Through a grant from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Girl Effect trained 48 girls aged 17-20 to become Market Research Society qualified researchers and Technology Enabled Girl Ambassadors (TEGAs). TEGA is Girl Effect’s mobile-based, peer-to-peer research app that is used by some of the world’s leading development organisations to provide safer, faster, more scalable research around the world.

TEGA research was conducted for a consortium of organisations – BRAC BIED, CARE Bangladesh, iSocial, Nutrition International, Population Council and UNFPA – to provide them with girl-led insights to shape their programming on the topics of sexual harassment, nutrition of garment workers, economic empowerment, digital financial services and sexual and reproductive health.

Take a look at this film which highlights the journey TEGA has been on in Bangladesh.

The findings from the project have revealed insights into the lives of girls in Bangladesh that are informing work for organisations striving to improve the lives of girls in Bangladesh.

Key highlights from these findings include:

• Girls’ aspirations need to be build as well as supported. We could see that girls sometimes have the stereotypical view of earning to support their family but not that economic empowerment is their right.
• Girls want it to be OK to seek out sexual and reproductive health information even when they don’t require a service but they are worried about asking for information on this topic as they may be stigmatised.
• Girls feel the effect sexual harassment has on their mental health, academic and social life, and welcome the idea of receiving counselling as long as confidentiality is assured. Girls want to be able to receive advice without being blamed.

Elaborating on the impact of TEGA to bring girl-led insights into the development sector, Clare Webb, Director of Relationships at Girl Effect, said:

“This approach not only empowers adolescent girls to conduct research using innovative mobile technology, but also provides authentic insights into the lives of young people around the world. These deeper insights have helped organisations design more effective and targeted initiatives that are having real impact in the lives of girls and their communities.”  

To find out more about the findings from the research project, please take a look at this report below.

Pictured above: Four of our Dhaka TEGAs with the Australian High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Ms Julia Niblett, Dr Raihan, CEO of iSocial and Clare Webb, TEGA Director of Relationships, Girl Effect and Sifat Yusuf, TEGA Programme Manager in Bangladesh 

Related Downloads:  Towards a digital future for girls in Bangladesh: DFAT summary insights report