Bangladesh is a small country (about the size of Iowa) surrounded by India, Burma and the Bay of Bengal. With a population of 156 million (and counting), the country is densely packed. The capital Dhaka, is the largest city by far, followed by Chittagong, a port city.
For more information, visit these websites:
Local News
The Asian University for Women (AUW) opened in Chittagong, Bangladesh and Smith Alumna Hoon Eng Khoo ’73 is the Provost and Acting Vice Chancellor.
Asian University for Women (AUW) website
Smith Alumnae Quarterly article on Hoon Eng Khoo ’73
Article on AUW in the Gulf Times
NEW! Article in The Star Online
Local Events
SASA’s first event!
Celebrate the 2010 Holiday Season with Smithies in Dhaka
Thanks to the ladies who came out to help celebrate!
Would you like to plan an event? Visit the “Tools” page for ideas. Email sasaadmin@alumnae.smith.edu if you need any help!
Alumna Spotlight
Would you like to nominate someone to be spotlighted here? Just email sasaadmin@alumnae.smith.edu
Jessica McCarthy ’09 developed an interest and appreciation for research in South Asia through her involvement in Smith’s South Asian student organization, EKTA. During her junior year, she collected data in Dhaka, Bangladesh for a project concerning attitudes about marriage and gender roles among university students. During her senior year, she studied abroad in Tamil Nadu, India where she lived with a local family, attended school and collected data for her honors thesis, titled Authoritarianism and Attitudes about Arranged Marriages in Bangladesh and South Asia. She graduated from Smith in January 2009, lives in Brooklyn, NY and looks forward to the opportunity to return to South Asia.
From the abstract…
“The current study focused on how authoritarian attitudes might relate to gender role ideologies and the concept of arranged marriages in South Asia, specifically among South Indian and Bangladeshi college students. Results indicate that gender differences existed regarding attitudes about marriage with greater gender differences existing in India than in Bangladesh. Additionally, RWA was positively correlated with favoring arranged marriage, and negatively correlated with the mention of love as an important factor in marriage. Gender differences and country differences in patters of correlates are discussed.”
Connections Chair: We are currently looking for a Bangladeshi Connections Chair. Are you interested? Click here for the application form.