Journal articles on the topic 'Wages Women Bangladesh'

The economic relationship between Japan and Bangladesh has grown stronger since the global financial crisis of 2008, with Bangladesh being identified as ‘China plus one’ by the Japanese companies. These companies have accordingly begun transferring the capital from China to Bangladesh to avoid political and social risks in China. This article examines the skills, wages, and householding of female Bangladeshi readymade garment workers, focussing on a Japanese multinational company’s international transfers and business activities in Bangladesh since the global financial crisis. This study yielded three main findings. First, it identified the structure of the division of labour involved in the production of pairs of short pants exported to Japan. Second, it compared 20 female operators’ wage assessments to those of the overall labour force, based on their skills and experience, and pointed out ambiguous and unfounded issues caused by the gender-asymmetrical workforce deployment of Bangladeshi factories. This gender-asymmetrical system is responsible for Bangladeshi female workers’ low wages. Finally, despite their low wages, the analyzed Bangladeshi women were found to share multiple household reproduction costs through remittances and perform most of the housework and care work in the household. JEL: B54, F23, F66, O53

The recent bilateral agreement between Bangladesh and the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) has facilitated migration of female domestic workers, which has opened up an opportunity as well as challenge for Bangladesh. Opportunities are quite significant in a sense that male migration has already been saturated in the GCC countries which has a major impact on the flow of remittances. The abundant and employable female labour force in Bangladesh could easily contribute to this international labour migration, and thereby add to the national economic development. There are serious problems as well since many Bangladeshi female domestic workers are reported to be exploited, sexually abused and raped by the middle man, recruiting agents, and the overseas employers. Many women fled from their employer and sought shelter at the Bangladesh consulate in Jeddah and Riyadh, alleging that they are either being tortured, not properly fed, paid, or not given job as promised. Many female migrants left their family members and young children at home in Bangladesh, which created further social problems as women are still considered as homemakers and childcare providers in the Bangladeshi cultural context. At this backdrop, the time is up to find out ways to make female domestic migration safe and secure. Both the sending and receiving countries must come up with policies and awareness programs that would ensure safety for the female domestic workers. It requires a strong commitment from both the sending and receiving countries that the policies, acts and laws are in favour of female migrant workers. National and international NGOs, civil society and media could play vital role to adopt and implement appropriate policies for safe and sound migration of the female domestic workers.

There are labour laws pertinent to health issues of garment workers in Bangladesh. The laws cover work hours, wages, sick leave, maternity leave and benefits, compensation and other working environment related issues. Because of the lack of implementation and/or violation of the laws, workers often suffer from health hazards both at work and at home. The problem is compounded by the fact that workers are unaware of many of the laws and the benefits they are entitled to because of lack of education and resources. The Bangladesh government, garment employers and different international and national NGOs have important roles to play in reducing the health hazards of workers. The paper discusses different types of illnesses and through narratives of women garment workers explores health hazards experienced by them. It also suggests solutions for policy-makers, NGO activists, employers and workers.

The study was conducted to find out what significant socioeconomic impact and how microfinance programs play the key role on the development of Bangladesh. To observe that we tried to find out in which way it is playing its role and what kind of socioeconomic impacts are related with microeconomic programs. Microfinance programs are providing a significant role in the development of Bangladesh by providing financial assistance to the lower income but self-employed people. They have turned into employed by getting the financial support from the different institutions especially from Grameen Bank, BRAC etc. The poverty level has minimized a lot from the rural area and household income increase by around one-third. Wages and marginal propensity to consumption (MPC) increased especially for women and it creates positive impact on children's schooling: A 1.05% increase in Grameen Bank female borrowers increases the probability of school enrollment by 1.8% for girls and 1.99% for boys. Microfinance also contributed to smoothening consumption level and reducing vulnerability of life of people. It plays a role in eradicating poverty, promoting education, improving health and empowering women.

Abstract We study how women's choices over labor activities in village economies correlate with poverty and whether enabling the poorest women to take on the activities of their richer counterparts can set them on a sustainable trajectory out of poverty. To do this we conduct a large-scale randomized control trial, covering over 21,000 households in 1,309 villages surveyed four times over a seven-year period, to evaluate a nationwide program in Bangladesh that transfers livestock assets and skills to the poorest women. At baseline, the poorest women mostly engage in low return and seasonal casual wage labor while wealthier women solely engage in livestock rearing. The program enables poor women to start engaging in livestock rearing, increasing their aggregate labor supply and earnings. This leads to asset accumulation (livestock, land, and business assets) and poverty reduction, both sustained after four and seven years. These gains do not crowd out the livestock businesses of noneligible households while the wages these receive for casual jobs increase as the poor reduce their labor supply. Our results show that (i) the poor are able to take on the work activities of the nonpoor but face barriers to doing so, and, (ii) one-off interventions that remove these barriers lead to sustainable poverty reduction.

Abstract Objectives Scaling-up nutrition interventions during pregnancy may provide human capital gains by lowering the risk of adverse birth outcomes associated with reduced long-term socioeconomic outcomes. We estimated gains in years of schooling and lifetime wages of scaling up prenatal maternal nutrition interventions for a 137 low- and middle-income countries. Methods Through a comprehensive review of the literature, we identified four prenatal maternal nutrition interventions with convincing-level of evidence for improving birth outcomes: prenatal multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS), calcium supplements, iron-folic acid supplements (IFA), and balanced protein energy supplements (BEP) among underweight pregnant women (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2). Effect sizes for intervention impact were derived from systematic reviews and random-effects meta-analysis. We focused on low birthweight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB) as primary birth outcomes. We used the 2015 LBW and PTB prevalence estimates to calculate country-specific absolute reductions attributable to scaling-up a given prenatal nutrition invention. We then used an effect size based on a de novo review of the economics literature to quantify gains in schooling and lifetime wages due to reductions in LBW/PTB under two hypothetical scale-up scenarios of 50% and 90% coverage. Results For each country, returns on schooling and lifetime wages were estimated for scaling-up each prenatal nutrition intervention. For example, in Bangladesh, scaling-up IFA supplements from current coverage of 26% to 90% was estimated to reduce LBW prevalence by 3.2% contributing to a predicted increase of 0.11 million school years and US$153 million in wages per birth cohort. Similarly, scaling-up MMS, calcium supplements, and BEP to 90% coverage was predicted to increase schooling by 0.25, 0.17, and 0.07 million years, and wages by US$338, US$223, and US$97 million, respectively, per birth cohort. Global, regional, and national-level estimates for schooling and wage gains for each nutrition intervention will be presented. Conclusions Our findings indicate that scaling-up prenatal maternal nutrition interventions will contribute to substantial population-level increases in human capital, particularly in countries with a high burden of low birthweight or preterm birth. Funding Sources Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This study has identified the present situation of the fieldworkers working in the development field, or we can call it data collection work, regarding their social, financial, and employment conditions. There is no existing literature on the social acceptances, financial security, job environment, and job security of the field workers working in the research and development sector. According to the founder president of the Organization of Research Associate in Bangladesh, almost 3500 to 4000 people work in the data collection field. The study found that only a few organizations have a wages policy for the field data collector. If the project budget is high, it will enable them to increase the payment of the fieldworkers. If the budget is low, they have to decrease the payment of the field workers. The working environment for the female workers working in the development sector for women is not well established.

This article undertakes an examination of Bangladesh’s latest available Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2015–2016 data to draw in-depth insights on gender wage gap and wage discrimination in Bangladesh labour market. The mean wage decomposition shows that on average a woman in Bangladesh earns 12.2 per cent lower wage than a man, and about half of the wage gap can be explained by labour market discrimination against women. Quantile counterfactual decomposition shows that women are subject to higher wage penalty at the lower deciles of the wage distribution with the wage gap varying between 8.3 per cent and 19.4 per cent at different deciles. We have found that at lower deciles, a significant part of the gender wage gap is on account of the relatively larger presence of informal employment. Conditional quantile estimates further reveal that formally employed female workers earn higher wage than their male counterparts at the first decile but suffer from wage penalty at the top deciles. JEL: C21, J31, J46, J70

Studies of ethnic residential segregation and its impacts on labour market performance have reported both negative and positive outcomes for different groups in different geographies. We revisit the issue with a particular focus on the Bangladeshi minority in England and Wales using both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the impact of living in segregated areas upon their labour market outcomes. We analyse the 2001 UK Census Controlled Access Microdata Sample (CAMS) and a subset (34 Bangladeshis) of qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with 73 men and women from Indian, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean backgrounds in 2005. Our quantitative analysis does show a clear negative impact of living in segregated areas (i.e. Bangladeshi ethnic enclaves) on unemployment, economic inactivity and on the occupational returns on education. Qualitative material suggests that cultural and practical reasons very often lead Bangladeshis, including highly qualified persons, to live in enclaves or nearby. Also, ethnic businesses in enclaves appear to offer jobs to many Bangladeshi men and women, but these jobs are normally low-paid that does not require high qualifications increasing the risk of lower occupational returns further.

