Khulna District Of Bangladesh Research Articles

Impact of legal recognition on the lives of the third gender: A study in Khulna district of Bangladesh

The third gender, popularly known as ‘hijra’, is a gender non-conforming person residing in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh granted legal recognition (LR) in 2013 to acknowledge them as a third gender. Thus, using an exploratory qualitative inquiry, the study sought to understand how LR affected the lives of the third gender community in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. Thirteen participants were selected following snowball sampling, and data were collected using in-depth interviews and key informant interviews. In the domain of socio-cultural dynamics, we found that the LR had enhanced the social participation of the third gender community and given them a sense of identity. On the contrary, within the domain of economic lives, the LR has not been able to change their economic situation. Moreover, in the third domain, we observed an improved situation for the third gender population in their right to vote and political participation, but in accessing healthcare facilities, inheritance, and legal services, LR remained unsatisfactory. The study recommends promoting acceptance and reducing social stigma towards the third gender community through awareness campaigns, providing professional training programs to enable their financial independence, and enacting laws to protect their rights in Bangladesh.

Rural-urban Disparities in Prenatal Care Utilization: A Study from Khulna District of Bangladesh

This study attempts to identify the nature of prenatal care through a comparative study between urban and rural mothers living in Khulna district of Bangladesh. Two wards in Khulna City Corporation (KCC) and three villages under Rupsha upazila were purposely selected as the study area of this research. The data were collected from 148 mothers selected through simple random sampling method. Findings reveal that medical check-ups during pregnancy were common among most of the respondents (95.9%) in urban areas while it was much less observed among the rural ones (60.8%). Findings also suggest that respondents’ residence was associated with frequency of visiting clinics, taking extra foods during pregnancy and preferred place for medical check-ups during their last pregnancy. Besides, access to reproductive health care services, availability of medical facilities and doctors differed significantly from rural to urban area.

Assessing rural households’ biomass consumption patterns in three Upazilas in Khulna district of Bangladesh

In developing countries, rural households instinctively burn huge amounts of biomass fuel, which has become a concern at present. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the consumption pattern of biomass fuel in relation to socio-economic factors in rural households in the three upazilas (subdistricts) in Khulna district of Bangladesh. The consumption pattern of biomass fuel was assessed by multistage random sampling techniques with a semi-structured questionnaire. The study revealed that households incorporate a variety of fuel sources, of which 97% use various types of biomass fuel, e.g., firewood, leaves and twigs, coconut shell and coir, crop residues, cow dung, etc. The average monthly household biomass fuel consumption was 193 kg, with a monthly expenditure of 5.86 USD. The largest share of biomass fuel was derived from firewood, which amounted to 105 kg per month. The middle income group and Kacha (clay) type households consume more biomass than other types of households. The major sources of biomass fuel were found in their home gardens and agricultural lands. These biomass fuels are mainly used for domestic cooking, and most of the households in the study area used general stoves. Among commonly available species, ten firewood species were identified as the most preferred by the majority of households in the study area. Insights from our research may be utilized to promote accessibility to clean energy for households in Bangladesh and other countries alike.

RELIGION AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT: A STUDY ON TWO SELECTED VILLAGES IN COASTAL BANGLADESH

Study on cultural elements to reduce vulnerability become so popular in academia. Therefore, over the past few decades, research on the understanding relationship between religion, as a cultural element, and disaster management has also gotten its popularities. Nevertheless, how different religious aspects can influence people to shape up their disaster management strategies remains untold. To address this gap, adopting a mixed-method approach of data collection this study selected two most disaster-prone areas namely, Dacope Upazila and Koyra Upazila, of Khulna District in Bangladesh to collect primary data. The findings of this study reveal that in some areas religious institutions play a significant role through disseminating disaster-related news, providing social supports immediately after a disaster, and acting as a victim support center. Similarly, religious masters as well as other religious leaders have played a leadership role to bind people together. The findings of this study also indicate that the most important role of religion in disaster management was psychological. Besides, religion increase the capacity of community management through enhancing moral responsibilities. However, the lack of coordination of these potential cultural elements remains unused in the field of disaster management. Therefore, through this study, the researcher would like to call upon policymakers' attention to integrating religious elements with other disaster risk reduction elements.

