Distance Education for Law Promotes Gender Equity in Bangladesh

Abstract

Education is regarded as an instrument of change and transformation of society. Women status in the society and education are interrelated. Bangladesh is a highly dense country with low literacy (about 44.3 %) and high dropout rates (about 70%). There are mixed pattern of society, economical status and educational status. Mixed pattern means some where there is low to high level of perception and discrimination. To avoid discrimination in social and personal life and to get the proper judgment there must be education. Legal education can help the people to know the human rights and social justice. In Bangladesh the status of women is structured by the social, cultural and religious traditions. Female children have little access to education, especially in poor families, scarce resources are invested in the sons as potential provides. Most of the women of Bangladesh are living in a society which does not provide them with adequate or satisfactory facilities. Women are also ignorant of their fundamental rights. But the constitution of Bangladesh provides the equal rights and opportunities to men and women. However most of women do not know their constitutional and civil rights and how they can benefit for them, even through it is an established principle of law. Legal education through distance mode among women to be effective and fruitful in the long run, vital element is human resource development. It has a great impact on the improvement of gender equity as well as socio-economic development of a nation. But formal legal education is provided by either a department of a university or an affiliated college in our country. There are five public universities and above twenty seven private universities in our country with law as a regular subject of teaching. Besides, the National University imparts teaching of law through law colleges in the country. All public and private universities providing law graduate degree by conventional system but many people are deprived from this opportunities. Thus to increase equitable access to education and to develop the human resources of the country particularly women, out of school and adults who must do work to support their families, need the support of distance education of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Open University is the only public institution in Bangladesh which imparts education in open and distance mode and offers 23 formal programmes. The introduction of LL.B programme for the benefit of those who have been, for various reasons, deprived of the opportunity of undertaking graduate course in law in conventional mode of education is a good endeavor of it. Distance learning is, indeed, presently considered as a viable alternative to the conventional system of education to fulfill the growing demand for legal education for women. This paper presents the aspects of the women’s legal education through distance mode and impact on the development of gender equity in Bangladesh.