Traditionally, prevailing patriarchal norms and social values have confined Bangladeshi women to the private sphere and placed them in a position of disempowerment vis-à-vis men. Since the 1970s the emergence of the readymade garment (RMG) industry has provided women with opportunities for waged work into the public sphere and linked them into the global economy. By using Naila Kabeer’s conceptualisation of empowerment and Walby’s theory of patriarchy as theoretical lenses of analysis, this paper examines what happens when women are empowered in the economic sphere and whether that transfers over into the domestic sphere in terms of changes in patriarchal relations. Evidence from semi-structured interviews with 40 female garment workers, the paper analyses their lives outside the workplace. It argues that experience of paid work can offer female RMG workers a degree of empowerment within home and society, but the level of this varied for women. For “Independent” and “Progressive” women the state of gender relations was changing to an extent as a result of paid employment, whereas “Traditional” women’s entry into the workplace had not brought about any change in the private form of patriarchy. Overall, women’s participation in paid employment such as their role as a wage earner, their increased freedom of movement and autonomy, self-confidence, a greater degree of awareness regarding their life decisions presents a radical challenge to the myth of the male breadwinner model of the family in Bangladesh and the notion of patriarchy. Social Science Review, Vol. 37(2), Dec 2020 Page 239-265

Introduction Bangladesh is one of the countries where the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension is rising due to rising living standards, sedentary lifestyles, and epidemiological transition. Among the NCDs, hypertension is a major risk factor for CVD, accounting for half of all coronary heart disease worldwide. However, detailed research in this area has been limited in Bangladesh. The objective of the study was to estimate changes in the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension among Bangladeshi adult population. The study also sought to identify socioeconomic status-related inequality of hypertension prevalence in Bangladesh. Methods Cross-sectional analysis was conducted using nationally representative two waves of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) in 2011 and 2017–18. Survey participants were adults 18 years or older- which included detailed biomarker and anthropometric measurements of 23539 participants. The change in prevalence of hypertension was estimated, and adjusted odds ratios were obtained using multivariable survey logistic regression models. Further, Wagstaff decomposition method was also used to analyze the relative contributions of factors to hypertension. Results From 2011 to 2018, the hypertension prevalence among adults aged ≥35 years increased from 25.84% to 39.40% (p<0.001), with the largest relative increase (97%) among obese individuals. The prevalence among women remained higher than men whereas the relative increase among men and women were 75% and 39%, respectively. Regression analysis identified age and BMI as the independent risk factors of hypertension. Other risk factors of hypertension were sex, marital status, education, geographic region, wealth index, and diabetes status in both survey years. Female adults had significantly higher hypertension risk in both survey years in the overall analysis in, however, in the subgroup analysis, the gender difference in hypertension risk was not significant in rural 2011 and urban 2018 samples. Decomposition analysis revealed that the contributions of socio-economic status related inequality of hypertension in 2011 were46.58% and 20.85% for wealth index and BMI, respectively. However, the contributions of wealth index and BMI have shifted to 12.60% and 55.29%, respectively in 2018. Conclusion The prevalence of hypertension among Bangladeshi adults has increased significantly, and there is no subgroup where it is decreasing. Population-level approaches directed at high-risk groups (overweight, obese) should be implemented thoroughly. We underscore prevention strategies by following strong collaboration with stakeholders in the health system of the country to adopt healthy lifestyle choices.

In Bangladesh, women’s engagement in economic activities in general and in agriculture in a particular area has remained low, but in modern times, the participation of women in agriculture has rapidly increased and also contributed to economic activities according to the survey guided by the Bureau of Statistics. Women’s role is changing from unpaid family workers to farm managers, a phenomenon termed as “feminization of agriculture” in absence of males. In order to determine the involvement of women in agricultural activities, secondary data from a representative sample survey in 62 villages conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics from 2000 to 2022 was used in conjunction with primary data from the Bangladeshi districts of Dinajpur, Cumilla, and Moulvibazar. The results show that 71% of women engaged in agricultural activities in 2022, an increase of about 11% from 2000. The participation was restricted to mostly crop farming, livestock and poultry rearing which is a marginal economic activity with the allocation of only about 1.5 hours of labor per day. Only 22% of the female workers participated in crop farming in 2022, compared to 45% of men. Only about 5% of the women participated in the agricultural labor market in 2000 and 2022. Women’s participation in the agricultural labor market remains insignificant at 3.07% of agricultural workers. A regression analysis shows that women’s engagement in agriculture is negatively related to land holding, different age gap, education of household members and wage rate, on the other hand, favorable way with the women's ages, the number of their homes that are irrigated, their membership in NGOs, the village's isolation, and the wage rate for agriculture in the community.

Using the Labor Force Survey 2010 dataset this paper examines gender wage gap in a large sample of urban workers in Bangladesh and explore whether gender wage gap varies across the wage distribution. Mincerian OLS regression and its Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition results reveal that the estimated wage gap between men and women workers is 21.2%. Adjusting women’s endowments levels to those of men increases women’s wage by 12.1% and a gap of 8.0% remains unexplained. The decomposition results based on the unconditional quantile regressions demonstrate that the estimated total gender wage gap is higher at lower end of the wage distribution compared to the higher end.

The study was undertaken to identify the core contribution of women in the rice production activities, identify the wage gap between male and female laborer and factors influencing women’s participation in rice farming at household level in Bangladesh. In doing so, the study utilized the data collected by the field survey from Nilphamari and Mymensingh districts of Bangladesh. A total number of 60 women respondents were selected using random sampling methods who were actively working in the rice fields during the production period in 2015. Data were analyzed using simple statistical techniques as well as OLS regression analysis. An analysis of the socioeconomic status of the women showed that in terms of contribution, nearly 43% and 42%of the total works were done by rural women in rice farming activities in Nilphamari and Mymensingh district, respectively. It was found that male workers spent 228.2 hours and female workers 174.5 hours per season in Nilphamari region compared to 270 hours and 197.3 hours per season in Mymensingh region, respectively. The average wage rate in Nilphamari district was BDT 241/day for male and BDT 175/day was female. Similarly, in Mymensingh district the average wage rate for male and female workers was BDT 281/day and BDT 162/day, respectively. The result of the OLS method suggests that the distance of the rice field from the home, the number of available technologies used and the number of adult male labour significantly affect the women's participation in farming activities. Despite the positive role of women in the production activities, their contribution was often neglected in terms of wage rate. Therefore, this study recommends the avoidance of wage discrimination between male and female workers which may strengthen their position within the family and increase their self-esteem and status in the society.Progressive Agriculture 27 (2): 180-188, 2016

In this paper, we study the transgender or Hijra communities to recognize and discuss the ongoing and long-term economic, mental, and emotional effects of lockdown on the most vulnerable who are worse off than daily wage earners. Hijras are a group of transgender people, non-binary and intersex women who have been assigned to be male at birth. In Bangladesh, they are deprived of basic human rights such as access to health care because of discrimination. Hijras in Bangladesh, especially during the national lockdown, have been adversely affected by the pandemic. There is a need for support and awareness to improve mental health awareness and eliminate stigma and prejudice. This article stands for the impact of COVID-19 on the Hijra or transgender community in Bangladesh.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of institutional practices, socio-economic status and vulnerability of shrimp fry catchers in the south-west region of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on primary research conducted through face-to-face interviews with women fry collectors in the south-west region of Bangladesh. This study attempts to identify the nature and extent of the impact of institutional practices on the women engaged in catching fry regarding their positioning within the institutional framework. Findings In the coastal region of Bangladesh, the shrimp sector has opened up economic opportunities for women in terms of access to income and employment. However, women have to make a trade-off between employment gain in terms of wage and health hazards caused due to poor working conditions. The findings of the study indicate that shrimp fry catching, complemented by other sources of income, can only help women to survive. The study also finds that the vulnerability of the fry collectors is the end result of mutually interacting institutional practices under different institutional domains. Accordingly, recommendations are made with a view to effectively utilizing social capital at the community level, which will be particularly helpful in raising fry catchers’ voice in the local political arena and strengthening their position in the marketplace. Due to the higher preferences of buyers towards wild fry and the participation of a huge number of people in fry collecting, this study suggests rethinking government intervention in this regard. Originality/value This is original research focusing on the underlying structural and institutional factors behind the marginalization and vulnerability of women and devising policies that will enable modification of the factors that restrain women.

The aim of this paper is to identify the current status of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in Textile & clothing Industry of Bangladesh. Also to discover the main issues faced regarding the supply chain, such as, inventory management, Longer Lead time ,collaboration, technology & logistics management . Also to relate it to the Modern Supply Chain in relevant to future Demand for the sustainable growth of this Industry . Textile industry of Bangladesh has been occupying as the largest source of exports and foreign currency for the country . It contributes 82.3% of the total export of Bangladesh .Also 4.00 Millions of women and men are employed in this industry. The export-oriented RMG sector has some distinctive features, which differentiate it from other businesses. Wage, supply chain, timeframe, and compliances are among the most important features of this business. Whatever the wage level or lead time is without proper supply chain management no business is viable. Our endeavor was to manage and exploit the opportunity that lies in an integrated supply chain which will provide competitive advantage to the Bangladesh garment factories. The study revels that the decision makers and planners of Textile & Clothing Industry should align their supply chain strategies, work together with all the supply chain partners, share information among the stages of supply chain, have a standard SCM procedure, comply the code of conduct, adapt changing technologies, minimize corruption and bureaucratic tangles in customs, cut lead time etc to sustain its growth.

