Social Development
Community Mobilization
Empowering the Girls and the Youths
Although the girls’ education rate is increasing in Bangladesh. In secondary level education, girls’ enrollment rate higher than that of the boys but greater divergence yet is seen according to wealth quintiles: 50 percent of the wealthiest children complete upper secondary school but only 12 percent of the poorest. In 2021, at the upper secondary level 54.5% of who did not complete are girls.
Keeping in prime consideration the issue of “Safeguarding”, RDF carefully considers“Safe designing including risk assessments”, “Safe preparing”, “Safe implementation” and “Safe review” using “Intersectional Lens” and Gender with all diversity.
Good Health and Well-Being of Adolescent Girls
RDF analyzes this problems and undertakes the influencing interventions to prepare and combat the issue where “Togetherness” is the core value.
RDF’s initiatives capacitated 108,890 adolescent girls and boys for good health and well-being in Jhalokathi and Barguna Districts of Barisal Division (Central South of Bangladesh). 100% of the project participants are now aware about their “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”, “Adolescent Nutrition”, have access to adolescent health care services. They participate in the community activities as “Champions for Change” to combat early marriage and girls’ education & skills development.
Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights and Ending Early Marriage in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh till now, about 51% (about 38 million) young women are married under 18 years of age and about 22% (about 13 million) are married under the age of 15. There are many socio-economic factors compelling such young women to be married before 18 years of age. As a result the ultimate consequences (health and well-being related) are obvious.
Bangladesh government has its “National Adolescent Reproductive Health Strategy (2017-2030) in place, but still now, discussing Adolescent Reproductive Health Issues is almost impossible mainly in the rural areas of Bangladesh with age adolescents of 10-18 years of age. RDF works for “Breaking the Silence” together to all stakeholders.
Education
Government of Bangladesh is committed to ensure quality education to all children from pre-primary to grade five as part of Primary Education. Considering the drop-out children, government undertook project to reach bring back the “Out of School Children” to education system in order the acquire a minimum standard of the primary curricular competencies. With collaboration of Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, RDF has been successful in work with Out of School Children to achieve the objectives of the project. Along with regular activities, RDF implements two other projects, (a) Combatting Early Marriage in Bangadesh
(CEMB) and Girls Get Equal (GGE) under the partnership with Plan International, Bangladesh where more than 120,000 girls are continuing their education in primary and secondary level. RDF collaborates with all relevant stakeholders to support those girls to continue education at least upto grade 12 (including acquiring technical skills).
Stop Gender Based Violence
Without safeguarding the children and women, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 16 will impossible to achieve as it is desired. The government of Bangladesh has adopted acts/law and policy documents, strategic planning including infrastructural development and short term, mid-term and long term operational plans in order to eradicate Violence and Women and Children. Despite the massive interventions, according to the survey on Violence Against Women (VAW) conducted in 2015 by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 72.60% of the women have faced violence at least once in her life. Types of violence includes, (a) Physical Violence, (b) Sexual violence, (c) Emotional Violence, (d) Economic Violence, (e) repressive controlling. Amongst all these types, partner violence is most common in the society, which is maximum in the rural areas. RDF through “Social Development Component” and “Economic Empowerment Component” of its programme, the issues related to “Violence Against Women (VAW)” are addressed.