As a Bangladeshi charitable foundation, we have always believed that when women rise, communities thrive. For years, we have walked this path alongside countless brave women across Bangladesh. We have funded girls’ education, provided microloans to mothers starting businesses, and stood up against gender-based violence.
But let’s be real: the road to empowerment is steep. Even with progress, too many women still face barriers—unequal pay, limited healthcare access, or societal pressures to stay silent.
Today, we are not here to lecture. We are here to share—ideas, stories, and practical steps we have learned from working in villages and cities alike. Because women’s empowerment isn’t just a slogan; it’s about breaking barriers, changing mindsets, and building a society where women can thrive in every aspect of life. We hope this guide will inspire you to join us in this mission.
Understanding the Current Landscape of Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh
Before we dive in, we need to take a clear-eyed look at where women stand in Bangladesh today. It’s a complicated picture, a mix of inspiring progress and frustrating setbacks.
Progress So Far: Glimmers of Hope
Over the last twenty years, we have seen changes that once felt impossible. Go into any primary school, anywhere in Bangladesh, and you will find classrooms full of girls – a sight that was rare just a few decades ago. Over 98% of girls are now enrolled in primary education, which is a huge win.
And then there’s the quiet revolution happening in our villages. Women aren’t just working in the kitchens anymore. They are running cooperatives, negotiating fair prices for their goods, and using their earnings to send their daughters to school. It’s incredible. Microfinance has been a game-changer, giving around 24 million women access to loans and fueling a real surge in women-owned businesses.
Women are also slowly but surely making their voices heard in politics. We have countless unsung heroes, like the female union council members who have brought clean water and schools to their communities. And, of course, we can’t forget the garment industry, which employs nearly 4 million women.
So, yes, Bangladesh has come a long way since independence. But let’s not kid ourselves – we still have a mountain to climb before we achieve true gender equality.
Challenges: The Walls Still Standing
Now, let’s be real: the road ahead is tough. For every girl in school, there’s another dropping out by the time she’s 15. Why? Poverty is a huge factor, but so are early marriages and the outdated idea that a girl’s education isn’t as important. Even in our cities, women earn significantly less than men for doing the same jobs – we are talking about a 20-30% pay gap. It’s simply not fair.
And then there’s the dark reality of violence. Here in Bangladesh, more than half of all women experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives, but hardly any of them report it. They’re afraid, they feel ashamed, and our justice system often lets them down. In our rural areas, just accessing basic maternal healthcare can be a life-or-death gamble.
But maybe the hardest thing to change is our culture. Women who work outside the home are often judged, and those who dare to speak out are often ostracized. And even though internet access is growing, only about 31% of women in rural areas have ever used it, which cuts them off from so many opportunities.
Why It Matters?
You might be thinking, why is women’s empowerment such a big deal? Well, here’s the thing: when women do well, everyone does better.
Take education, for example. A girl who finishes secondary school is more likely to marry later, have fewer children, and get a good job. When women earn a decent living, they save money, they support their family, they inspire other women, and they hold corrupt leaders accountable.
Economically, closing the gender gap could add something like $90 billion to Bangladesh’s GDP by 2026. But it’s not just about the money. It’s about dignity. It’s about a woman being able to choose her own career in life, a mother in a village being able to get healthcare without feeling ashamed.
The Bottom Line
The story of women’s empowerment in Bangladesh isn’t simple. It’s a story of progress and setbacks, of hope and frustration. Every step forward – whether it’s a new law, a girl graduating from school, or a father refusing a dowry – makes a difference.
At the Abul Kalam Foundation, we have seen this firsthand. We have cheered on mothers sending their daughters to school for the first time, and we’ve helped hundreds of girls continue their education. And we are not going to stop, because we know that when women rise, they lift up entire communities with them.
Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh: What We Can Do Today
We have been working for women’s empowerment in Bangladesh for a long time. During this period, we have identified a few key areas that we can improve further to build a nation of empowered women. Let’s learn more about them.