Youth joblessness often leaves a scar. However, some ethnic groups appear to be more successful in recovering from this than others. Using a unique dataset (ONS Longitudinal Study) linking census records for a 1% sample of the population of England and Wales, we examine the relationship between early labour market experiences and later employment outcomes for men and women from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Caribbean origins to those of white British individuals. Our results show that, on average, being unemployed or inactive in youth (vs being employed or in education) reduces employment opportunities later in life. However, this varies greatly by ethnicity and gender: Indian and, especially, Bangladeshi men are substantively less affected by previous non-employment compared with white British men; for women, having an ethnic minority background continues to limit their labour market integration. Addressing gender and ethnic labour market inequalities requires a more nuanced understanding of how these disadvantages unfurl over time for different communities.

AbstractThis paper attempts to see how a particular labour market (domestic service), a traditionally male domain, became segregated both by gender and age in the post-partition Indian state of West Bengal, and mainly in its capital city Calcutta. It argues that the downward trend in industrial job opportunities in post independent West Bengal, accompanied by the large scale immigration of men, women and children from bordering East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), led to a general decline in wage rate for those in domestic service. Poor refugee women, in their frantic search for a means of survival, gradually drove out the males of the host population who were engaged in domestic service in urban West Bengal by offering to work for a very low wage and often for no wage at all. As poor males from the neighbouring states of Bihar, Orissa and the United Provinces constituted historically a substantial section of Calcutta domestic workers, it was mainly this group who were replaced by refugee women. The second stage in the changing profile of domestic service since the 1970s in urban West Bengal was arguably set by migrating girl children from different parts of the state to Calcutta city in search of employment. This is probably why West Bengal had the highest girl children's work-participation rate in urban India in 2001.

Poverty has always become major concern due to multifarious reasons in the Northern part of Bangladesh from the very earlier years of independent Bengal. The concoction of this study is to find out the root causes and consequence of extreme poverty in Northern Bangladesh. Following purposive sampling a survey is conducted at 8 villages of Kurigram district from October December 2019. In addition, the researcher distributed a total of 106 surveys to respondents for analyzing and interpreting target population. The study revealed that the most vulnerable groups in the selected area were agricultural wage laborer’s, landless and marginal farmers, children, women and aged people while food shortages, livelihood patterns, lack of industry, extreme unemployment and overall dependency associated with poverty scales and such states create more penetration on these community. The study concluded that hazardous events, Monga situation, resource scarcity, poor socio-economic structure and underdeveloped infrastructure solely deployed extreme poverty in the study region. Lastly, it is also designed to suggest how to reduce the extreme poverty following various poverty reduction programs by NGOs and government of Bangladesh using measurement scales towards standard livelihood in northern region.

This paper aims to analyse the adverse effects of the Rohingya influx on the economy of Bangladesh in recent years. Since the independence of Bangladesh, it has been gone through many ups and downs in the country's economic movement. The per capita income of the country has exceeded about two thousand US dollars. All the development indicators are upward in GDP. Rohingya people in Rakhine state, Myanmar have been facing decades of planned discrimination, statelessness, and targeted violence. For many years this kind of torture over the innocent Rohingya women, girls, boys and men has forced them to the influx to Bangladesh. The rapid spread of the Rohingya crisis also has been surprising for last three years to the Bangladesh government. From social to economic, economic to politics Rohingya refugees have impacts into the country. This research paper follows the empirical and narrative oriented research design in relation to find out the negative economic impact of the Rohingya influx to Bangladesh. One of the principal aims of the findings of this paper is to draw the attention of the policymakers and other concerns about the deleterious effects of the influx both in the future and present conditions. First and foremost, the negative impact of the Rohingya influx to Bangladesh on the economy is the increased cost of living and regional employment crisis. Moreover, a huge fall of the daily wage amount can be noticed. Furthermore, the country is facing a noticeable loss in the tourism sector and government expenditure on the health and security sector has risen since 2017. Hence, the government of Bangladesh should take necessary steps for the effective repatriation process without any delay to mitigate the financial cost burden.

On the afternoon of August 2, 2014, I walked into Hossain Market, one of the many nondescript multistoried buildings lining the commercial thoroughfare in Uttor Badda, Dhaka. I had gone to show solidarity with hunger-striking garment workers of the Toba Group, three of whose units were housed in the building. Since July 28, several hundred workers had occupied the upper floors, demanding payment of three months back wages, overtime, and a festival bonus. The market entrance looked deserted, not exactly the hotbed of industrial action I'd expected. “Is this where the strike is?” I asked no one in particular. A couple of young women immediately escorted me up several flights of stairs – past the inevitable collapsible gates and oversized padlocks adorning each floor. On the seventh floor landing, young student volunteers were buzzing around a media and communications desk they had set up. Inside, I found half a dozen workers sprawled across cutting tables and makeshift beds, being administered saline by a medical team provided by a well-known health rights NGO. Hundreds of others, mostly women but also some men, milled across the room. Before I could speak to the workers, Shahidul Islam Shabuj, a labor organizer and sometime acquaintance, spied me from a distance and whisked me away to the top floor for an audience with Moshrefa Mishu, president of the Garment Workers Unity Forum and the prime mover behind the “fast unto death.” For Shabuj, my presence was fortuitous—an opportunity to get the workers’ formal message out.

This paper examined the impact on employment of a credit plus program designed for ultra-poor households in the Northwest region of Bangladesh. Both descriptive and econometric techniques were used, and four regression models were estimated for each of the dependent variables with linear and log-lin specifications: one is a simple model considering only time effect and program effect, and the others were the extended models which included various characteristics of the households and the regions. The descriptive analysis showed that most of the beneficiary households had shifted from single earning members to multiple earning members. Women had started to contribute to household earnings. The results showed that the participant ultra-poor households had gained around 21.1% additional employment days due to the program participation opportunities within 2008-2013, with an annual rate of 4.2% gain. The extra earning days included wage-employment days and self-employment days and the results showed that due to the program, the wage-employment days had increased by 2.6% annually and the self-employment days increased by 6.6% annually holding the effects of other explanatory variables constant. The working days of non-participants had increased but at a lower rate than that of the program participant households. The results confirmed that the credit program for ultra-poor households had a significantly positive effect on the creation of employment days and employment opportunities.

This research examines the gendered consequences of the international low-fertility agenda, as it has been realized in an era of a globalized labor market, by documenting some of the ways that families in rural Bangladesh have shifted filial responsibilities between daughters and sons. Such shifts are occurring in a context of new demographic and economic realities that have been largely shaped by national policies and pressure from international organizations. Using qualitative interview data, this study examines how, in the context of declining family size, male labor migration, and increasing life expectancy, women and girls are expected to take on a larger share of filial responsibilities. While sons’ responsibilities narrow to include economic contributions through wage earning and remittances, expectations for daughters are expanding and may include earning a wage, as well as caring for both natal and marital relatives. This paper also seeks to problematize the conflation of fertility decline, poverty reduction, and women’s well-being by arguing that women’s empowerment is not a natural result of smaller families.

Objective This study examines trends and puts forward projections of under-5 mortality (U5M) in Bangladesh and identifies the effects of maternal high-risk fertility behaviours and use of healthcare services. Methods Data from seven waves of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (1994–2014) were analyzed for trends and projections of U5M and a Chi-square (χ2) test was used to identify if there was any association with maternal high-risk fertility behaviours and use of healthcare services. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the effects of fertility behaviors and healthcare usage on the occurrence of U5M adjusting with confounders. Results U5M declined from 82.5 to 41.0 per 1000 livebirths during 1994–2014 and is projected to further reduce to 17.6 per 1000 livebirths by 2030. The study identified a noticeable regional variation in U5M with maternal high-risk fertility behaviours including age at birth <18 years (aOR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.23–2.76) and birth interval <24 months (aOR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.02–2.37) found to be significant determinants. There was a 39–53% decline in this rate of mortality among women that had used antenatal care services at least four times (aOR, 0.51, 95% CI: 0.27–0.97), delivery care (aOR, 0.47, 95% CI: 0.24–0.95), and had received postnatal care (aOR, 0.61, 95% CI: 0.41–0.91) in their last birth. Cesarean section was found to be associated with a 51% reduction in U5M (aOR, 0.49, 95% CI: 0.29–0.82) compared to its non-use. Conclusion The Sustainable Development Goals require a U5M rate of 25 per 1000 livebirths to be achieved by 2030. This study suggests that with the current trend of reduction, Bangladesh will achieve this target before the deadline. This study also found that maternal high-risk fertility behaviours and non-use of maternal healthcare services are very prevalent in some regions of Bangladesh and have increased the occurrence of U5M in those areas. This suggests therefore, that policies and programmes designed to reduce the pregnancy rates of women that are at risk and to encourage an increase in the use of maternal healthcare services are needed.

