Thread by @feministdissent

Teen Brides, Migrant Husbands and Religious Schooling
An Analysis of Young Women’s Experiences of Marriage and Schooling in Rural Bangladesh by Marzana Kamal free to download in Feminist Dissent 6 #Bangladesh #feminism

journals.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/femi…

Kamal challenges the optimism about the rapid growth in girls studying in madrassa schools . She contests the claim, backed by some western feminists that religious schools and early marriage facilitate rural women’s agency.

Her research looked at women in villages marrying migrant labourers working in the Gulf. Brides who attend madrassa schools tended to stop study after marriage, though many had hoped they could continue. Girls in secular schools tended to stay in education longer.

The religious schools teach traditional gender roles and encourage male dominance. “madrassa education and early marriage are hindrances to young women’s general wellbeing freedom and economic opportunities. Religious schooling serves as a model for creating modest housewives”.