Contemporary Social Issues in Bangladesh: Gender, Environment, Migration, Globalisation and Inequality
Gender
Understand the distinction between sex (biological) and gender (socially constructed). Know patriarchy, gender division of labour, the double burden, and gender-based violence. Examine women's labour force participation, particularly in export garments, and the gap between paid work and empowerment. Note the role of legal reform, education, and NGO advocacy in advancing gender equity.
Environment
Examine climate vulnerability: cyclones, riverbank erosion, salinity intrusion and flooding. Know the concepts of climate migration, adaptation versus mitigation, and environmental justice. Note the social distribution of risk - poorer households occupy more exposed land and have fewer coping resources.
Migration
Distinguish internal from international migration, and labour migration from forced displacement (including Rohingya refugees). Understand remittance flows and their macroeconomic and household effects, and the vulnerabilities of migrant workers abroad.
Globalisation
Globalisation is the intensification of cross-border flows of goods, capital, people and information. Note its effects on labour, culture, and the state's regulatory capacity, and the debate between hyperglobalists, sceptics and transformationalists.
Inequality
Examine income and wealth inequality, regional disparity, and access to education and health. Know the Gini coefficient and the difference between horizontal (between groups) and vertical (between individuals) inequality.
Traps and rule of thumb
Do not treat globalisation as uniformly beneficial or harmful; effects are uneven and mediated by institutions. A useful rule: for any issue, ask who bears the risk, who captures the benefit, and what institutional arrangement mediates the outcome.