Abstract The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, has been undergoing significant ecological changes due to climate change-related weather events since the late 1990s. This forest, situated in south-west Bangladesh, provides livelihood services to 3.5 million people. The livelihood provision of the Sundarbans forest has been invented due to climate-induced disasters, such as cyclones, sea-level rise, salinisation, heat waves, and flooding. Considering the impacts of cyclones Aila and Sidr, this autoethnographic study closely examines the long-established perceptions of women and men about the resources of the Sundarbans. While doing so, this study uses feminist political ecology as a theoretical framework. This study examines how these two cyclones transformed lives and gendered livelihoods of the villagers of Shora in the Sundarbans forest.

This study uses data from consecutive England and Wales censuses to examine the intragenerational economic mobility of individuals with different ethnicities, religions and genders between 1971 and 2011, over time and across cohorts. The findings suggest more downward and less upward mobility among Black Caribbean, Indian Sikh and Muslim people with Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani ethnicities, relative to white British groups, and more positive relative progress among Indian Hindu people, but also some variation in the experiences of social mobility between individuals even in the same ethnic groups. For some groups, those becoming adults or migrating to the UK since 1971 occupy an improved position compared with older or longer resident people, but this is not universal. Findings suggest that these persistent inequalities will only be effectively addressed with attention to the structural factors which disadvantage particular ethnic and religious groups, and the specific ways in which these affect women.

IntroductionThe development of type 2 diabetes mellitus disproportionately affects South Asian women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The Lifestyle InterVention IN Gestational diabetes (LIVING) Study is a randomised controlled trial of a low-intensity lifestyle modification programme tailored to women with previous GDM, in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, aimed at preventing diabetes/pre-diabetes. The aim of this process evaluation is to understand what worked, and why, during the LIVING intervention implementation, and to provide additional data that will assist in the interpretation of the LIVING Study results. The findings will also inform future scale-up efforts if the intervention is found to be effective.Methods and analysisThe Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance (RE-AIM) methodological approach informed the evaluation framework. Michie’s Behaviour Change Theory and Normalisation Process Theory were used to guide the design of our qualitative evaluation tools within the overall RE-AIM evaluation framework. Mixed methods including qualitative interviews, focus groups and quantitative analyses will be used to evaluate the intervention from the perspectives of the women receiving the intervention, facilitators, site investigators and project management staff. The evaluation will use evaluation datasets, administratively collected process data accessed during monitoring visits, check lists and logs, quantitative participant evaluation surveys, semistructured interviews and focus group discussions. Interview participants will be recruited using maximum variation purposive sampling. We will undertake thematic analysis of all qualitative data, conducted contemporaneously with data collection until thematic saturation has been achieved. To triangulate data, the analysis team will engage in constant iterative comparison among data from various stakeholders.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained from the respective human research ethics committees of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and site-specific approval at each local site in the three countries: India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This includes approvals from the Institutional Ethics Committee at King Edwards Memorial Hospital, Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Centre for Disease Control New Delhi, Goa Medical College, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Christian Medical College Vellore, Fernandez Hospital Foundation, Castle Street Hospital for Women, University of Kelaniya, Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Birdem General Hospital and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research. Findings will be documented in academic publications, presentations at scientific meetings and stakeholder workshops.Trial registration numbersClinical Trials Registry of India (CTRI/2017/06/008744); Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry (SLCTR/2017/001) and ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT03305939); Pre-results.

The objective of this paper is to explore people’s survival strategies and coping capacities to combat monga at household level in the northern region of Bangladesh. The agriculture based rural economy, extreme poverty, highpercentage of landless, lack of sufficient caloric intake, unemployment of vast agricultural labour force etc. are the root causes of vulnerability to monga in the northern regions specifically few districts of greater Rangpur. Moreover, geographically this region is vulnerable to natural hazards such as floods and droughts. The past records of food shortages and famine reveal that the trend is still continuing in the monga-prone areas. The present study found that the most vulnerable groups in the monga-prone areas were agricultural wage labourers, landless and marginal farmers, female headed households, children, pregnant women and aged people. The present study also found that with a view to cope with the monga, various coping strategies such as selling of labour with advance payment at cheap rate, borrowing of money, selling of assets, looking for work in other areas, dependency on relief, selling of field crops in advance at cheap rate etc. were adopted by the affected households. The present study also found that coping capacity was associated with household head’s socio-economic status e.g. level of education, monthly income, types of occupation, etc. Vulnerability to monga was higher for the illiterate and low income groups than the educated andhigh income groups. The present study argues that the policy makers ofGovernment and NGOs should emphasize on enhancing of coping capacities of poor and marginalized groups through rural centric development, ruralemployment generation, maximum utilization of agricultural land, proper credit support and agro-based industrialisation in the northern Bangladesh.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered novel coronavirus, renamed as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). 1 It was unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. 2 The outbreak was linked epidemiologically to the Hua Nan seafood and wet animal wholesale market in Wuhan, and the market was subsequently closed on 1 January 2020. 3 The virus rapidly spread to all provinces in China, as well as a number of countries overseas, and was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the Director General of the World Health Organization on 30 January 2020.4 Subsequently, on 11 March 2020, the WHO declared COVID-18 a pandemic.5 It is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. 6 Around the globe, hundreds of thousands have been infected and tens of thousands people died including frontline workforce including physicians, nurses and others. Bangladesh reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on 8 March 2020, after three people, two men and a woman tested positive for the coronavirus. Two of the infected are recently returned from Italy, and the other one is a female family member of the infected male. On the 18 March, 2020, Bangladesh confirmed the first death from COVID-19. 7 In Bangladesh, till 30 March 2020, 49 confirmed cases and there were five deaths due to COVID-19.8 This pandemic-a global calamity, is not only a health concern, it is a threat to life and livelihoods worldwide. In addition to health, major disruptions are also occurred in business, education, transports and others areas. It causes interruption in every aspect of day to day life. To prevent and control infections, the immediate challenges ahead are to conduct the tests, isolation of infected cases, tracing of the contacts and quarantine, and appropriate measures for the overseas returnees. An effective risk communication with community engagement is critical to reduce the stigma, fake news, psychological stress. It is essential to bring courage and mental strength of the frontline fighters, and support for the poor and daily wage earners etc. Aimed at preventing and control of SARS-COV-2, government of Bangladesh has already initiated steps including enhancement of public awareness on hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, social distancing, wearing of masks, avoidance of public gatherings, campaign against myths, fake news and stigma; preparing the health care services including expansion of hospital facilities, training and protective measures for the health workforce and other frontline fighters. Furthermore, steps are being taken conducting RT PCR tests, isolating infected cases, tracing contacts, quarantine the contacts and overseas returnees, and other necessary measures. The government has declared the general holiday in Bangladesh including closure of the educational institutes and office and workplaces, to prevent and control of infections. Necessary steps have been initiated for the social and economic protections of the vulnerable including expansion of the existing social safety net programmes. Aimed at adequate and timely response to the COVID-19, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, developed a number of guidelines and manuals for the containment of this pandemic disease. For an effective and timely preparedness and response, the DGHS has developed ‘National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19, Bangladesh’.9 For better response, well-coordinated and cooperated global efforts, including exchange of information, scientific knowledge, research findings, expertise and best practices are important. All countries should implement WHO guidelines and recommendations. In Bangladesh, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare alone cannot mitigate this pandemic. Strengthening of the coordinated efforts among the ministries, and effective and timely engagement of the non-government and private sectors are strongly recommended. Intensification of RT-PCR lab tests for case detection, and isolation and management of cases, and to trace the contacts and ensure quarantine, surveillance, and research, serological tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 specific immunoglobulins (IgG and IgM) to estimate the population exposure, strengthening public awareness and risk communication, strict implementation of personal hygiene, use of face mask, social distancing and other measures are thus suggested to prevent and control COVID-19 in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2020; 46(1): 01-02

Background This study examines the association between food insecurity and mental health of women during the COVID-19 pandemic in a resource poor setting. Materials and methods Data were collected at two time-points (wave 1 and 2) from 2402 women, one per household, participating in a larger study during extended COVID-19 lockdown in the rural areas of the southwest region of Bangladesh. The primary outcome of the analyses is the association between food insecurity, measured using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), and stress level, measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), for women during the lockdown. General awareness about COVID-19 and attitude towards prescribed preventive measures were also measured since COVID-19 health concerns could exacerbate food insecurity. Results An individual-level evaluation of the effect of wave 2 FIES score on PSS score showed that worsening of the food security status increasing the stress level of the participants (95% CI: 1.61; 2.13; p-value: <0.001). Additionally, a significant negative association was observed between the PSS score and change in food security status between the two waves (Coefficient: -1.15, 95% CI: -1.30; -0.99, p-value: <0.001), indicating that deterioration in food security status over the pandemic period increasing the stress level. At the village level, the results showed a similar pattern. General awareness around ways coronavirus spreads was high, yet there were misperceptions at a higher level. Maintaining hand hygiene, wearing face masks outside the home, and going outside only when necessary were widely practised. Fewer respondents could maintain a 1.5-metre distance from others in the outside and maintained cough and sneeze etiquette. Conclusion The results indicate a higher stress level, a potential contributor to poor mental health, as food insecurity deteriorated. Policy initiatives in ameliorating immediate food insecurity during crises, improving long-term wellbeing, and expanding the reach of mental health support are warranted.