Cultivating Safe Spaces for Women Both Within and Outside Their Homes
First thing first, we need to make sure women are secure and safe both in their homes and in their communities. If we want to see meaningful change, we must build situations in which women can speak up, make decisions, and live fearlessly.
At home, every woman should have physical security and privacy. Then they should also have emotional safety. This starts with families understanding that respect for women is non-negotiable.
Encouraging healthy relationships, where both partners share responsibility and respect each other’s rights, is key. It doesn’t have to be between partners but also the normal person-to-person relationship. Women’s parents, siblings, or relatives should offer them a safe space at home.
But what about outside the home? For women, we need safe spaces in communities, workplaces, and public spaces as well. Each girl and woman should be able to walk down the street, attend school, or work without fear of harassment or violence in every area of the country. This requires both legal protection and a change in the attitudes of the general public.
Many non-profits and even the government already have women’s shelters, hotlines, and counseling services set up. However, these are still very low in number. We need to increase these support systems for women. These safe spaces give women the tools to rebuild their lives and regain their independence. Many even save lives.
People need to learn the idea of ‘consent’. In Bangladesh, 73% of women face harassment in public spaces. Then around 54% of women experience domestic violence. But only 1 to 2% report it. The entire country should be educated about this heinous crime. We should work against these types of issues collectively.
If we want to empower women in Bangladesh, we need to focus on giving them safety and security everywhere.
We Have To Educate our Girls
Bangladesh has done what many thought impossible: about 98% of girls are now enrolled in primary school. Back in the 1990s, it was just 40%. The percentage of girls attending secondary schools and colleges has also increased. Similarly, more girls are now pursuing higher education and attending universities.
Scholarships for female students, free textbooks, and tuition-free schools have transformed the mindsets of the girls of the country. These aren’t just numbers. They are revolutions.
But here’s the hard truth: around 40% of girls drop out of secondary school. Why? There is a myriad of reasons. The main reason is poverty. Families choose between feeding a child or educating her.
Then comes the curse of early marriage. As of yet, around 51% of girls are wed before 18 in Bangladesh. And then there’s the quiet killer: social stigma. The majority of the population still doesn’t want their girls to become educated.
They think that women don’t need to be literate as they will be married off as soon as possible. So many think- why invest in educating girls if they may not secure a job or contribute financially to the family? Other issues like overcrowded classrooms, undertrained teachers, and unfriendly environments are still there.
So we need to help the girls in Bangladesh to become educated. We need to establish more community schools for remote areas. And most schools are already free of cost for girls. But the number of such schools needs to be increased.
As we have told you, most girls drop out of secondary school. So we must encourage girls to continue their studies even after completing high school or college. The local charitable foundations should donate or sponsor girls’ education. We need to teach them the importance of getting educated.
For girls forced to leave school, we can offer courses in tailoring, mobile repair, and digital freelancing. But most importantly, we need to encourage girls to go to school and continue their studies.
Health and Well-being: A Cornerstone of Empowerment
When it comes to the health and well-being of women in Bangladesh, they are vulnerable. At the time of writing this post, about 123 women in Bangladesh die for every 100,000 live births. Ironically, most of these cases are preventable.
But the past was worse. We have to admit that Bangladesh has come a long way. In the 1990s, maternal mortality rates were a staggering 574 deaths per 100,000 births. Today, that number has dropped to 123. There are over 15,000 community clinics countryside of Bangladesh, offering prenatal checkups, vaccines, and nutrition advice.
But the problems still exist. For example, 30% of rural clinics lack electricity; 45% have no running water. This is not a good way to run healthcare clinics.
Next, 1 in 3 girls skip school during menstruation, using rags or leaves instead of pads. This is a huge concern, we need to address. Depression and anxiety haunt women—especially survivors of violence. But mental health care is a luxury few can access.
Researches show that 22% of women aged 15–49 are underweight in Bangladesh. This makes them weak for work, childbirth, and life.
We need to build more community clinics specifically for remote areas in Bangladesh. In chars (river islands) we need to deploy floating clinics staffed with midwives and nurses.
