Exploring Barriers to Higher Education among Girls in Sarulia, Demra, Bangladesh

The involvement of girls in higher education depends on a number of socio-economic, gendered, familial, cultural, mobility, safety, and institutional factors. This research focused on the barriers faced by girls in accessing higher education in Sarulia, Demra, Bangladesh, particularly on the interaction of these barriers in the semi-urban setting. Cross-sectional mixed-method design was adopted for this study, where 110 women aged between 16 to 25 years were surveyed quantitatively through purposive sampling technique and seven in-depth interviews were conducted qualitatively. The quantitative data were analyzed by applying descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test, wherein Cramér’s V test was applied for checking the strength of association, while the qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The findings showed that 73% reported family support while 82% identified financial hardship, transportation costs, gender discrimination, and safety/security concerns. Moreover, 91% reported social and cultural norms as limiting to an extent, and all participants identified early marriage as a challenge for the girls’ higher education. There were significant associations between household income and financial constraints (p < .001), transportation challenges (p < .001), gender discrimination (p = .006), and security/safety issues (p = .027). In qualitative data, it was illustrated how financial limitations, family burdens, mobility challenges, gender stereotypes, and pressure from marriage were interlinked in the educational process of the girls. Based on Feminist Theory, Conflict Theory, and Bourdieu’s Theory of Cultural Capital, this paper offers a framework called Gendered Educational Opportunity Framework (GEOF) and the Aspirations-Opportunity Gap which provides explanations for coexistence of educational aspirations and family support with structural challenges. According to the results, enhancing the opportunities for girls’ higher education is likely to need financial, transportation, gender-sensitive, family, community, and institutional support. Given the purposive sample of 110 participants from a single semi-urban setting, the findings should be interpreted as context-specific rather than generalizable to all girls in Bangladesh.

Girls’ Higher Education, Gender Inequality, Educational Barriers, Aspirations–Opportunity Gap, Bangladesh

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