Purpose Uncontrollable brain drain (employees’ turnover) has been found to hamper humanitarian and sustainable objectives of socially oriented organizations. Hence, this study aims to explore the roles of gender and organizational-level factors on the rate of employees’ turnover in microfinance institutions (MFIs). Design/methodology/approach The study used an unbalanced panel data of 235 MFIs spanning the period 2010–2019. Based on the availability of the required data set on the World Bank catalogue (in collaboration with Microfinance Information Exchange-MIX Market), this study covers four South Asian countries, namely, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Then, the authors analyzed the data using the conventional panel data regression techniques (e.g. fixed effects model and random effects model). Findings The regression results revealed that women leaders (board members) could significantly reduce the employee turnover rate of MFIs. Although the efficiency wage hypothesis is supported in this study, it depends on the profit orientation of the MFIs. This study also confirmed that financial sustainability and donations have helped MFIs to reduce their employees’ turnover, which reiterates the image and brand value effect of MFIs. Moreover, the overall gender development and legal status (e.g. Bank and Non-Bank Financial Institutions) have also been found to have an effect on employees’ turnover based on the sub-sample analysis. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is among the first to investigate the impact of gender and institutional characteristics on employees’ turnover based on a large and recent panel dataset from selected South Asian countries.

Identifying high-risk pregnancies through antenatal care (ANC) is considered the cornerstone to eliminating child deaths and improving maternal health globally. Understanding the factors that influence a healthcare facility’s (HCF) preparedness to provide ANC service is essential for assisting maternal and newborn health system progress. We aimed to evaluate the preparedness of HCFs to offer ANC services among childbearing women in Bangladesh and investigate the facility characteristics linked to the preparedness. The data for this study came from two waves of the Bangladesh Health Facilities Survey (BHFS), conducted in 2014 and 2017 using a stratified random sample of facilities. The study samples were 1,508 and 1,506 HCFs from the 2014 and 2017 BHFS, respectively. The outcome variable "ANC services preparedness" was calculated as an index score using a group of tracer indicators. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify the significant correlates of ANC service preparedness. We found that private hospitals had a lower chance of having high preparedness than district and upazila public facilities in 2014 (RRR = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.01–0.22, p-value = <0.001) and 2017 (RRR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.07–0.74, p-value = 0.01), respectively. HCFs from the Khulna division had a 2.84 (RRR = 2.84, CI: 1.25–6.43, p-value = 0.01) and 3.51 (RRR = 3.51, CI: 1.49–8.27, p-value = <0.001) higher likelihood of having medium and high preparedness, respectively, for ANC service compared to the facilities in the Dhaka division in 2017. The facilities that had a medium infection prevention score were 3.10 times (RRR = 3.10, 95% CI: 1.65–5.82; p-value = <0.001) and 1.89 times (RRR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.09–3.26, p-value = 0.02) more likely to have high preparedness compared to those facilities that had a low infection prevention score in 2014 and 2017 respectively. Facilities without visual aids for client education on pregnancy and ANC were less likely to have high (RRR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.16–0.53, p-value = <0.001) and (RRR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.30–0.99, p-value = 0.04) preparedness, respectively, than those with visual aids for client education on pregnancy and ANC in both the surveys. At all two survey time points, facilities that did not maintain individual client cards or records for ANC clients were less likely to have high (RRR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.31-.92, p-value = 0.02) and (RRR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.25–0.66, p-value = <0.001) preparedness, respectively, compared to their counterparts. We conclude that most facilities lack adequate indicators for ANC service preparedness. To improve the readiness of ANC services, government authorities could focus on union-level facilities, community clinics, private facilities, and administrative divisions. They could also make sure that infection control items are available, maintain individual client cards or records for ANC clients, and also ensure ANC clients have access to visual aids.

This research investigates the efforts taken by the women for introducing themselves as financially independent through e-commerce from the perspective of Bangladesh. After the outbreak of COVID-19, women of Bangladesh suffered a lot in case of – loss of jobs, lower wages, lower educational support, lower access to information, and deterioration of mental health due to depression and anxiety. At this bad time, e-commerce has shown women a new way of survival and gained economic independence. This study is for evaluating how e-commerce becomes a strong tool for women's economic independence during the period of this pandemic. Though there are some obstacles, e-commerce is opening the door to women’s success. Bangladesh is a developing country where most people think that the only duty of women is cooking and looking after children but e-commerce is giving the opportunity to the women to work at home and become financially independent. The policy recommendations for encouraging women in e-commerce and mitigating their challenges could be helpful for The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in making this sector more profitable.

Lately, women’s freedom is the most uttered concept in Bangladesh. Civil society has given the statement that women are onward to freedom. Women are now taking part in the various outside world. They are crushing their boundary of the household. But It was confusing after hearing those words. Is there any word called women’s freedom? Civil society has given its arguments based on women’s economic freedom to earn money. The question has arisen on that issue. If it is so, women are getting freedom as they are working outside and attaining economic solvency. Then what about working-class women who are working in the garments factory. Why are they deprived of equal wages in their workplace? Why are they harassed by the office staff and the male counterparts? Why are they being exploited in the household? Why are their voices not heard? Are there any answers to these questions? Working class women are being exploited in their households as they belong to the patriarchal society. Capitalism is using them as they are cheap labor.

The economy of Bangladesh mainly depends on agriculture. Any development can’t be possible because females and males are equally distributed in the country. Women can play a vital role if they properly participated in farm activities as well as in other income-generating activities outside the home. Rice mills are very much dependent on human labour, and almost 5 millions of unorganised workers are working in different rice mills, and more than 60 per cent of them is a female worker. But the working environment suffers from different discrimination and harassment issues between male and female workers. The present study aimed to find out the socio-economic status of women labour at rice husking mill of Bangladesh. Discrimination between male and female workers and the factor affecting the standard of living of women’s household will be focused. The study was carried out in two districts namely Mymensingh and Sherpur. From each district, rice husking mill was selected by using a cluster sampling technique, and 70 male and 70 female labours were considered as a sample. The survey was conducted by direct interviews using a questionnaire. Data generated were analysed by using tabular and statistical techniques. The average family size of the respondents was 4.46, and 57.05% of the participants were females while 42.95% were males in the household and 65.71% of female had no education. 88% of the women’s main occupation was in the rice mill as a daily paid labour. Average wage rate of male and female worker was 184.31 Tk. And 135.95 Tk., respectively. Age, education, number of family member, total land, number of earning member, the wage of women labour and working time and experience were the factors influencing income and living standard of female labours. There were various social violence cases against female labours in the working environment of rice husking mills. In the study area, 93% of female workers get lower wages, 90% of them had no accommodation facility. Besides they did not have sanitation facility (80%), opportunity to take rest at the middle of work (64%) and meal support (71%).

Total economy of Bangladesh greatly depends on industrial sectors and the ready-made garment is a vital part of this sector. More than 4 million people are working in this sector and about 5000 garment factories are scattered across the country. Among them about 70 per cent workers are women and they work equally with men from early morning to evening, which often extends to several hours at night, where their paid wages which they actually got are not in a satisfactory level. But we have to admit that, Proper management of labour is an essential matter for the growth of the industrial sector and for that role of labour and industrial laws are of paramount importance. The main object to which the Labour law indicates is obviously to maintain peace in the industrial sector and to meet the vibrancies of problems in the workplace, not only that but also to protect and secure the essential rights of the workmen. But it is a matter to regret that various defects, loopholes and unwanted rules of labour laws are depriving the workers of their legal or basic rights and also indiscriminately been victimized. The main aims of this research are to clarify the rights and other conceptual issues regarding rights of the workers especially who work in the garments sector of Bangladesh in accordance with standard practice, domestic and international legal framework along with the pledge to search the main and top most loopholes of existing labour laws of our country. In this research, we have tried both qualitative and quantitative approach to make it more effective and fruitful. At the end of this research, we will try to discuss some international documents to assure the maximization of rights of the working class as well as to lessen the violation of their fundamental, legal or basic rights in the ready-made garments sector of our country.

