Food expenses per population fell by 21% in rural areas and 27% in urban slums (April vs. February). Rapid qualitative research study to understand the impact of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown on the lived realities of adolescent boys and girls living in slums and low-income settlements in Dhaka. Although all the young people interviewed were aware of the coronavirus, knowledge and perceptions about self-quarantine and precautions to be followed varied depending on their age and sources of information.
We live in Block 5 which has a small bazaar (market), that's why it's always crowded. I heard [from unknown source] that Allah also forgave all the Christian, Hindu and Buddhist people of China because they started offering namaz (prayer) in the mosque.
Education in the time of COVID-19
Studying at home by yourself is much more challenging than studying at school with support from teachers, as they no longer have access to the much-needed guidance, instructions and notes from experienced instructors. Additional free time coupled with a lack of routine and homework has caused adolescents to become distracted. Compared to pre-pandemic school days, they mentioned that they are now less involved in their studies.
At the end of the academic year and after the cabinet's decision not to take annual exams (evaluation based on assignments), less was reported about studying at home. However, few respondents shared their concerns about the HSC pass based on the SSC results and called it “automatic pass”. I'm tense about that... Even in terms of the job market, who will they give the job to?
The lack of prior experience and training of teachers hinders the quality of teaching online/television classes. Less access to online classes due to financial constraints, lack of information about educational platforms, weak internet connection and use of shared devices. TV courses are only available up to SSC level Lack of space and privacy to study.
Adolescent coping
Five young people out of 30 respondents are directly affected by the closure, as they had to stop working and stay at home. Most of the respondents talked about concerns related to the uncertainty of their family's income. Before this closure, my father was able to work and I was also able to teach school children.
Some of the teenagers' families have reduced their daily consumption to cope with the financial crisis. I don't know so much... my brother took out something like a loan... but carrying it is becoming very problematic. Some of their family members took loans from people to survive and now they are in debt.
Various coping strategies for loss of income due to work stoppages and business closures. Paying off the loans they took out at the start of the lockout is adding extra pressure. Cutting expenses, eating less than before are ways to cope with the financial crisis even after the lockdown is lifted.
The situation worsened after the virus came and my father couldn't work properly, so he started taking loans. Fear of COVID-19: They are not only afraid of getting infected themselves, but are also afraid that their family will get sick from the disease, which makes them even more stressed in this situation. Young people have also adopted religious practices, especially praying, as a measure to combat fear of the virus.
The youths also mentioned that many people in their community started going to the mosque to pray because of fear. On the one hand, people are aware that public gatherings increase the risk of spreading the virus, but fear that not praying will be punished. Discussing their concerns with parents appeared to be a way to cope with the stress caused by the pandemic for adolescents in our sample, and parents play an important role in helping adolescents cope with fear and anxiety related to COVID-19.
With the lifting of the nationwide lockdown, they are adjusting to the new normal. Girls have a lot of explaining to do and can't just go out and walk the streets unlike boys.
Intra-household relations
No difference was found in the responsibilities of married adolescent females as they were accustomed to housework early in their married life. Few adolescents, both boys and girls, reported doing housework and taking care of other family members despite their reluctance and. If she was not at home in a normal situation, others would do her work, but now it is a pressure on them to help with all the housework.
Increased tension and arguments in the family during the pandemic compared to the start of the lockdown, especially between parents, most often due to money issues. Adolescents affected by financial stress through parents' behavior and the general negative atmosphere in the family. An increase in domestic violence is reported by some teenagers where the mothers of the abused teenagers and in some cases even the teenagers are physically and verbally abused.
Exception: Improvement in household conditions reported by a few young people due to having more free time to spend with family members. There has definitely been a change in [my family members'] behavior because when a person doesn't have money or can't work like before, he gets depressed. People working in the garment and other private organizations lost their jobs and could not keep up with their family expenses, hence quarrels between family members are on the rise.”
All adolescents are familiar with girls marrying at an early age due to financial crises in households caused by the pandemic. However, younger adolescent girls reported that parents always prefer education over marriage, and that marriage is fully dependent on the girl's will. According to two of the adolescents, the factors behind early marriage include the idea of preserving the 'honour' of the girls and their families.
Raising awareness among older adolescents about the minimum age for marriage for girls and the risks of early marriage. Her parents were divorced and her mother was struggling to support the family [amid the pandemic]. If my parents can't afford my expenses, [...] I will eventually have to live a hard life, so I better get married so that I can live a little happily.
Adolescent Perceptions of the Community & Government
Deterioration of community relations due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis: increase in fights and quarrels. Increased criminal activities in the community (eg theft, robbery, robbery) leading to increased insecurity and conflicts among the people. There were some areas where people misbehaved with the corona patient and their family.
Being a corona patient is not his/her fault and his/her family members did not even suffer from corona. Adolescents held the local government and non-governmental bodies working at the grassroots level responsible for the mismanagement and corruption. In the second round of interviews, little to no traces of help or support in response to the pandemic crisis from the government or NGO bodies were found from the interviews with the adolescents.
But some political leaders have not provided them to the people who actually need them and the people who are poor.
Conclusions and Policy Implications
Youth are a good source of information for families and communities about health issues such as preventive measures for pandemics. Uncertainty about education as a major source of concern for their academic future as well as entering the labor market. Disadvantages of access to the internet and mobile devices will hold back young people in low-income areas in achieving educational outcomes.
Socio-economic differences between households in low-income settlements affected food, debt, continuing education, access to appliances and the Internet. Older teenagers were found to have more voice and autonomy over whether they would work, be allowed to leave the house, and what role they would play in the family and community.