Mental health status of early married girls during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study in the southwestern region of Bangladesh.

Due to unemployment, the prolonged lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic caused panic and deepened poverty, especially among lower-class and marginal people. The related financial crises led to harmful practices such as the early marriage of adolescent girls, which deteriorated these girl's mental state. This study attempted to assess the prevalence of mental health problems among early married girls and determine the associated predictors of the growing mental health burden. This cross-sectional survey was conducted during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Dumuria Upazila in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. Data were collected purposively from 304 girls who were married off during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was carried out between 22 July and 31 August 2022 by administering a semi-structured interview schedule, with mental health measured by the depression, anxiety, and stress scale 21 (DASS 21). The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 25), and multiple linear regression was executed in order to predict mental health problems among early married girls. The findings show that the overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among early married girls during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh was 60.9% (95% CI: 0.554-0.663), 74.7% (95% CI: 0.698-0.796), and 23.7% (95% CI: 0.189-0.285). The prevalence was relatively higher among girls from the Sanatan (Hindu) religion and younger girls than among Muslim and older girls, respectively. The multiple linear regressions indicate that age, age at marriage, duration of the marriage, spousal occupation, intimate partner violence (IPV), and subjective happiness were the critical predictors of mental health problems among early married girls. Early marriage, along with various adverse outcomes, i.e., IPV, maladjustment, and poor subjective happiness, has resulted in heightened mental health problems for young girls. Policymakers should implement coercive measures to prevent early marriage, especially during social, economic, political, and health crises; in addition, more research is recommended in order to explore the mechanisms that make early married girls psychologically vulnerable and thus formulate protective and preventive programs for addressing such vulnerabilities.

Cyclone-Induced Disaster Loss Reduction by Social Media: A Case Study on Cyclone Amphan in Koyra Upazila, Khulna District, Bangladesh

This study aims to examine the role of social media use in reducing household cyclone-induced disaster loss by obtaining warning and preparedness information. Data were collected following the aftermath of cyclone Amphan in affected households of the Koyra sub-district, Khulna district of Bangladesh using random sampling. Data from 150 households using only traditional media and 150 from those using both social and traditional media were collected through semi-structured questionnaires. Using propensity score matching, it was found that households using both social media and traditional media were able to reduce loss by more than 47,494.31 Bangladeshi Taka compared to households using traditional media. Moreover, households using both media received more important timely information than households using only traditional media. This helped them to work more efficiently and timely, such as cutting ripe crops from fields and keeping them in a safe place, taking domestic animals and poultry to the nearest safe places, putting higher fences using necessary material around ponds to prevent fish being washed away, and so on, to reduce cyclone-induce disaster loss. For obtaining information, problems coastal people faced included less internet bandwidth, the absence of a unified Facebook page and a common YouTube channel, and rumors. Possible solutions for these problems, stated by the respondents, were government-managed free internet before cyclones, a single Facebook page and a single YouTube channel for this purpose. Thus, this research shows social media as a good tool for reducing cyclone-induced disaster loss in Bangladesh coastal areas.

Identification of the Discrepancy between Farmers’ Practices and Good Agricultural Practices in Crop Husbandry