The lives of people in the coastal areas have been adversely affected both economically and socially by the shrimp culture which is also creating serious ecological threat to the environment. The discontent and sufferings are now increasing and needs to be critically addressed. The women associated with the shrimp culture process are of socially, economically and physically disadvantaged group. The issues of social and human rights violation in the shrimp industry is really a matter of great disquiet that concerns the women involved in shrimp cultivation. The health and insecurity of women has increased through the occurrences of kidnapping, rape, wage discrimination and other forms of female harassments. Various types of health risks are prevalent among women involved with the shrimp sector who do not have other viable employment alternatives. Women working in the shrimp industry and fry collection from the coast are target group of this study. It is necessary to develop a holistic and integrated approach addressing the socio-economic affairs, health and security issues of women for sustainable management of shrimp farming in the country. This paper endeavors to accommodate the existing scenario of women’s health and security concern in shrimp cultivation in southwestern Bangladesh.

The readymade garments workers in Bangladesh are the most important persons in the economy of Bangladesh. Without their contribution, we have not got the status of a middle-income country. There is a distinct similarity between the garment’s workers and slavery in terms of the long work hours, wage gap, and curbing human rights. This research is focused on the relation between power and labor in the garment factory. So, this paper is based on the theory of ‘Coloniality of Power’ by Anibal Quijano (2000). It is investigating how the labourers have become modern ‘slaves’, how they are being treated, and how their flesh and blood are used to bear the practice of colonialism. This paper concludes with some recommendations for stopping this practice.

AbstractEthnic minorities have experienced disproportionate COVID-19 mortality rates in the UK and many other countries. We compared the differences in the risk of COVID-19 related death between ethnic groups in the first and second waves the of COVID-19 pandemic in England. We also investigated whether the factors explaining differences in COVID-19 death between ethnic groups changed between the two waves. Using data from the Office for National Statistics Public Health Data Asset, a linked dataset combining the 2011 Census with primary care and hospital records and death registrations, we conducted an observational cohort study to examine differences in the risk of death involving COVID-19 between ethnic groups in the first wave (from 24th January 2020 until 31st August 2020) and the first part of the second wave (from 1st September to 28th December 2020). We estimated age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) in the two waves stratified by ethnic groups and sex. We also estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for ethnic-minority groups compared with the White British population, adjusted for geographical factors, socio-demographic characteristics, and pre-pandemic health conditions. The study population included over 28.9 million individuals aged 30–100 years living in private households. In the first wave, all ethnic minority groups had a higher risk of COVID-19 related death compared to the White British population. In the second wave, the risk of COVID-19 death remained elevated for people from Pakistani (ASMR: 339.9 [95% CI: 303.7–376.2] and 166.8 [141.7–191.9] deaths per 100,000 population in men and women) and Bangladeshi (318.7 [247.4–390.1] and 127.1 [91.1–171.3] in men and women) background but not for people from Black ethnic groups. Adjustment for geographical factors explained a large proportion of the differences in COVID-19 mortality in the first wave but not in the second wave. Despite an attenuation of the elevated risk of COVID-19 mortality after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and health status, the risk was substantially higher in people from Bangladeshi and Pakistani background in both the first and the second waves. Between the first and second waves of the pandemic, the reduction in the difference in COVID-19 mortality between people from Black ethnic background and people from the White British group shows that ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 mortality can be addressed. The continued higher rate of mortality in people from Bangladeshi and Pakistani background is alarming and requires focused public health campaign and policy changes.

AbstractMarried women have a higher risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or develop acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) than men. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS contributes significantly to describing the prevalence and consequences of such virus/disease. The study aimed to investigate the level of HIV/AIDS knowledge and the socio-demographic variables that influence HIV/AIDS knowledge among married women in Bangladesh. We used three waves of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), which included 33,843, 20,727, and 29,724 married women from 2006, 2012, and 2019 MICS. A score was prepared through their interrogation to determine the level of knowledge and logistic regression models were used for analyzing the data. This study found that the prevalence of knowledge level of HIV/AIDS in different questions increased from 55.20% in 2006 to 58.69% in 2019. In our study, respondents having highest education had 4.03 (95% CI 3.50–4.64) times more chance to obtain “High Score” in 2019 MICS which is 5.30 times in 2012 MICS (95% CI 4.41–6.37) and 2.58 times in 2006 MICS (95% CI 2.28–2.93) compared to illiterate married women. Moreover, respondents from urban area were 1.13 times more likely to obtain “High Score” in 2019 MICS which is 1.14 times in 2012 MICS and 1.16 times in 2006 MICS, respectively than the rural married women. This study also found respondent’s age, division, mass media access, and wealth status have played an important role in HIV/AIDS knowledge. Although a significant proportion of women had adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS, more knowledge is still required to protect against such viruses/diseases. Thus, we advocate for the implementation of educational program in the curriculum, counselling, particularly in rural areas, and mass media access to ensure quality knowledge throughout the country.

Abstract Background Like many countries, the government of Bangladesh also imposed stay-at-home orders to restrict the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (COVID-19) in March, 2020. Epidemiological studies were undertaken to estimate the early possible unforeseen effects on maternal mortality due to the disruption of services during the lockdown. Little is known about the constraints faced by the pregnant women and community health workers in accessing and providing basic obstetric services during the pandemic in the country. This study was conducted to explore the lived experience of pregnant women and community health care providers from two southern districts of Bangladesh during the pandemic of COVID-19. Methods The study participants were recruited through purposive sampling and non-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. Data was collected over the telephone from April to June, 2020. The data collected was analyzed through a phenomenological approach. Results Our analysis shows that community health care providers are working under tremendous strains of work load, fear of getting infected and physical and mental fatigue in a widely disrupted health system. Despite the fear of getting infected, the health workers are reluctant to wear personal protective suits because of gender norms. Similarly, the lived experience of pregnant women shows that they are feeling helpless; the joyful event of pregnancy has suddenly turned into a constant fear and stress. They are living in a limbo of hope and despair with a belief that only God could save their lives. Conclusion The results of the study present the vulnerability of pregnant women and health workers during the pandemic. It recognizes the challenges and constraints, emphasizing the crucial need for government and non-government organizations to improve maternal and newborn health services to protect the pregnant women and health workers as they face predicted waves of the pandemic in the future.

