Sajeda Amin's presentation at UNICEF Innocenti's Inception Scoping Workshop for Evidence on Educational Strategies to Address Child Labour in India & Bangladesh, held in New Delhi in November 2019.

1. Linking Child Labour, Schooling, & Marriage:
Exploring critical intersections
Sajeda Amin
Population Council
Inception Scoping Workshop: Evidence on Educational
Strategies to Address Child Labour in India & Bangladesh
13-14 Nov 2019, New Delhi, India

2. Salient Trends in Bangladesh
Since the early 1990s schooling has increased and gender gaps diminished in enrollment
Young women’s workforce participation has also seen moderate improvement
Child marriage remains persistently high: 60% of women 20-24 married before 18

3. Girls’ Education, Work & Marriage in Select
South Asian Countries, DHS 2011-2015
Bangladesh
2014
Nepal
2016
Pakistan
2017-18
India
2015-2016
% girls10-14 with no
education
2.7 3.7 26.8 3.6
Median years of
schooling completed
by women 20-24
6.4 8.3 3.8 9.2
% women 15-24 who
are economically active
22.3 45.1 11.1 14.9
Median age at marriage
for all women 15-49
16.1 18.5 21.3 19.6
% women 25-29
married before 18
58.6 39.5 18.3 25.3

4. Rapid Increase in secondary school
completion in Bangladesh
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1993-94 DHS 1996-97 DHS 1999-00 DHS 2004 DHS 2007 DHS 2011 DHS 2014 DHS
Women who completed secondary or higher education
Age (5-year groups) 15-19 Age (5-year groups) 20-24 Age (5-year groups) 45-49

5. Stipend Support to Ensure Enrollment &
Prevent Dropout
Stipend for poor boys and girls in rural primary schools
Stipend for rural girls in secondary school
Closed gender gap in schooling in early years
Likely explains overall improvements in education
No discernible impact on child marriage

6. Gaps in evidence on the state of knowledge
Urban education, child marriage and work
Impact of displacement
Status considerations in occupational choice
The role of transport and infrastructure
Role of safety and security concerns

7. Women’s Labour-force Participation in
Bangladesh, 2004-2014
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49
Percent Women Currently Working 2014 DHS
2011 DHS
2007 DHS
2004 DHS

8. Decline in Workforce Participation with Increasing
Education: disjuncture at highest education level
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
2004 DHS 2007 DHS 2011 DHS 2014 DHS
Women who are currently working by Schooling Attainment
No education Primary Secondary Higher

9. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
not in school. Married not working
Not in school, not married, not working
Not in school, not married, working
Not in school, not married, working
Not in school, married, working
In school, not married, working
In school, married, working
In school, married, not working
In school, not married, not working
School, Marriage & Work Status by Age,
BALIKA, 2013

10. How do Adolescent Girls Spend their time?
Household work
Little time in school
Very little time in wage work
Hours spent studying at home

11. Time use data from an adolescent girls survey, by type
of activity, BALIKA survey 2013
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Agricultural work Wage work Housework Time at school Home work
married unmarried

12. Private Tutoring
More than 85% report having been tutored at home
At significant cost to household
Evidence on gender differences mixed
Boys spend more time studying outside of school than girls

13. Gaps in the “what works” literature
What skills are important?
Emergence of evidence on softskills
What about softskills?
Why gender and gendered skills matter

14. BALIKA evidence on the impact of gender rights
awareness on work and school attendance

15. Impact of gender awareness on work

16. Impact of gender awareness on time spent in school

17. Factors Driving School Dropout from
Secondary School
Focus on indicators in early adolescence
Study of positive deviants
Qualitative and time use perspectives
Longitudinal approaches

18. Concluding Thoughts
Non-economic drivers of LFP and entry for women
For child marriage the form of labour that is important is domestic work and childcare
Time use data
Returns on work versus marriage for girls important to look at time use