Good agricultural practices (GAP) are important for producing safe food minimizing health risks. The study was conducted at Dumuria upazila of Khulna district in Bangladesh to identify the discrepancy between farmers’ practices and GAP. Data were collected from purposively selected 100 respondents. Majority (63%) of the farmers had medium knowledge of the practices under GAP and 82% of the farmers had a highly favorable attitude towards GAP. The practice index was calculated and obtained score of each practice was deducted from 100 for measuring the discrepancy. Farmers (93%) did occasional practice regarding planting materials and the 100% discrepancy was identified in ‘keeping a record of planting materials if obtained from another farm’, and 96.50% discrepancy in ‘keeping a record of seed quality’. Most (91%) of the farmers’ practices regarding fertilizers and soil additives were often, and 96.50% discrepancy was identified in ‘record keeping of the source, product name, date, the quantity obtained’. The farmers (80%) did the practices related to irrigation often and 96% discrepancy was identified in‘frequency of required water testing’. The respondents (92%) did the practices under ‘chemicals’ often and 99.50% discrepancy was identified in ‘keeping record of chemicals’, and in ‘keeping record of application for each crop’. In the case of harvesting and handling the produce 97% farmers did the practices often and 100% discrepancy was identified in ‘using shatter proof lights in packing house’, and 96% discrepancy in ‘training of workers in personal hygiene’. Farmers had severe problems regarding GAP (94%), and ‘not being able to understand the necessity of GAP’ ranked 1st. Farm size had a significant negative correlation with ‘fertilizers and soil additives’ related practices, ‘knowledge on GAP’ had a significant positive correlation with ‘chemicals’ and ‘harvesting and handling the produce’ related practices. GAP should be practiced for minimizing the discrepancies.

CROP LIVESTOCK INTERACTION PATTERNS IN FOUR SELECTED UPAZILA OF KHULNA DISTRICT

Traditional crop-livestock interaction patterns were investigated in four different Upazila under Khulna District of Bangladesh during the period from March to April, 2002. Data on different parameters viz. number of livestock and poultry, medium of cultivation, use of fertilizer and pesticides for crop production, type of integrated farming system, rate of production, quantity and use of cowdung, etc. were collected from randomly selected 117 farm family heads and were analyzed using statistical package SPSS. Most of the farmers had integrated farming approaches of which crop-ruminant-poultry (39.3%) and crop-ruminant-poultry-fish (33.3%) were remarkable ones. The average number of cattle, goats, chicken and ducks per farm family were 5.66, 2.42, 18.34 and 6.47, respectively. The average rice yield was 5.37 t ha-1. Annual milk and egg production per farm family were 140.52 kg and 110.51 respectively. On average, 81.4% and 59.1% farmers used chemical fertilizer and pesticides respectively in crop production. Per cent of farmers practiced artificial insemination and vaccination for their livestock were 29.8% and 6.8% respectively. Forty six percent of families used cowdung as fuel and 1% as manure, whereas 53% used as both fuel and manure. The maximum crop and livestock productivity from available resources was achieved through integrating crops, animals and plants. Cowdung is recommended to apply more to crop fields instead of using as fuel. Proper utilization of crop residues and products as animal feed is also emphasized.

FACTORS AFFECTING CAREER CHOICE OF THE FEMALE SECONDARY STUDENTS IN KHULNA DISTRICT OF BANGLADESH

Career choice is a growing issue all over the world as secondary students usually face with a dilemma in making an appropriate career choice decision in their lives. For this reason, the study aimed to explore the factors that influence the career choices among female secondary students in Bangladesh. Following survey research design a semi-structured questionnaire was administered to collect data from 181 randomly selected female students of class six to ten from two secondary schools of Chalna Pourashava under Dacope Upazila in Khulna District of Bangladesh. Findings reveal that majority of the students aspire to be doctor which is influenced by parents’ expectation and self-efficacy or the belief in their ability to succeed. In addition, socio-demographic status of students, such as, age, year of schooling and academic achievement influences their career choices. Moreover, living status, occupation and monthly income of father are contributing factors of students’ career choices but fathers’ level of education has no impact on it. Furthermore, living status, education and occupation of mother are associated with students’ career choices but monthly income of the mother has no impact on it. The study recommends that parents should motivate their daughters regarding career choices which might help them to expose their potentialities in right track.