IntroductionThis article is about the transformation of coffee, from having no place in the everyday lives of the people of Bangladesh, to a new position as a harbinger of liberal values and Western culture. The context is a group of Australian photojournalism students who embarked on a month-long residency in Bangladesh; the content is a Nescafé advertisement encouraging the young, middle-class Bangladesh audience to consume coffee, in a marketing campaign that promotes “my first cup.” For the Australian students, the marketing positioning of this advertising campaign transformed instant coffee into a strange and unfamiliar commodity. At the same time, the historic association between Bangladesh and tea prompted one of the photographers to undertake her own journey to explore the hidden side of that other Western staple. This paper explores the tradition of tea culture in Bangladesh and the marketing campaign for instant coffee within this culture, combining the authors’ experiences and perspectives. The outline of the Photomedia unit in the Bachelor of Creative Industries degree that the students were working towards at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia states that:students will engage with practices, issues and practicalities of working as a photojournalist in an international, cross cultural context. Students will work in collaboration with students of Pathshala: South Asian Institute of Photography, Dhaka Bangladesh in the research, production and presentation of stories related to Bangladeshi society and culture for distribution to international audiences (ECU). The sixteen students from Perth, living and working in Bangladesh between 5 January and 7 February 2012, exhibited a diverse range of cultures, contexts, and motivations. Young Australians, along with a number of ECU’s international students, including some from Norway, China and Sweden, were required to learn first-hand about life in Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest and most densely populated countries. Danielle Fusco and ECU lecturer Duncan Barnes collaborated with staff and students of Pathshala, South Asian Media Institute (Pathshala). Their recollections and observations on tea production and the location are central to this article but it is the questions asked by the group about the marketing of instant coffee into this culture that provides its tensions. Fusco completed a week-long induction and then travelled in Bangladesh for a fortnight to research and photograph individual stories on rural and urban life. Barnes here sets the scene for the project, describing the expectations and what actually happened: When we travel to countries that are vastly different to our own it is often to seek out that difference; to go in search of the romanticised ideals that have been portrayed as paradise in films, books and photographs. “The West” has long been fascinated with “The East” (Said) and for the past half century, since the hippie treks to Marrakesh and Afghanistan, people have journeyed overland to the Indian sub-continent, both from Europe and from Australia, yearning for a cultural experience they cannot find at home. Living in Perth, Western Australia, sometimes called the most isolated capital city in the world, that pull to something “different” is like a magnet. Upon arrival in Dhaka, you find yourself deliciously overwhelmed by the heavy traffic, the crowded markets, the spicy foods and the milky lassie drinks. It only takes a few stomach upsets to make your Western appetite start kicking in and you begin craving things you have at home but that are hard to find in Bangladesh. Take coffee for example. I recently completed a month-long visit to Bangladesh, which, like India, is a nation of tea drinkers. Getting any kind of good coffee requires that you be in what expatriates call “the Golden Triangle” of Dhaka city—within the area contained by Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara. Here you find the embassies and a sizeable expatriate community that constitutes a Western bubble unrepresentative of Bangladesh beyond these districts. Coffee World is an example of a Western-style café chain that, as the name suggests, serves coffee beverages. It has trouble making a quality flat white. The baristas are poorly trained, the service is painfully slow, yet the prices are comparable to those in the West. Even with these disadvantages, it is frequented by Westerners who also make use of the free WiFi. In contrast, tea is available at every road junction for around 5 cents Australian. It’s ready in seconds: the kettle is always hot due to a constant turnover of local customers. It was the history of tea growing in Bangladesh, and a desire to know more about a commodity that people in the West take for granted, that most attracted Fusco’s interest. She chose to focus on Bangladesh’s oldest commercial tea garden (plantation) Sylhet, which has been in production since 1857 (Tea Board). As is the case with many tea farms in the Indian sub-continent, the workers at Sylhet are part of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority. Fusco left Dhaka and travelled into the rural areas to investigate tea production: Venturing into these estates from the city is like entering an entirely different world. They are isolated places, and although they are close in distance, they are completely separate from the main city. Spending time in the Khadim tea estate amongst the plantations and the workers’ compounds made me very aware of the strong relationship that exists between them. The Hindu teaching of Samsara refers to the continuous cycle of repeated birth, life, death and rebirth [Hinduism], which became a metaphor for me, for this relationship I was experiencing. It is clear that neither farm [where the tea is grown] nor village [which houses the people] could live without each other. The success and maintenance of the tea farm relies on the workers just as much as the workers rely on the tea gardens for their livelihood and sustenance. Their life cycles are intertwined and in synch. There are many problems in the compounds. The people are extremely poor. Their education opportunities are limited, and they work incredibly hard for very little money for their entire lives. They are bound to stay and work here and as those generations before them, were born, worked and died here, living their whole lives in the community of the tea farm. By documenting the lives of the people, I realised I was documenting the process of the lives of the tea trees at the same time. This is how I met Lolita.Figure 1. Bangladeshi tea worker, Lolita, stands in a small section of the Khadim tea plantation in the early morning. Sylhet, Bangladesh (Danielle Fusco, Jan. 2012). This woman emulated everything I was seeing and feeling about the village and the garden. She spoke about the reliance on the trees, especially because of the money and, therefore, the food, they provide for her and her husband. I became aware of the injustice of this system because the workers are paid so little while this industry is booming. It was obvious that life here is far from perfect, but as Lolita explains, they make do. She has worked on the tea estate for decades. As her husband is no longer working, she is the primary income earner. They are able, however, to live in relative comfort now their children have all married and left and it is just the two of them. Lolita describes that money lies within these trees. Money for her means that she can eat that day. Money for the managers means industrial success. Either way, whether it is in the eyes of the individual or the industry, tea always comes down to Taka [the currency of Bangladesh]. Marketing Coffee in a Culture of Tea and Betel Nut With such a strong culture of tea production and consumption and a coffee culture just existing on the fringe, a campaign by Nescafé to encourage Bangladeshi consumers to have “my first cup” of Nescafé instant coffee at the time of this study captured the imagination of the students. How effective can the marketing of Nescafé instant coffee be in a society that is historically a producer and consumer of tea, and which also still embraces the generations-old use of the betel nut as an everyday stimulant? Although it only employs some 150,000 (Islam et al.) in a nation of 150 million people, tea makes an important contribution to the Bangladesh economy. Shortly after the 1971 civil war, in which East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) became independent from West Pakistan (now Pakistan), the then-Chairman of the Bangladesh Tea Board, writing in World Development, commented:In the highly competitive marketing environment of today it is extremely necessary for the tea industry of Bangladesh to increase production by raising the per acre yield, improve quality by adoption of finer plucking standards and modernization of factories and reduce per unit cost of production so as to be able to sell more of our teas to foreign markets and thereby earn higher amounts of much needed foreign exchange for the country as well as generate additional resources within the industry for ploughing back for further development (Ali 55). In Bangladesh, tea is a cash crop that, even in the 1970s following vicious conflicts, is more than capable of meeting local demand and producing an export dividend. Coffee is imported commodity that, historically, has had little place in Bangladeshi life or culture. However important tea is, it is not the traditional Bangladesh stimulant. Instead, over the years, when people in the West would have had a cup of tea or coffee and/or a cigarette, most Bangladeshis have turned to the betel nut. A 2005 study of 100 citizens from Araihazar, Bangladesh, conducted by researchers from Columbia University, found that coffee consumption is “very low in this population” (Hafeman et al. 567). The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of betel quids (the wad of masticated nut) and the chewing of betel nuts, upon tremor. For this reason, it was important to record the consumption of stimulants in the 98 participants who progressed to the next stage of the study and took a freehand spiral-drawing test. While “26 (27%) participants had chewed betel quids, 23 (23%) had smoked one or more cigarettes, [and] 14 (14%) drank tea; on that day, only 1 (1%) drank caffeinated soda, and none (0%) drank coffee” (Hafeman et al. 568). Given its addictive and carcinogenic properties (Sharma), the people who chewed betel quids were more likely to exhibit tremor in their spiral drawings than the people who did not. As this (albeit small) study suggests, the preferred Bangladeshi stimulant is more likely to be betel or tobacco rather than a beverage. Insofar as hot drinks are consumed, Bangladesh citizens drink tea. This poses a significant challenge for multinational advertisers who seek to promote the consumption of instant coffee as a means of growing the global market for Nescafé. Marketing Nescafé to Bangladesh In Dhaka, in January 2012, the television campaign slogan for Nescafé is “My first cup”, with the tagline, “Time you started.” This Nescafé television commercial (NTC) impressed itself upon the Australian visitors, both in terms of its frequency of broadcast and in its referencing of Western culture and values. (The advertisement can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E8mFX43oAM). The NTC’s three stars, Vir Das, Purab Kohli, and leading Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, are highly-recognisable to young Bangladeshi audiences and the storyline is part of a developing series of advertisements which together form a mini-soap opera, like that used so successfully to advertise the Nescafé Gold Blend brand of instant coffee in the West in the 1980s to 1990s (O’Donohoe 242; Beale). The action takes place in Kohli’s affluent, Western-style apartment. The drama starts with Das challenging Kohli regarding whether he has successfully developed a relationship with his attractive neighbour, Padukone. Using a combination of local language with English words and sub-titles, the first sequence is captioned: “Any progress with Deepika, or are you still mixing coffee?” Suggesting incredulity, and that he could do better, Das asks Kohli, according to the next subtitle, “What are you doing dude?” The use of the word “dude” clearly refers to American youth culture, familiar in such movies as Dude, where’s my car? This is underlined by the immediate transition to the English words of “bikes … biceps … chest … explosion.” Of these four words only “chest” is pronounced in the local tongue, although all four words are included as captions in English. Kohli appears less and less impressed as Das becomes increasingly insistent, with Das going on to express frustration with Kohli through the exclamation “u don’t even have a plan.” The use of the text-speak English “u” here can be constructed as another way of persuading young Bangladeshi viewers that this advertisement is directed at them: the “u” in place of “you” is likely to annoy their English-speaking elders. Das continues speaking in his mother tongue, with the subtitle “Deepika padukone [sic] is your neighbour and you are only drinking coffee,” with the subsequent subtitle emphasising: “Deepika and only coffee.” At this point, Padukone enters the apartment through the open door without knocking and confidently says “Hi.” Kohli explains the situation by responding (in English, and subtitled) “my school friend, Das”. Padukone, in turn, responds in a friendly way to both men (in English, and subtitled) “You guys want to have coffee?” Instead of responding directly to this invitation, Das models to Kohli what it is to take the initiative in this situation: what it is to have a plan. “Hello” (he says, in English and subtitled) “I don’t have coffee but I have a plan. You and me, my bike, right now, hit the town, party!” Kohli looks down at the floor, embarrassed, while Padukone looks quizzically at him over Das’s shoulder. Kohli smiles, and points to himself and Padukone, clearly excluding Das: “I will have coffee” (in English, and subtitle). “Better plan”, exclaims Padukone, “You and me, my place, right now, coffee.” She looks challengingly at Das: “Right?,” a statement rather than a request, and exits, with Kohli following and Das left behind in the apartment. Cue voice-over (not a subtitle, but in-screen speech bubble) “[It’s] time you started” (spoken) “the new Nescafé” (shot change) “My first cup” (with an in-screen price promotion). This commercial associates coffee drinking with Western values of social and personal autonomy. For young women in the traditional Muslim culture of Bangladesh, it suggests a world in which they are at liberty to spend time with the suitors they choose, ignoring those whom they find pushy or inappropriate, and free to invite a man back to “my place, right now” for coffee. The scene setting in this advertisement and the use of English in both the spoken and written text suggests its target is the educated middle class, and indicates that sophisticated, affluent, trend-setters drink coffee as a part of getting to know their neighbours. In line with this, the still which ends the commercial promotes the Facebook page “Know your neighbours.” The flirtatious nature of the actors in the advertisement, the emphasis on each of the male characters spending time alone with the female character, and the female character having both power and choice in this situation is likely to be highly unacceptable to traditional Bangladeshi parental values and, therefore, proportionately more exciting to the target audience. The underlying suggestion of “my first cup” and “time you started” is that the social consumption of that first cup of coffee is the “first step” to becoming more Western. The statement also has overtones of sexual initiation. The advertisement aligns itself with the world portrayed in the Western media consumed in Bangladesh, and the implication is that—even if Western liberal values are not currently a possible choice for all—it is at least feasible to start on the journey towards these values through drinking that first cup of coffee. Unbeknownst to the Bangladesh audience, this Nescafé marketing strategy echoes, in almost all material particulars, the same approach that was so successful in persuading Australians to embrace instant coffee. Khamis, in her essay on Australia and the convenience of instant coffee, argues that, while in 1928 Australia had the highest per capita consumption of tea in the world, this had begun to change by the 1950s. The transformation in the market positioning of coffee was partly achieved through an association between tea and old-fashioned ‘Britishness’ and coffee and the United States: this discovery [of coffee] spoke to changes in Australia’s lifestyle options: the tea habit was tied to Australia’s development as a far-flung colonial outpost, a daily reminder that many still looked to London as the nation’s cultural capital: the growing appeal of instant coffee reflected a widening and more nuanced cultural palate. This was not just ‘another’ example of the United States postwar juggernaut; it marks the transitional phase in Australia’s history, as its cultural identity was informed less by the staid conservativism of Britain than the heady flux of New World glamour (219). Coffee was associated with the USA not simply through advertising but also through cultural exposure. By 1943, notes Khamis, there were 120,000 American service personnel stationed in Australia and she quotes Symons (168) as saying that “when an American got on a friendly footing with an Australian family he was usually found in the kitchen, teaching the Mrs how to make coffee, or washing the dishes” (168, cited in Khamis 220). The chances were that “the Mrs”—the Australian housewife—felt she needed the tuition: an Australian survey conducted by Gallup in March 1950 indicated that 55 per cent of respondents at that time had never tried coffee, while a further 24 per cent said they “seldom” consumed it (Walker and Roberts 133, cited in Khamis 222). In a newspaper article titled, “Overpaid, Oversexed and Over Here”, Munro describes the impact of exposure to the first American troops based in Australia during this time, with a then seven year old recalling: “They were foreign, quite a different culture from us. They spoke more loudly than us. They had strange accents, cute expressions, they were really very exotic.” The American troops caused consternation for Australian fathers and boyfriends. Dulcie Wood was 18 when she was dating an American serviceman: They had more money to spend (than Australian troops). They seemed to have plenty of supplies, they were always bringing you presents—stockings and cartons of cigarettes […] Their uniforms were better. They took you to more places. They were quite good dancers, some of them. They always brought you flowers. They were more polite to women. They charmed the mums because they were very polite. Some dads were a bit more sceptical of them. They weren’t sure if all that charm was genuine (quoted in Munro). Darian-Smith argues that, at that time, Australian understanding of Americans was based on Hollywood films, which led to an impression of American technological superiority and cultural sophistication (215-16, 232). “Against the American-style combination of smart advertising, consumerism, self-expression and popular democracy, the British class system and its buttoned-up royals appeared dull and dour” writes Khamis (226, citing Grant 15)—almost as dull and dour as 1950s tea compared with the postwar sophistication of Nescafé instant coffee. Conclusion The approach Nestlé is using in Bangladesh to market instant coffee is tried and tested: coffee is associated with the new, radical cultural influence while tea and other traditional stimulants are relegated to the choice of an older, more staid generation. Younger consumers are targeted with a romantic story about the love of coffee, reflected in a mini-soap opera about two people becoming a couple over a cup of Nescafé. Hopefully, the Pathshala-Edith Cowan University collaboration is at least as strong. Some of the overseas visitors return to Bangladesh on a regular basis—the student presentations in 2012 were, for instance, attended by two visiting graduates from the 2008 program who were working in Bangladesh. For the Australian participants, the association with Pathshala, South Asian Media Institute, and Drik Photo Agency brings recognition, credibility and opportunity. It also offers a totally new perspective on what to order in the coffee queue once they are home again in Australia. Postscript The final week of the residency in Bangladesh was taken up with presentations and a public exhibition of the students’ work at Drik Picture Agency, Dhaka, 3–7 February 2012. Danielle Fusco’s photographs can be accessed at: http://public-files.apps.ecu.edu.au/SCA_Marketing/coffee/coffee.html References Ali, M. “Commodity Round-up: Problems and Prospects of Bangladesh Tea”, World Development 1.1–2 (1973): 55. Beale, Claire. “Should the Gold Blend Couple Get Back Together?” The Independent 29 Apr 2010. 8 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/should-the-gold-blend-couple-get-back-together-1957196.html›. Darian-Smith, Kate. On the Home Front: Melbourne in Wartime 1939-1945. 2nd ed. Melbourne: Melbourne UP, 2009. Dude, Where’s My Car? Dir. Danny Leiner. Twentieth Century Fox, 2000. Edith Cowan University (ECU). “Photomedia Summer School Bangladesh 2012.” 1 May 2012 .Grant, Bruce. The Australian Dilemma: A New Kind of Western Society. Sydney: Macdonald Futura, 1983. Hafeman, D., H. Ashan, T. Islam, and E. Louis. “Betel-quid: Its Tremor-producing Effects in Residents of Araihazar, Bangladesh.” Movement Disorders 21.4 (2006): 567-71. Hinduism. “Reincarnation and Samsara.” Heart of Hinduism. 8 Apr. 2012 ‹http://hinduism.iskcon.org/concepts/102.htm›. Islam, G., M. Iqbal, K. Quddus, and M. Ali. “Present Status and Future Needs of Tea Industry in Bangladesh (Review).” Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Science. 42.4 (2005): 305-14. 8 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.paspk.org/downloads/proc42-4/42-4-p305-314.pdf›. Khamis, Susie. “It Only Takes a Jiffy to Make: Nestlé, Australia and the Convenience of Instant Coffee.” Food, Culture & Society 12.2 (2009): 217-33. Munro, Ian. “Overpaid, Oversexed and Over Here.” The Age 27 Feb. 2002. 8 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/02/26/1014704950716.html›. O’Donohoe, Stephanie. “Raiding the Postmodern Pantry: Advertising Intertextuality and the Young Adult Audience.” European Journal of Marketing 31.3/4 (1997): 234-53 Pathshala. Pathshala, South Asian Media Academy. 8 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.pathshala.net/controller.php›. Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. Sharma, Dinesh. “Betel Quid and Areca Nut are Carcinogenic without Tobacco.” The Lancet Oncology 4.10 (2003): 587. 8 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.lancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(03)01229-4/fulltext›. Symons, Michael. One Continuous Picnic: A History of Eating in Australia. Ringwood, Vic: Penguin, 1984. Tea Board. “History of Bangladesh Tea Industry.” Bangladesh Tea Board. 8 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.teaboard.gov.bd/index.php?option=HistoryTeaIndustry›. Walker, Robin and Dave Roberts. From Scarcity to Surfeit: A History of Food and Nutrition in New South Wales. Sydney: NSW UP, 1988.

