Empower Girls. Transform Futures.
Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh Association (WEB) removes financial and social barriers so girls in Bangladesh can stay in school, graduate, lead and have a self-sustained life.
Our Mission
Our mission is to dismantle the educational and cultural barriers facing girls in both rural and urban Bangladesh, supporting them to complete primary, secondary and tertiary education and step into dignified work, while actively preventing abandonment of school and early arranged marriages.
Why Bangladesh
Bangladesh is home to over 165 million people:
- about 10% of them living in extreme poverty
- over 3% are street children
- nearly half are under 25 years old
- about 60% live in rural areas
- 51% are women
Despite big gains in girls’ primary school enrollment for non-street girls, cultural and economic pressures intensify in secondary school, during which many girls are pulled to work or marry. Over 80% of marriages are still arranged, and the average age of marriage for women is 16.
For girls in Bangladesh to have access to education and gain economic independence, financial and cultural barriers need to be removed.
Why Girls’ Education
Women in Bangladesh are the quiet engines of family and community life. They run households, stretch scarce resources, care for children, and often add income through informal work. They are reliable, resourceful, and determined—yet opportunities can be limited by norms that prioritize boys’ schooling and girl’s early marriage.
When girls get proper high education, ability becomes opportunity: individual economic independence becomes possible, and their role in the family becomes more relevant. Both the household and the community gain. That’s why WEB invests first in girls’ and young women’s education.
What Girls We Support
Our main criterion to select a girl is her academic performance, and if she has already been working, also her professional performance.
Secondly, we have an in-dept interview with her to know about her and her family and why she is applying precisely now for financial support.
Thirdly, every candidate has to prepare her own budget. They know that if this is not realistic, their candidacy will be drop out.
Additionally, WEB supports street girls living in a street children hostel in Dhaka, who otherwise would not have access to education at all.
How We Work
WEB’s main focus is on helping girls and women on a one-to-one basis, which means that girls are supported by individual sponsors.
We facilitate holistic educational support to girls and continuous monitoring of their academic performance. This is being done through the provision of:
- Comprehensive scholarships, which includes: enrollment and tuition fees, transportation costs, lodging, uniforms, school supplies, extracurricular activities, etc.
- Mentoring throughout their academic life, guiding them to improve their performance and make decisions that will shape their future professional career. A very importance advising task we perform is providing information about good educational institutions that most of them lack.
- Practices to teach girls about the importance of performance, discipline, accountability, and reporting. Every girl has to comply with our rules and regulations and provide us with all academic-related invoices and results. If the academic result is not excellent, the girl can lose our support.
- Continuous academic performance monitoring and evaluation. The girl will lose WEB’s support if she does not perform properly or quits her studies.
- Self-developed learning hubs to build skills in very important topics such as English, computers, and IT.
- Local partnerships to help adult women to improve their professional skills and be able to achieve economic independence.
Our Impact
Girls supported by WEB have a guaranteed access to education, stay in school longer, do not quit before Class 12, and step into college and university programs, knowing that if they wish they can continue to the completion of their PhD degree. Girls not only get new skills, but also more confidence and independence to choose their own path in life.
Thanks to our help, the girl’s family has less financial strain, and siblings gain more hope.
Additionally, WEB’s members and sponsors are rewarded through the feedback from girls and the follow-up of their academic and professional achievements.
Our Principles
WEB’s important principles of operation are:
- Dignity: We make sure that the girls’ dignity is never violated.
- Transparency: Girls’ periodical reports shall clearly show how funds are used.
- Safeguarding: staff, volunteers, and partners follow clear codes of conduct and reporting pathways to assure zero tolerance for exploitation and harassment.
- Privacy: We protect identities, use first names or initials, and share photos or stories only with informed consent.
- Responsible funding: We constantly monitor that the money is only used for the girl’s studies and not for any other purpose.
GET IN TOUCH
Ready to make a difference in a young woman’s life?
Contact us to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, volunteer programs, or how your organization can partner with us to expand educational opportunities for girls in Bangladesh.
Together, we can ensure that every bright, motivated girl has the chance to pursue her dreams and transform her community through education.
