Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in educating girls. Yet the persistence of child marriage, weak learning outcomes and unequal economic opportunities raises a troubling question: are we educating girls to transform their lives, or merely counting how many enter classrooms? More girls have access to education, but many still face barriers to realising potential of schooling to deliver real freedom, economic independence, and social equality. One of the most important questions that demands more attention in national development debates is: What is the real worth of educating girls when a large part of society continues to impose limits on them, preventing them from changing their own destinies?
Undoubtedly, impressive changes have occurred in the last few decades. Because of the consistent efforts of governments, aid agencies, and NGOs (notably BRAC), girls' education has become an accepted priority in many households. This shift is clearly reflected in educational statistics. In 2024, World Bank gender data show that 84.7 per cent of girls completed lower secondary education, compared with 63.9 per cent of boys. Such transformations challenge assumptions about gender inequalities in developing societies. But data also indicates that in 2025, the labour force participation rate among females is 38.6 percent while among males is 80.4 percent. However, it is also important to consider the changing nature of educational challenges. While the findings indicate that girls outperform boys in some areas, a different set of challenges for boys results in increasing forces of poverty, child labour and withdrawal from school. Therefore, it is necessary that efforts in the field of gender equality address the distinct risks faced by both boys and girls and not lose sight of the challenges faced by girls as efforts are made to improve the conditions for boys.
The most striking paradox, however, occurs when statistics about educational achievements are overshadowed by the continued prevalence of child marriage Recent findings from UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in Bangladesh reveal that 47.2 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 were married before 18, and 13.4 per cent were married before 15. While these are better outcomes than previous reports, they remain disturbing. How can a society achieve high rates of educational attainment among women? In contrast, almost 50 per cent of adult women in that same society were married before they reached adulthood. Efforts to enrol girls in school must be complemented by concurrent efforts to empower women and girls socially and economically in the household.
Although child marriage is often linked to traditional attitudes, various social, economic and cultural factors contribute to this phenomenon. Limited opportunities for women in the labour market and economic vulnerability sometimes lead families to make decisions concerning girls' marriage. Early marriage may also be perceived as a way to protect girls from harassment and negative reputation. In the case of families with limited educational opportunities, there may be concerns about the economic need for girls to stop their education and get married. None of these circumstances justifies child marriage. While legal and awareness initiatives are crucial and should be intensified, it is equally essential to address the underlying economic reasons that lead to child marriage. Early marriage can bring a range of negative consequences for children, especially girls, including loss of educational opportunities, unintended pregnancy and a life of economic and social dependence. The same poverty and social inequalities that lead to child marriage and educational dropout should be seen as integrated challenges in child marriage and educational dropout rather than as disconnected problems. One of the main challenges that child marriage programs should address is the inadequate quality of education available to children.
For many years, the major indicators used to evaluate educational success have been the same. Students have traditionally been measured by enrolment, attendance and exam performance. Of course, these are valuable indicators, but they do not measure whether students can function in today's society. Many students can attend school for years, take exams, and receive certificates, yet still lack analytical or technological competence, or the skills needed to communicate effectively and make autonomous choices. According to the 2025 MICS report by UNICEF, only 50.2% of children aged 7-14 years could read with understanding, and only 39.2% could make simple numeracy decisions. Though these are national averages, they reflect the state of the entire educational system.
School attendance does not mean students are learning. Learning does not ensure students are empowered to question, decide, and act. Simply increasing school enrolment and awarding students with certificates will not mean the country has developed a workforce able to address the needs of a fast-changing, knowledge-based and competitive economy. This is critical, especially for Bangladesh as it moves towards an economy based on higher-order manufacturing, services and ICT. Without greater focus on acquiring the requisite foundational learning skills, the benefits of expanding access to education will remain largely unfulfilled. This is even more true for girls. As education can empower them to exercise their rights and choices, identify and question discriminatory practices, and participate in public life and the economy.
The aim of education is far broader than the mere acquisition of qualifications. Development economist Amartya Sen's capability approach, however, adds something valuable. Development is not about increasing income and expanding institutions and services. It is about enlarging the substantive freedoms that people have to lead the kinds of lives they have reason to value. This changes how we should judge progress in girls' education. Girls' access to school gives them an important first opportunity. A girl who completes her education with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to contribute to the development of the society has gained worthwhile capabilities. A woman who has the freedom to choose her profession and to be an active decision maker in her household, and who can participate in society to make it a better place to live in, has gained the highest value of all: the freedom to lead a life of her own choosing. Each of these outcomes should be sought and celebrated, regardless of the presence of the others.
Educating girls is one of the most cost-effective investments a nation can make in growth and development. Improved health and education for children, and women's greater economic and civic empowerment are some of the multi-generational effects of educating girls that help justify continued public investment in girls' education. These benefits, however, depend on the conditions of the contexts in which education operates. Without better health care, stable employment, functioning law, and a fair social order, opportunities for educated women will remain severely limited. This is why the next step of education transformation in Bangladesh will have to go beyond widening access.
First, education must emphasise quality as much as access. Memorising, copying, reciting, and other rote learning methods must give way to methods that foster critical and analytical thinking. Education and teaching models must be redesigned to promote problem-solving and other competences needed for the 21st century. Second, the barriers obstructing women from enrolling in and completing their education must be removed. Address structural, legal, and other barriers that protect early marriage. Third, education must give girls the competences and skills to earn a living and enable them to turn their education into a means of earning a living, for example, by opening pathways into employment and self-employment. Finally, society must confront the unequal expectations that continue to assign women disproportionate domestic responsibilities while restricting their participation in economic and public decision-making. Educational reform cannot achieve its full potential without corresponding changes in social attitudes and institutions.
None of these priorities diminishes remarkable progress. Rather, they recognise that success creates new responsibilities. Having shown that longstanding barriers to girls' schooling can be overcome, the country must now address the harder challenge of turning educational achievement into meaningful human development. The ultimate question is no longer simply whether girls can enter classrooms. It is whether the knowledge, confidence and aspirations they acquire there can survive the social and economic realities awaiting them outside. Bangladesh has shown that it can open the doors of education to millions of girls. Its next great achievement must be to ensure that those doors lead somewhere because the true triumph of girls' education is not a certificate in a young woman's hands, but the freedom to decide what she will do with her life.