Abstract Background Training women in home gardening and nutrition has been shown to increase household production and consumption of nutritious food and contribute to women’s empowerment, but evidence is limited to short-term effects. Here, we investigate whether home garden support leads to long-term improvements in household nutrition and women’s empowerment. To do this we use four waves of household-level survey data collected over a 7-year period (2013–2019) from an intervention (n = 395) and a control (n = 224) group in four rural districts of Bangladesh. We estimate the intent-to-treat effect using a difference-in-difference estimator. Results We find an immediate increase in the quantity of vegetables harvested from home gardens (+ 29.6 kg/year; p = 0.01) and this effect is sustained in years three (+ 42.3 kg; p < 0.01) and six (+ 37.0 kg; p < 0.01). The nutrient yield from the gardens also remained positive and significant, but the effect declined due to changes in the composition of vegetables. The effect on per capita vegetable intake, significant in years one and three, turned not significant in year six. Effects on nutrition knowledge, food preparation practices, and women’s empowerment all remained significant in year six. Conclusions Home garden interventions in Bangladesh create sustained impact on a range of social, economic and nutritional outcomes. Refresher training after 5 or 6 years may help to maintain the full range of impacts observed.

Fee-charging recruitment industries in Asia have become gatekeepers to temporary employment in low-wage occupations for millions of migrant workers. One of these jobs is live-in domestic work in private households. Increasingly, workers’ recruiters are depicted as contributing to their precarious, sometimes exploitative, working conditions. However, these narratives misunderstand the systemic and regulatory functions of agencies as transnational labour market actors. This article analyses the relationship between domestic work placement agencies in Jordan and Lebanon and their clients (the employers) as they negotiate the recruitment of women from Bangladesh. Drawing on data from 146 qualitative interviews, it addresses the mechanisms of how exploitative, controlling practices are constructed and normalised by agencies in their everyday interactions with their clients as well as with workers. The article argues that placement agencies play a paradoxical role; whilst facilitating global mobility they also broker worker immobility.