EFFECTS OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY STUDENTS IN DUMURIA UPAZILA OF KHULNA DISTRICT, BANGLADESH

Increasing parental guidance in children’s education has become an important issue in national education initiatives. As parental guidance is an important predictor of children’s academic success, the study aimed to explain the effect of parental guidance on students’ academic achievement at secondary level of education in Dumuria Upazila under Khulna district of Bangladesh. The study was carried out following survey research design. Data were collected from 214 randomly selected students of class nine from four secondary schools of the study area. Findings revealed that the mean Grade Point Average of the students was 3.98 and the variations in academic achievement among the students were statistically significant with reference to the type of educational institution, area of study and study time. On the other hand, more than half of the respondents mentioned that their parental overall guidance level as well as parental motivation, support and involvement level was moderate but parental monitoring and supervision level was low in the study area. Results of correlation and regression analyses revealed that parental guidance was positively and significantly correlated with students’ academic achievement. The study recommends that parents should increase their guidance level so that their children can perform better in school and succeed in life.

IMPACT OF SALINITY INTRUSION ON HEALTH OF COASTAL PEOPLE: REFLECTIONS FROM DACOPE UPAZILA OF KHULNA DISTRICT, BANGLADESH

Increasing salinity in ground water, arable lands and many rivers of the southwest coastal area are important consequences of sea level rise as well as climate change. The scarcity of fresh drinking water was the very initial impact of salinity intrusion that possessed multidimensional threats on human existence. Thus, the current study is designed to know the potential problems caused by salinity intrusion and the protective measures and coping mechanisms adopted by coastal people for salinity. To meet the objectives, two southwest coastal villages Joynagar and Parjoynagar of Kamarkhola union at Dacope upazila in Khulna district of Bangladesh were selected purposively as over past few decades along with other southwest coastal areas these two villages were suffering from increasing salinity intrusion. A collection of qualitative techniques including case study, FGDs and KIIs were adopted to gather vivid data. The results of the study found that apart from physical and psychological health salinity intrusion also possessed adverse impact on social health. The very common physical problems include acidity, stomach problem, several skin diseases and psychological problems include hypertension. Besides, there happened social health problem because of the physical and psychological problem. For example, early marriage happened because salinity gradually changed the skin color from light to gray. However, the findings also presented that all preventive measures of community and authority were taken only for securing fresh drinking water instead of taking preventive measures for purifying washing and cooking water that led to several diseases and problems. In conclusion, it can be recommended that increasing freshwater reservoirs can be a suitable solution for salinity intrusion of the coastal areas.

TEACHING PRONUNCIATION: A STUDY ON THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KHULNA, BANGLADESH

Pronunciation is an integrated and integral part of second or foreign language learning since it directly affects learners’ communicative competence as well as performance. Notwithstanding, the teaching of EFL/ESL pronunciation is still peripheral and neglected in the syllabus and classroom, especially in Khulna district in Bangladesh. It is a matter of regret that most of the school-level learners in our country are not taught English pronunciation and, hence, it is overlooked. The reasons are not far to seek. A good number of teachers in our country are not aware of the significance of teaching pronunciation and its impact on effective communication. Khulna is an industrial town, yet it is lagging behind in learning English. Although there are some government and non-government high schools here, no developed teaching and testing system of English Language is used in this region. Here the teachers follow century-old traditional testing system for writing and reading English. As for listening and speaking, there is no form of testing that can aid effective pronunciation teaching in secondary schools. Therefore, teaching pronunciation is highly ignored in this area. This paper reviews the notion of pronunciation teaching and gives a theoretical background for developing pronunciation teaching. It empirically studies the learners’ and teachers’ attitudes to the significance of accurate pronunciation teaching in English. Additionally, it reflects on their preferences and beliefs about pronunciation teaching. Finally, it provides some recommendations for effective remedial measures and feedback techniques for developing pronunciation teaching and learning in the light of the theoretical and empirical findings of the research.

Factors influencing health service utilization among mothers for under-five children: A cross-sectional study in Khulna district of Bangladesh.

