Factors Associated with Mobility of Adolescent Girls: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

Mst. Farhana Akter, Population Council

Restrictions on mobility of adolescent girls are common and thought to be associated with long standing customs and traditions in Bangladesh. This paper explores factors associated with the mobility of rural adolescent girls using data collected for an intervention research study on generating evidence to delay marriage in Bangladesh. The paper explores the ways in which factors such as family wealth and education are associated with specific forms of mobility. The data were collected from three rural districts of Bangladesh in 2013 with around 12000 adolescent girls. Using multivariate regression analysis, results show that adolescent girls’ mobility in rural Bangladesh is significantly associated with different socio-economic variables. Although the purdah observance practice is widely condoned, relative to younger and unmarried girls, the mobility of older and married girls is more restricted and controlled. Poor adolescents have less mobility. Girls in school have greater mobility in every respect than out-of-school girls.