In the southeastern corner of Bangladesh, Rehena, a 35-years old mother struggles with the daily challenges of raising four daughters. Having no boy child at Rehena’s womb, her husband got another wife with his cherished dream of having an male heir!
Rehena’s husband, the family’s sole earner, works as a day laborer, earning 10,000 BDT (+/-) a month—a sum insufficient for the needs of their six-member family. The burden of supporting an additional family has only worsened their plight.
“My husband’s work is seasonal, tied to the farming cycles. Outside of those periods, it’s a struggle to ensure even three meals a day for us,” Rehena describes their struggle in making the ends meet.
The family’s inability to cultivate their own food due to poor soil quality around their home exacerbates their dependence on the costly market for provisions.
The economic instability in the family not only risk food security, also brought serious consequence in the life of the children. Parvin, 18-years old, Rehena’s eldest daughter, was compelled to leave school three years ago while in the eighth grade because the family could not afford the fees.
“I had hoped to find a job after finishing school to support my family. But my father’s minimum income barely sustained two households and cover the educational expenses for me and my sisters, “Parvin shares her thwarted aspirations.
Being dropped out from school not only hampered her education rather accelerate her vulnerability to early marriage. Meanwhile, her sisters, still in school, face an uncertain educational future.
The story of Rehena’s family at a borderline village of Ratna palong union of Ukhiya sub-district in Cox’s Bazar, is not unique in their community. According the Joint Multi-Sectoral Need Assessment
(J-MSNA) 2023, Cox’s Bazar district is characterized by some of the poorest living conditions in the country, with approximately 33% of its population living below the poverty line, mostly rural communities (78%), that are quite isolated and thus with difficult access to basic services.
With the around one million refugee population being almost double the host community population in Ukhiya and Teknaf, the massive increase in population density following the influx, coupled with the pre-existing lack of livelihoods and levels of poverty and vulnerability among the host community population, has led to tensions over labor competition, falling wages and price hikes of daily essentials.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance
Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance.