Whispers to Voices

Abstract

Bangladesh stands out as the shining new
 example in South Asia of a poor country achieving impressive
 gains in gender equality. Between 1971 and 2004, Bangladesh
 halved its fertility rates. In much of the country today,
 girls' secondary school attendance exceeds that of
 boys. The gender gap in infant mortality has been closed.
 The scholarly work that came out of the micro credit
 revolution is based on large and unique data sets and high
 quality ethnographic work and has set a high bar for
 evidence-based policy proposals. Beyond a doubt, Bangladesh
 has made great progress in achieving gender equality and
 enhancing the status of women. Its success in girls'
 education, reducing fertility and mortality and the famed
 microcredit revolution are some of the gains that set it
 apart from its neighbors and other countries of its income
 level. When young women and their families were asked what
 this meant for them and how their lives were different from
 their mothers', the unexpectedly common theme was
 "finding a voice" or "being able to
 speak" or "being listened to".