Gender Inequality
"Women in Bangladesh are dominated by a patrilineal and patriarchal kinship system, which enforces the social and economic dependence of women on men and prescribes the relative lower status of women"
- Almost half of the women in Bangladesh are not formally educated, and a slightly smaller portion have completed primary-school education
- 54.8% of Bangladeshi women were literate in 2010 in comparison to 65.77% of men.
Unregulated Urbanization
The poor living conditions in both rural and urban areas of Bangladesh are often what shock foreigners most. And although overcrowding, a lack of opportunities for education and job advancement as well as a plethora of other potential problems await new migrants, a lack of alternatives for rural citizens suffering from unprecedented natural disasters, environmental degradation and even poorer education means that many are seeking new lives in cities. These urban hubs - namely Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and Rajshahi - house approximately 28% of the country's population, and more than half a million labourers relocate from elsewhere in Bangladesh to Dhaka annually. This bustling capital is three times larger than Bangladesh's second largest urban area of Chittagong; its especially precarious location in the low-lying Ganges delta and poor drainage system make the area prone to flooding. However, the destruction of remaining marshes and other natural resources nearby continue in an attempt to further urbanize the area and benefit from the influx of people.
"Doesn't matter how much you do adaptation. We have analyzed that mitigation - which is the reduction of green house gasses - by the industrialized countries is the best form of adaptation" - Water Water Everywhere, BBC Environmental Documentary
Unmet Sexual-Health Needs
Figure 3: A new women's health clinic in Bangladesh
preface that includes history of and current policy
growing adolescent population in particular
declining use of contraceptives such as condoms; percentages of men and women that are using IUD's and sterilization vs. condoms
lack of sex education as well as education in general
maternal mortality and morbidity
growing adolescent population in particular
declining use of contraceptives such as condoms; percentages of men and women that are using IUD's and sterilization vs. condoms
lack of sex education as well as education in general
maternal mortality and morbidity
Toppling Population Pyramid
The base of the population pyramid - a.k.a. the number of youths - has begun to shrink due to an increasing decline in Bangladesh's birth rate, while the country's mean age, proportion of elderly citizens and life expectancy continues to increase. Health-care for these growing age groups will need to be addressed by reformed population policies, as they are currently geared primarily towards married women of reproductive age.