Plus, we need to train local women as midwives in remote places. And we need to lower the cost of giving birth. The authority must ensure a safe place for every pregnant woman to give birth without any hassle.
We need to distribute low-cost sanitary kits (reusable pads + painkillers) and build girls’ toilets in schools. We also need to break the social stigma about periods.
Women’s mental health should be taken seriously along with their physical health. Many women are suffering from domestic abuse or postpartum depression. We need to provide them with medication, counseling, therapy, or a safe space to share their mental agony.
We also need to teach women about nutrition. They need to eat healthy and nutrition-dense food. So, we need to tackle all these issues regarding the health and well-being of women in Bangladesh to empower them.
Legal and Political Empowerment: Ensuring Rights and Representation
Bangladesh has passed various laws protecting women’s rights. However, in most cases, these laws are just on paper not in practice. The Dowry Prohibition Act (1980) of Bangladesh criminalizes demanding dowry. The Domestic Violence Act (2010) recognizes physical, emotional, and economic abuse.
But the problem is that most women cannot take advantage of these laws. For example, 72% of women in Bangladesh avoid reporting violence, fearing ridicule or retaliation. Even when they do, only 3% of cases result in convictions.
Also for poor women from rural areas, it is not possible to afford a lawyer. On top of that, families pressure victims to “compromise” to avoid family shame. While 33% of local council seats are reserved for women, many are “proxy members”.
Only 21% of seats are held by women in the Bangladesh parliament, mostly in reserved roles. But if you count the percentage of directly elected female MPs- Just 6%.
Islamic inheritance laws grant women half the share of men. While civil laws allow equal property rights, cultural norms override them. Because Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country.
The first solution is to make the laws work. For instance, mobile courts should be arranged in rural areas to support the victims and punish criminals. We also need to train more paralegals in local community Paralegals. They can then help oppressed women file cases without leaving their villages.
We need to train women to be leaders. The government can partner with NGOs to teach negotiation, public speaking, and policy drafting to women from all around the country.
Also, encouraging women to engage in politics should be another step in the right direction. Women should be able to vote and become candidates, or leaders. Legal aid services should be more accessible, particularly in rural areas, to help women navigate the justice system when needed. The gap in participation and decision-making of women at grassroots levels should be closed.
Challenging Cultural Norms Against Women
One of the biggest hurdles to women’s empowerment in Bangladesh is the weight of traditional cultural norms. It is about centuries of culture teaching women to shrink, to apologize for existing, and to equate silence with virtue. But this should change.
First, we need to teach about gender equality in families and schools. We need to teach that boys and girls deserve the same rights and opportunities. At the same time, seeing women succeed as entrepreneurs, professionals, or leaders challenges the narrative of the century-old cultural norm.
Parents must support their daughters’ dreams. Communities should celebrate women’s achievements instead of judging them for stepping outside traditional roles.
The men and boys in society also should come as allies to the women. Because the main change will come from them. There should be meaningful campaigns for women’s empowerment in social media.
Also, the dowry system is another cultural norm, that we -all together- need to protest against. In Bangladesh, most divorces are done from the men’s side because of cultural barriers. But nowadays, women are also divorcing.
Economic Independence Through Skill Development
Picture this: Fatima, a 30-year-old mother of three in a sunbaked village of Cumilla, once spent her days stitching nakshi kantha (embroidered quilts) for her family. Today, those same stitches pay her children’s school fees and fund her sister’s medical treatment. How?
She joined a six-month tailoring workshop run by our charitable foundation. Now, Fatima sells her quilts to boutiques in Dhaka and mentors younger women in her village. Her story is a testament that women’s economic independence can be earned through their skill development.
Many women in both rural and urban areas are freelancing. They are bringing foreign currency to our country. BRAC’s Aarong empowers 65,000 artisans, mostly women, to sell traditional crafts globally.
Women are also working in traditional office jobs. The government and authorities should facilitate this more and more. The men colleagues should be welcoming and respectful to the women.
Research shows that 70% of training centers cluster in cities. So we need more women’s skill development centers in rural areas in Bangladesh.
