[VIDEO] The Impact of COVID-19 and Government Lockdown on Children’s Schooling, Time Use and Marriage Timing in Rural Bangladesh

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poor in developing countries is increasingly becoming a matter of concern. The poor seem more vulnerable to the COVID-19 infection given a congested and unhygienic environment, and its insufficient treatment in a poor medical system. Not only these direct health impacts, they may be more vulnerable to the indirect negative impacts, which were generated by the lockdown and school closure, including job loss, return migration and suspension of remittances, and deprivation of children’s learning opportunities. In order to explore the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown, we conducted a phone-based household survey in rural Bangladesh, characterized by high population density, high dependence on remittances, and prevalence of girls’ child marriage right after schooling. The phone-based survey revealed that the poorer households were more likely to experience economic hardship after the lockdown. After the school closure, girls increased time spent on household chores and unpaid work more often than boys. It also hinted at the direct impact of infection leading to increasing children’s school dropout and girls’ early marriage. The results suggest that the poor, especially girls, are more vulnerable to the lockdown and school closure following COVID-19 pandemic. Because these preventive measures will be taken following any pandemic in future, the current study cautions policy makers about such disproportionate
consequences among the most vulnerable.