lives and Schooling Across Societies (Research in the Sociology of Education, Volume 15), pp. 71-99
Publication date: 2006


The implications of trade liberalization for working women's marriage: Case studies of Bangladesh, Egypt and Vietnam 
Amin,Sajeda; Grown,Caren; Braunstein,Elissa; Malhotra,Anju
from Trading Women's Health & Rights? Trade Liberalization and Reproductive Health in Developing Countries, pp. 97-120
Publication date: 2006


School incentive programs and children's activities: The case of Bangladesh 
Arends-Kuenning,Mary; Amin,Sajeda
Comparative Education Review 48(3): 295-317
Publication date: 2004


Women's lives and rapid fertility decline: Some lessons from Bangladesh and Egypt (abstract) 
Amin,Sajeda; Lloyd,Cynthia B.
Population Research and Policy Review 21(4): 275-317
Publication date: 2002


Women's capabilities and the right to education in Bangladesh (abstract) 
Arends-Kuenning,Mary; Amin,Sajeda
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 15(1): 125-142
Publication date: 2001


The effects of schooling incentive programs on household resource allocation in Bangladesh (PDF) 
Arends-Kuenning,Mary; Amin,Sajeda
Policy Research Division Working Paper (no. 133)
Publication date: 2000


Family structure and change in rural Bangladesh (abstract) 
Amin,Sajeda
Population Studies 52(2): 201-213
Publication date: 1998


Incentive schemes for school attendance in rural Bangladesh (PDF) 
Amin,Sajeda; Sedgh,Gilda
Policy Research Division Working Paper (no. 106)
Publication date: 1998


Women's lives and rapid fertility decline: Some lessons from Bangladesh and Egypt (PDF) 
Amin,Sajeda; Lloyd,Cynthia B.
Policy Research Division Working Paper (no. 117)
Publication date: 1998


Family structure and change in rural Bangladesh 
Amin,Sajeda
Policy Research Division Working Paper (no. 87)
Publication date: 1996