Also, good internet is not available in most remote areas in Bangladesh. If this was solved, many more women would choose digital freelancing gradually. Many women are selling various products online using Facebook or other social media platforms.
The society needs to support the women who are working in traditional jobs. They are not only empowering themselves but they are also improving the economy of the country.
For instance, a 2022 study found women reinvest 80% of their income into family health and education. With the right support and opportunities, economic independence for women in Bangladesh will become a reality.
Leveraging Technology for Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh
If we want to empower women in Bangladesh, we must make it accessible to them. Cause, technology isn’t just a tool. It is a door to independence, growth, and connection for those women. Unfortunately, the majority of the women in rural areas of our country do not have access to the internet or digital devices.
UNESCO reports only 12% of STEM graduates in Bangladesh are women. It clearly reflects the systemic barrier against women.
E-commerce has been particularly transformative. It has enabled many women to sell products and services without needing a physical storefront. We have seen many women have been selling products online using various social media platforms as well.
Also, other women are also selling products on their own e-commerce websites or even directly on Daraz. These platforms are helping women feel less isolated and more confident in navigating personal and professional challenges.
The government and non-profits should come forward to help women in leveraging technology. That’s where community programs and affordable tech come in. Imagine a world where every woman in Bangladesh, no matter where she lives, feels tech-savvy and unstoppable.
With the internet, however, women now have the opportunity to enroll in online courses. Then they can learn new skills and land jobs digitally. For women in Bangladesh, technology has made entrepreneurship more accessible than ever before.
Women in Bangladesh can now manage their finances, receive payments, and even apply for microloans through mobile banking apps like bKash or Nagad.
In addition, every school and college should have equal access to computers and digital learning for girls. At the moment, only 14% of tech startups are founded by women in Bangladesh. We need to increase that.
Every non-profit should sponsor or fund women-led tech innovation. We need to train female teachers as role models and provide scholarships for girls pursuing STEM degrees. Right now, only about 12% of online content in Bangladesh targets women. This needs to be increased drastically.
The government needs to embed coding, robotics, and AI basics into secondary school curricula. Reports say that around 68% of Bangladeshi women online face abuse. The cybersecurity law should stand behind women against digital harassment.
Some telecommunication companies offer low-cost internet services to women. But all the companies should take part in this. We should also train community health workers to use tablets for prenatal checkups and mental health screenings in villages.
If we could make technology and digital literacy accessible to women in the remote areas of Bangladesh, we can help them build a better future for the nation.
The Role of Government, NGOs, and Communities in Women’s Empowerment
Empowering women in a nation with a huge population like Bangladesh isn’t a one-person job—it’s a team effort. In Bangladesh, real change will happen when the government, NGOs, and communities come together to create opportunities and remove barriers for women.
The government should embed policies that promote gender equality. However, policies only work when enforced, which means holding institutions accountable and ensuring women benefit from these initiatives.
But the main transformation happens in the families and local communities. It’s within families, neighborhoods, and workplaces that cultural attitudes start to shift. So we need to reach the core of the nation and start to educate individuals and families about gender equality.
NGOs are another support system for underserved women in the country. They are on the ground providing legal aid or even creating safe spaces for women to speak up. For example, NGOs like BRAC, USAID, ASA, etc. often focus on empowering women in rural areas where government programs might not reach them. More non-profits like this should get involved in this.
When these three forces—government, NGOs, and communities—work together, they can change the future of women in Bangladesh.
Building a Culture of Support in All Areas of Life for Women
Finally, we need to talk about the collective support we need to provide to change the fate of the women in our country. A revolutionary change will never come if just a few individuals or groups are trying for the transformation. It will change when we build a culture of support at every level.
First, we need to talk about the ‘family.’ so parents should support their daughters’ education and career ambitions. This will start with them sending their girls to school. Then they should help the girls continue their studies and chase their dreams.
Next, the workplace of a woman should be supportive and safe. Employers must create environments where women are not only given equal opportunities but also supported through maternity benefits, flexible working hours, and fair pay.