Although Bangladesh has made significant progress in reducing child mortality, proper utilization of health services for under-five children among mothers remains one of the major challenges. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the factors influencing health service utilization among mothers for under-five children in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. Administering a semi-structured interview schedule, data were collected from 364 randomly selected mothers from the study area between June and August 2021. At first, Pearson’s Chi-square test was conducted to measure the association between outcome and predictor variables. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the factors associated with utilization of health services. Overall, about 59 percent of the mother received health services from unqualified doctors during their children’s illness and the rest of them (41.5%) seek care from the qualified doctors. Results of regression analysis revealed that long duration of illness (AOR = 2.338; CI: 1.175–4.649; p = 0.015), the severity of illness (AOR = 6.402; CI: 3.275–12.513; p<0.001), and higher cost of treatment (AOR = 7.371; CI: 3.297–16.480; p<0.001) were the significant predictors of utilization of health services from the qualified doctors for under-five children. Thus, the study suggests that to reduce under-five child mortality by ensuring proper utilization of health services, it is necessary to raise awareness among mothers, improve transport facilities, establish need-based health care centers, and lower treatment costs.

Drinking water services in the primary schools: evidence from coastal areas in Bangladesh

Salinity intrusion both in surface and groundwater caused a crisis for safe drinking water in coastal Bangladesh. The situation is even worse for children especially at school. However, information on water services in coastal schools is limited. Here we assess the quality of drinking water and supply infrastructures in the primary schools of a severely saline affected coastal area of Bangladesh. To fulfill the objective, thirty-eight schools were purposively selected and investigated in Dacope Upazila of Khulna district in Bangladesh. Findings revealed that harvested rainwater (63%) and pond (21%) are the major drinking water sources where countries’ leading water supply technology, tube well (16%) were the least used option. Moreover, salinity in all the tube wells exceeded the national standard. DO, pH, NO3, SO4 and PO4 concentration of all options satisfied national standards. However, total coliform counts exceeded the national standard. More than half of the samples had a low to high risk of indicator bacteria which is a major public health concern. Although 29% schools have installed portable water filtration units, those are grossly inaccessible for the students. Hence, students are reportedly consuming unsafe drinking water, and thus are vulnerable to water-borne diseases. The lack of resources and poorly designed infrastructure are the principal challenges to the safe drinking water supply. Therefore, disinfection at the point of use along with proper maintenance of the water infrastructure is urgent needs to safeguard potable water services in the primary schools of coastal Bangladesh.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH AGE AT MENOPAUSE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN KHULNA DISTRICT, BANGLADESH

Menopause is a significant milestone in women’s lives that marks the end of their reproductive capability. This study aimed to explain the factors associated with age at menopause among women at Khulna district of Bangladesh. Survey method was followed to carry out the study. A total of 186 postmenopausal women aged 45 years and above were purposively selected for data collection. Following a semi-structured interview schedule, data were collected between February and March, 2019. In multivariate analysis, residence, number of pregnancy, experience of breast feeding, and having gynecological problem were found to be significantly associated (p&lt;0.05) with age at menopause of the respondents. Women living in rural areas, having higher number of pregnancy, having breastfeeding experience, and not having any gynecological problem were more likely to experience delayed menopause. Programs and campaigns motivating women for family planning, breastfeeding and proper monitoring of gynecological problems in rural areas could be helpful for safe and delayed menopause.

Analyzing the Best Fitted Probabilistic Model for the Seasonal Rainfall Data in Khulna Region of Bangladesh

There are several pieces of research on the statistical modeling of rainfall data in Bangladesh. Since all the seasons of a year do not receive a similar amount of rainfall, hence one single statistical model might not be able to explain the pattern of rainfall at any season of a year. According to the climatologists, Bangladesh has four seasons which are Monsoon, Post-monsoon, Summer, and Winter based on the geographical characteristics of this country. This paper aims to determine the best-fitted probability distribution model for the monthly rainfall data of each particular season in the Khulna district of Bangladesh using the rainfall data of the Khulna region from 1951 to 2018. Very commonly used seven continuous distributions- Normal, Weibull, Gamma, Log-normal, Exponential, Cauchy, and Logistic distributions were used to model the data and to evaluate the performances of the distributions, three non-parametric goodness-of-fit tests were conducted, and AIC, BIC values were calculated. Parameters of the distributions were estimated by the maximum likelihood method. The best-fit result of each season was taken as the distribution with the lowest AIC and BIC values. Among the seven distributions, the Gamma distribution showed the best-fit results of the monthly rainfall data for the Monsoon, Post-Monsoon, and Winter Season, and the Weibull distribution showed the best-fit result for Summer Season.

