According to the World Health Organization (WHO), those aged between 10 and 19 are adolescents, with ages 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 as early and late adolescence, respectively.
Bangladesh has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNFPA, with 113 out of 1000 teenage girls become pregnant before 19 years of age. Also, especially in rural regions, 47% of Bangladesh’s unmarried girls have also faced sexual violence.
In rural Bangladesh, unmarried adolescent females are expected to be modest and, at least theoretically, opt-out of knowledge about sex and contraception. Adolescent marriage is frequent, especially in rural places, as adolescent girls consequently lack awareness of sexuality and contraceptive knowledge prior to having their first sexual encounter. This lack of knowledge includes information about safe sex, marital rape, sexual norms, consent, and sexual pleasure. Because of this knowledge gap, people experience diminished pleasure, unintended pregnancies, and risky abortions after or before marriage.
This study intends to investigate the knowledge of contraception and sex education among young, unmarried females in rural Bangladesh, illustrating the diversity of sexuality and contraceptive knowledge, as well as societal viewpoints on reproductive knowledge. Unmarried adolescent girls who are currently in school or have completed high school make up the study’s target demographic. Along with capturing the awareness and activities of parents and teachers regarding sex education of the target population, the contribution of community-based groups such as courtyard, community mobilization, or monthly meetings (governmental and non-governmental) have been investigated. This study was carried out in the rural Sunamganj Upazilas of Jaganathpur, Sunamganj Sadar, and Tahirpur.
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