Browsing by Author "Al Mamun, Saklain"

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Adolescents’ experiences of covid-19 in Chittagong and Sylhet divisions, Bangladesh
(GAGE, 2021-04) Alam, Farhana; Rana, Md Sajib; Raha, Samira Ahmed; Al Mamun, Saklain; Guglielmi, Silvia
This study is part of a cross-country series designed to share emerging findings in real time from qualitative interviews with adolescents and school teachers in the context of covid-19. The young people involved are part of the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme, which is conducting longitudinal research in the Middle East, East Africa and South Asia. Our sample for this study was purposefully selected from an ongoing baseline GAGE impact evaluation study, and includes two cohorts: younger adolescents (10–14 years) and older adolescents (15–19 years), all of whom are in-school (grades 7 and 8). Adolescent respondents were drawn from both urban and rural schools in Chittagong and Sylhet divisions of Bangladesh (see Annex 1 for further details). The objectives of the research are as follows: • To understand adolescents’ experiences of transition from childhood to adulthood, and to identify differences in their experiences by age, gender, disability and geographic location. • To identify adolescents’ knowledge of covid-19, and how the pandemic response has affected adolescent lives across the following domains: Young adolescent girls in Chittagong, Bangladesh © Nathalie Bertrams / GAGE 2 » education and remote learning » incomes and livelihoods » nutrition, health and hygiene » psychosocial well-being and coping » voice and agency related to adolescents’ mobility. To inform the pandemic response, this study aims to understand adolescents’ knowledge, perceptions and practices during the covid-19 pandemic, their challenges and worries, and the coping mechanisms they are using to deal with the evolving situation. We explore the impact of covid-19 on the realities and experiences of in-school adolescents in Chittagong and Sylhet who have found themselves out of school since March 2020 until the present, to prevent the spread of the virus. The report also explores the impacts on adolescents in terms of gender and the vulnerability status of the household.
Livelihood transitions and coping with shocks: Women in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector coping with COVID-19
(BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, 2022-01-03) Kabeer, Naila; Huq, Lopita; Aktar, Taslima; Al Mamun, Saklain; Alam, Afsana; Nath, Shravasti Roy; Sultana, Razia
This paper examines in detail the experiences of a small group of workers from the export-oriented ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh and how they coped with the shocks and disruptions associated with COVID-19. The research is based on qualitative interviews of male (10) and female (30) RMG workers and several key informant interviews (KIIs) with NGO staff and trade union leaders working on the RMG industry in Bangladesh. It was carried out from Jan–Feb 2021. Due to the COVID-19 situation, this research was conducted over the phone. The garment workers went through a period of uncertainty and hardship, exacerbated by the government’s lack of clarity about the duration of the lockdown and employers’ responsibility. Although there was provision for a stimulus package, the research found that the more privileged sections of the garment workforce, those working in registered factories, benefited from these provisions. Those in small, unregistered factories suffered the same fate as informal workers: deprived of their jobs and left to cope on their own.
Livelihood transitions of women workers during COVID-19: The case of domestic workers in Dhaka
(BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, 2021-12-12) Kabeer, Naila; Huq, Lopita; Aktar, Taslima; Al Mamun, Saklain; Alam, Afsana; Nath, Shravasti Roy; Sultana, Razia
The paper draws on primary research into the conditions of domestic workers in Bangladesh and how they coped with the shocks and disruptions associated with COVID-19. We can see our research as a lens to view the lives and livelihoods of workers with no legal or social protection and with the tenuous relationship they have with their employers. The country’s trade unions bypassed these workers during this unprecedented crisis which they had to deal with almost entirely on their own. We carried out detailed qualitative interviews by telephone between January and February 2021 with 30 female domestic workers aged over 18 years. These were “untied” domestic workers who worked for more than one employer and lived in their own accommodations. We asked them to recall their lives and livelihoods before COVID-19 (Jan–Feb 2020), to discuss the period of strict lockdown (Mar–Apr 2020) and then the changes that may have occurred after April when the strict lockdown was lifted. Almost all domestic workers in our study had lost their jobs within a day after the lockdown was announced, pushing them into extreme uncertainty. Since domestic workers were the main breadwinners for most of the households in our sample, the loss of their jobs meant a total or substantial loss of income for at least two-thirds of our respondents. Some domestic workers received government relief, but lack of NID cards and contacts with influential community members made accessing it very difficult and impossible for some.
Social protection experiences of and attitudes towards new urban poor after Covid-19 in Bangladesh
(Institute of Development Studies, 2024-02-14) Roelen, Keetie; Diwakar, Vidya; Huq, Lopita; Sultan, Maheen; Ahmed, Md. Shakil; Chowdhury, Kabita; Al Mamun, Saklain; Rabbi, Abu Sayem; Rahman, Nuzaba Tahreen; Rownak, Raisa; Sumanthiran, Shilohni
The Covid-19 pandemic led to a large increase in poverty in Bangladesh, especially in urban areas. Rising food prices and high inflation rates further compounded already high levels of socioeconomic uncertainty. Social protection is vital to help mitigate the effects of crisis and make households more resilient to uncertainty. This paper provides insights into urban residents’ experiences of poverty and the support they received since the Covid-19 pandemic, and derives implications for social protection programming in urban Bangladesh. Using secondary longitudinal data collected since the start of the pandemic with new quantitative surveys and qualitative data collected in Kallyanpur, Dhaka and Shantinagar, Chittagong in March 2023, the study points to high levels of precarity; poverty’s toll on mental health; widespread stigmatisation and discrimination of residents of low-income neighbourhoods, and inadequate social protection support. It argues for the need to expand social protection in urban areas; counter area-based discrimination; ensure dignified delivery of assistance, and provide an integrated policy response.