Groundwater vulnerability assessment in Khulna district of Bangladesh by integrating fuzzy algorithm and DRASTIC (DRASTIC-L) model

Groundwater vulnerability assessment in Khulna district of Bangladesh by integrating fuzzy algorithm and DRASTIC (DRASTIC-L) model

Severity of Associated Weeds in Rabi Crops and their Control Measures Perceived by Farmers

Purpose: The study was conducted to identify the associated weeds of Rabi (winter) crops and their control measures used by the farmers at Dumuria and Batiaghata upazila in Khulna district of Bangladesh. Research Method: Data were collected from purposively selected 73 respondents using structured interview conducted from 4 January to 20 April, 2019. Findings: In the study area, Echinochloa crussgalli and Cynodon dactylon were found as dominant within rice fields with the highest severity index of 25.34% and 20.54% respectively. In sesame fields, Cucumis melo var. agrestis and Cynodon dactylon were found with 16.78% and 12.33% severity index respectively. The severity index of Cynodon dactylon was the highest in majority of the vegetable crops. The weeding of rice, potato, bitter gourd, spinach, country bean was done within the critical weeding regime but in the rest of the crops weeding was not done during the critical weeding regime. Originality/value: Farmers spend about 40% of the total production cost on weed control and the critical weeding regime has a major impact on effectiveness of weed control, overall economic benefit and net income.

Distribution and diversity of aquatic macrophytes and the assessment of physico-chemical parameters of Dakatia beel in Khulna district, Bangladesh

The physico-chemical characteristics of water and aquatic macrophytes from Dakatia Beel under Khulna district in Bangladesh were studied within January, 2020 to February, 2021. Twenty three species of aquatic macrophytes belonging to 15 families have been recorded. The aquatic macrophytes in Dakatia Beel collected from several sites belonging to 23 genera and 15 families (Lemnaceae, Pontederiaceae, Araceae, Convolvulaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Polygonaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Onagraceae, Parkeriaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Euphorbiacee, Nymphaceae). We also observed the different plant groups which comprises 6 species of floating, 10 species of emergent and only 2 species of submerged aquatic macrophytes. Dissolved oxygen ranged between 1.78 to 2.2 mg/L with a mean value 1.95 mg/L. The study area showed maximum total dissolved solid 588 ppm and the minimum in 482 ppm with a mean value of 534 ppm. Maximum value of phosphate was noted in 1029 μg/L and minimum 988 μg/L with a mean value of 1005 μg/L. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. 2021, 7 (2), 118-125

Determinants of Early Marriage among the Women: A Study on Khulna District

Early marriage is one of the major social problems in Bangladesh. Poverty has been the major factor leading to early marriage in Bangladesh. However, this study was an attempt to investigate the determinants affecting the early marriage. The study is explanatory in nature as it tries to explain the determinants that affect early marriage in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. The study was carried out in two areas, i.e, Paikgacha Village under Paikgacha Upzilla and 23 No. ward of Khulna city. The study adopted a survey research design. The population targeted by the study included only female respondents of 18 ages or above age group. 287 respondents were selected through a simple random sampling procedure using an interview schedule as survey research for data assortment. The major finding of the revision was that most of the respondents (64.5%) were married and got at an early age. Results revealed that the majority of the respondents were affected by socio-economic factors as for their early marriages. The study, however, identified the association of premature marriage of the respondents with socio-cultural factors (p&lt;.001), economic factors (p&lt;.005), areas of residence (p&lt;.001) at a strong significant level. So the study concluded that early marriage is affected by different socio-demographic factors such as parental education and income, parental early marriage, husband education, and income, area of residence.