Mohammad Ahmmed Shabib Talukder

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The Street Girls of Dhaka

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and the busiest city in the country is home to innumerable
homeless people living on the streets, who make up a large sector of the citys population. A
considerable portion of these homeless people includes street children or pothoshishu (Bengali)
who are defined as those children who actually live on the street (or outside of a normal family
environment) (Mozdalifa, UNICEF, 2012, p.6). If you simply walk on the footpaths of Dhaka or
get stuck in traffic, youd see some of these children selling various items like flowers, newspapers
or candy going from car to car. It is essential to highlight that there are also young girls who live on
the streets and pursue the same work alongside boys. One could simply wonder what compelled
these children, particularly girls to live on the streets? What about their family or more importantly,
how is living on the streets affecting their lives? Poverty (economic aspect) and collapsed parentchild relationship (social aspect) are two of the most important reasons that compel girls to migrate
to the city and pursue street life. Consequently, many of these young girls have fallen into the traps
of prostitution and drug abuse, leading them to a disastrous life and future.

Considering the situation in Bangladesh, people who live in the villages are generally poor
and live on low income. These people usually depend on their day-to-day income to sustain their
lives. Due to their economic instability, it can become very difficult to run the household. This is
particularly true for single parent families, especially female-headed households that have a
possibility of increasing in number (Mozdalifa, 2012, p.11). Therefore, they require additional
sources of income. While talking particularly about street girls, it is important to realize that many
of these girls are the eldest and have younger siblings, who are also suffering the harsh
consequences of poverty. This is when these young girls migrate to big cities like Dhaka, in hope of
employment so that they can sustain their family. It is the sense of responsibility that motivates
these young girls to step out of their home, face the challenges of urban life and bring economic
stability in their families. According to Conticini (2004), 15% of these street girls are from severely
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poor families and 24% are just from poor families (p.14). These data are based on information
collected from respondent street girls who participated in the statistic.

Another economic aspect that contribute to urban migration and life in the streets, from the
perspective of Bangladesh, is economic shock that are a result of natural disasters like land
erosions and floods causing scarcity of food and financial shocks (Conticini and Hulme, 2006, p.6).
A common occupation in the rural regions of Bangladesh is farming. Now, in the event of a natural
disaster, like land erosion or flood, the farmlands are lost and crops are destroyed. Consequently,
there would be a shortage of food and money in a household that was dependent on farming.
Moreover, if there were a loan to be paid back, itd become even more difficult leading to a
financial shock. Struggling with these consequences, the elder child, doesnt matter if shes a girl
will have to migrate to the city to earn in order to support her family.

There are also social aspects associated with this issue, which play a more significant role in
the case of street girls. The state of the social relationship between the female child and the parents
or guardians can affect their choice of living on the streets. In the context of Bangladesh, a female
child is more to prone to experience domestic violence such as physical and mental abuse as well as
gender-based discrimination. As stated by Mozdalifa (2012), Those girls were beaten by their
father and they were not fed by elder brothers and father. (p.11). Well, of course emotions play a
role in a persons decision. If the girl faces such abuse and inhumane behavior at home, shed lose
trust in her parent/guardian and would be willing to stay away and live in the city. Moreover, there
are cases, as reported by Mozdalifa (2012), Another respondent told, her parents asked money
frequently. But she was not capable in earning money. Therefore, she was not allowed to enter her
home again. (p.11). With time and constant pressure on her, the respondent would experience a
mental trauma and the family ties would get weaker and weaker until its broken and she may
actually decide to live on the streets and never return home. Furthermore, girls in the village face
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the consequences of break-up between their parents. For instance, there are situations where
families split when the father of the girl marries a second time and abandons the girl and her mother
(Mozdalifa, 2012, p.11). Such incidents occur very often in the villages, after which both the mother
and daughter usually head to the city to earn and end up living on the streets. Therefore, it can be
concluded that a collapse in the relationship between the parent and child can make him/her choose
street life over home.

These young girls head to the city hoping to earn an income without being aware of the
dangers that await for them and could possibly affect them. Some start on a dangerous path, right
from the beginning, as Mozdalifa (2012) states, They were brought in Dhaka and those friends
made them involved as sex worker. (p.12). Basically, these girls were deceived and were made a
victim of their own innocence. Since they needed money badly, they agreed to get involved in any
work and were slowly forced into prostitution. As a result, the future of these girls was destroyed.
Moreover, there isnt any guarantee that theyll still get the money, for which they sacrificed so
much. This is because there are usually syndicates under which these girls work and they bag the
entire money, leaving them with nothing at all. According to the 2012 report by Mozadalifa, 18.80%
of the street girls work as prostitutes (p.12). In fact, this is the second most common profession
among street girls in Dhaka! This is shocking and should be of prime concern, as these young girls
are also the youth of the country and their future cant simply go to waste. Next, drug abuse is
something that is close associated to prostitution. Although, it is less common among street girls, in
general it is common among street children (Uddin, 2014). This is because, these street children
suffer pain, hunger, lack social life and also act based on peer pressure. Therefore, they find drugs a
mean to cope with their suffering. Finally, it should be clear, that street children particularly girls
are open to risks that can bring an end to their life and future.

Mohammad Ahmmed Shabib Talukder

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WRI101-19

The purpose of this essay is to shed light on the situation of street girls in Dhaka. As a
Bangladeshi national, it is my duty to realize the importance of protecting these unfortunate
children. The general population is the core of this country and we need to create awareness about
the severity of this problem. Moreover, we should not wait for the actions of any major power
such as the government to take a step forward, the initiative of protecting these girls must be taken
by each and every one of us. In addition, we must educate people about gender equality, make our
income distribution more efficient and help these children in returning to their normal lives.
Furthermore, we need to consider them as a part of our youth and create a social connection
between them and the mainstream society. Finally, we must realize that as citizens of Bangladesh
they deserve every basic human right that we all enjoy and take for granted.

1300 words
References:
1. Conticini, A., (2006) and Hulme, D., (2006) Escaping Violence, Seeking Freedom: Why
Children In Bangladesh Migrate To Street, Retrieved from:
http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/staff/documents/finalstreetmigration-d_c043.11.04.pdf
2. Mozdalifa, J., (2012) Social Connection of Street Girls In The Context Of Dhaka City,
Bangladesh, Retrieved from: http://www.unnayan.org/reports/Street%20Girls.pdf
3. Uddin, J., (2014) Vulnerability of Bangladeshi Street-Children to HIV/AIDS: A Qualitative
Study, Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4232676/