Gender Bias in Bangladeshi School Textbooks: Not Just a Matter of Politics or Growing Influence of Islamist (Joining virtually)
Improved access to female secondary school is widely perceived to reduce gender inequality in a wide range of socio-economic outcomes in developing countries. However, schools per se can reinforce patriarchal gender roles through hidden curriculum, especially gender-biased textbooks. This study critically reflects on the ongoing controversy over Islamization of textbooks by a secular government in Bangladesh. We have critically reviewed contents of textbooks used at the secondary education level across three education mediums in Bangladesh - secular school, recognized (i.e. Aliyah) madrasah and unrecognized (i.e. Quami) madrasah- with a focus on gender stereotypes. For comparison purposes, contents of older textbooks are contrasted with revised editions that are based on new national educational policy. We apply quantitative content analysis technique to analyze 1,507 pages of 8 textbooks in total. Based on a review of the emerging evidence on gender stereotypes in textbook contents, we argue that gender bias was widespread in government-recognized textbooks long before radical Islamic groups publicly demanded changes to the secular school curriculum. All Bangladeshi school textbooks continue to suffer from a pro-male bias regardless of whether they are based on a secular or religious curriculum. Overall female representation is consistently low –two thirds (i.e. 62.8%) of the characters used in textbooks are male. Besides, there is hardly any improvement in the exclusion/invisibility of female characters over time. Nonetheless, Bangladesh’s experience suggests that politicization of the debate on what children should learn in school can make future reforms much harder to achieve.
Kazi Mukit is a PhD student at Boston University. He holds a BA1 in Development Studies from the University of Dhaka and a MA from the University of Malaya in the same discipline. His research interests include Education, Gender, Religion and Migration. His most recent works are published in PLoS ONE and Journal of Biosocial Science.