Abstract
In Bangladesh, nearly 80 % of the population lives in rural areas where problems of illiteracy, inequality and poverty are common 1) . In the rural development sector, human resource development carries a special significance because Bangladesh is predominantly rural and about 70 % of the rural population is illiterate2) . In addition, in rural Bangladesh, poor farmers, including women in poor households, suffer from limited income. They can neither get enough income from agricultural work nor find secondary employment opportunities. Various studies show that education and secondary occupation have a significant impact on raising household income113) . Education is an important factor in enabling individuals to access economic resources for development. However, the female illiteracy rate is still higher in rural Bangladesh, where male illiteracy is 57 % and female illiteracy is 85 % 4) . Female education is necessary, because there is now ample empirical evidence that educational discrimination against women hinders economic development in addition to reinforcing social inequality516) .