We as individuals also have a duty to perform if we want to support the women in our country. For instance, we can sponsor a poor girl student to support them through her studies.
Additionally, you can mentor girls in your area if you have the expertise. For instance, if you have access to the internet and digital devices, you can teach them digital literacy. Or you can also directly teach about women’s empowerment and educate them to improve their lives.
Many women are trying to improve their lives through entrepreneurship. You will find many local fairs or events are organized among local women to sell their products. You can support such women-led businesses. All in all, we all have the ability and responsibility to support women’s empowerment in Bangladesh.
FAQs on How To Achieve Women’s Empowerment In Bangladesh
Some of our readers might have some queries regarding this topic. So we have written this FAQ section for you. Here, we will be answering some of the most important questions on this topic.
What’s the biggest barrier to empowering women in Bangladesh?
It’s a mix of deep-rooted cultural norms and systemic issues. Think patriarchal attitudes (“women belong at home”) combined with gaps in law enforcement, like weak implementation of anti-violence laws. Changing mindsets is slow but possible—it starts with education and open conversations.
Can rural women really benefit from empowerment programs?
Absolutely! Rural women are already driving change—take microloan groups or female farmers adopting climate-smart techniques. The key? Tailored solutions: mobile health clinics, digital literacy programs, and local-led initiatives that respect rural realities.
How can men contribute to women’s empowerment?
Men play a huge role! It starts at home: sharing childcare, supporting wives’ careers, and teaching sons to respect girls. Communities need male allies too—like fathers advocating for daughters’ education or employers promoting equal pay. Equality isn’t a “women’s issue”; it’s everyone’s fight.
What role does financial independence play in empowerment?
When women earn their own money, they have a say in household decisions and can invest in their families and communities. Financial independence also boosts confidence and provides a safety net in tough times. Programs like microfinance and vocational training can help women achieve this in Bangladesh.
Are laws enough to protect women’s rights?
Laws are crucial, but they are just the first step. For example, Bangladesh has strong laws against dowry and domestic violence, but many women don’t report abuse due to stigma or fear. We need better enforcement, safe reporting channels, and grassroots education so women know their rights.
What can I do to help women’s empowerment as an ordinary citizen in Bangladesh?
Start small but start now! Mentor a girl, support women-owned businesses, or challenge sexist jokes. Amplify women’s voices in your community. Even sharing stories of local heroines—like a female entrepreneur or a village leader—can inspire others.
Why is education so important for women’s empowerment in Bangladesh?
Education opens doors. It helps women gain knowledge, build confidence, and take charge of their lives. In Bangladesh, educated women are more likely to get better jobs, support their families, and make informed decisions about their future. It’s the first step to breaking the cycle of poverty and inequality.
Is technology really making a difference?
Yes—but unevenly. Urban women use apps for freelancing or banking, while rural areas lag. Bridging this gap means affordable internet, tech training for women, and platforms like telemedicine for maternal care. Tech isn’t a magic fix, but it’s a powerful tool.
Will empowering women disrupt families or traditions?
This fear is common but misplaced. Empowerment isn’t about “replacing” traditions—it’s about ensuring women have choices. When women earn income, families thrive. When girls stay in school, they marry later and raise healthier kids. Strong women build strong communities, with their culture intact.
Final Thoughts
If you are still with us, then give yourself a pat on the back for reading such a long post. After reading this post, we think it is pretty clear that Bangladesh has made strides in empowering women in many ways. However, the journey towards true women’s empowerment is far from over. Simply put, women’s empowerment is a marathon without any finishing line. We have to continuously work towards it. The goalpost will be moved far away from time to time.
For true women’s empowerment in our country, it requires collective effort, understanding, and action. First, our entire nation needs to be educated about the gender equality issue. And then women need to feel valued and get equal opportunities in life. As a nation, we have the power to change the future for women in Bangladesh.
We at the Abul Kalam Foundation, working to support women in our area effortlessly in a plethora of ways. If you want, you can join us in the mission!
