I think it’s wonderful to get to know more about the world around you, so here I am, sharing a little bit about what I know about the country I live in: Bangladesh.

Fashion:
There are two main types of fashion for the middle to upper class people in this country. The first type is called the salwar kameez (sal-WAR come-EASE), which consists of baggy pants, a dress, and a scarf. The fashion of the salwar kameez has changed over the years; at first, it was a long, baggy dress which came below the knees, and the dupatta (scarf) was draped over the head and chest. The change in fashion here is directly influenced by India, and many shops here have the latest Indian fashions, which come mainly from Mumbai and Kolkata.

Anyway, my favorite type of “stylish” salwar kameez was with a fitted kameez (dress) that came to about mid-thigh, and the dupatta draped around the neck. After that, the kameez was shortened to look like a shirt, which I didn’t quite like. Now the kameez is slightly longer, and the style of it varies. Many like a heavily embroidered bottom and heavily embroidered salwar (the baggy pants). I’ve tried to include pics, but I’m not sure if they will work or not.











Those are the most popular. The last one that you see is called a lengha, which is worn mainly for special occasions. I love lenghas 

Anyhow, there are western fashions here too. The garments industry is huge here! This is because the labor is cheap. I’ll talk more about that when I write about culture. Most of the buyers come from Canada, the U.S., and Switzerland. If you work in garments in this part of the world, you will be VERY well off!! 

Because of the countries that the buyers are from, the western fashion here is the same as the western fashion there. Only here, halter tops, short skirts, and anything too exposing is not acceptable when you go out, because it offends the culture here. Women here are more conservative. The left over clothes go to the shops here and a huge bazaar (outdoor market) which is quite far away from where I live, but you can usually get good things there. I myself prefer to do my shopping in London 

Culture:
In the past, if husbands left their wives with children, the wife’s life would be shattered. Firstly no one would marry her because “there must be something wrong with you if your husband left you!” and they would also not be able to find work. (Assume that when I talk about things like this it will be concerning the lower class only and I will specify when I mean otherwise). Even a widowed wife would not have work or find a husband and therefore she and her child would starve to death.

These days, even though they don’t get paid very much, women are given jobs to work in garments factories. They earn enough to make a living and feed themselves and their families.

Also … child labor. Sometimes, children just HAVE to work to help support their families. Instead of trying to make it so that they don’t have any income, we have set up centers where working children can go to during the day to get education. These centers will allow them to come for 3-4 hours a day and gradually work up to a standard so that they can get into university and get better jobs when they are older. In my opinion, Bangladesh is steadily but surely improving.

Religion goes as follows:
75% Muslim
10% Hindu
10% Christian
5% Other

The independence was won in 1971. Bangladesh was known as East Pakistan and wanted its freedom from Pakistan; wanted a new nation. So India helped them in this war and helped them win their freedom.

In arranged marriages (again lower class), the men go the women’s homes to have a look at them. They look for cooking ability, family status, and long, thick, black hair, LOL! Most women get their noses pierced before marriage. I did mine when I was 12, just because … I felt like it and thought it would look nice! And also they use needles… I used a gun!!

What else is there to tell you about culture … (my goodness this is turning into an essay!!) … oh yes, over here, many of the tribes, the women are depended upon to earn the living working in the fields and rice paddies. In Dhaka, where I live, the capital city of Bangladesh, it is not so. The man is more dominant over the woman. In fact, they don’t really like girls! 

This is all I can think of for now. If any of you have any questions, make sure you let me know, and I will do my best to answer them!

Leia,

   Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I absolutely love Salwar Kameez. I have been searching on ebay for ages and just have never bought one. I do have several saris (sp?) though. I think this type of clothing is so beautiful and feminine. The fabrics and detail work is incredible. I work in a medical office and two of the MD's are from India, so we have quite a lot of Indian patients. I love it when the women wear their traditional dress, it is just so lovely. Thanks again

:: squeals with delight :: So glad you guys enjoyed that!

I love saris too... though I can't wear one myself! I will wear one a couple of times a year; once for UN day and once for Bengali New Year... my aunt always helps me put them on! 

If there is anything else you would like me to write about... or post pictures of... just let me know!

Oh and I thought I'd add... it rained really heavily here after such a long time! One of the main roads that brings me home from piano class was a LAKE! Okay, not quite  ! It was about 6-8" deep in water!

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If you mean the one that shows up lavender/aqua on my monitors, I agree!  Absolutely gorgeous!

Hi there,

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that´s a thing I wanted to ask- the sari and lengha choli are usually NOT muslim dresses (to much skin!). I thought they were only worn by hindus and the muslim dress are shalwar kameez and lengha kameez?
Belly absolutely qualifies in Islam, if there are men around you are only allowed to show face and hands and if there are only women you have to cover the area between belly (including it ;)) and knees!

E.

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LOL, Bikerbraid, saris are *very* complicated to wrap! First you put on the blouse and long skirt, and then you wrap the long cloth around you. It's done by tucking it into the skirt, wrapping it around once, then folding I think 9 ( ???) times, and then tucking the folds in. Then you lift the rest and wrap it around your stomach and chest (and head if you want) and sometimes pin into place on your shoulder. Also, you have to wear shoes while you do it (the shoes you are going to wear when you wear the sari) so that the sari is definitely right above the floor! I can't wrap one myself but I would love to learn how!

I do go a private school, it's called American International School/Dhaka. It is very international, which I just love  as I love learning about different countries and cultures! And also, children that travel to many countries are also less prejudiced and can be friends with anyone, regardless of race or color. Isn't that just great 

By public school if you mean that the government pays for your schooling... well, yes and no. In some cases the children will get help in paying the fees, and sometimes don't have to pay at all if they just cannot afford it, but this is only in the villages. In the city all of the schools are private.

Again, your last question is hard to answer because it varies from village to city. In the villages I guess they just work until they get a basic education and go on from there... most of them have to work so they mostly don't do advanced education. Up to ages 10-12 I'd say they could leave school. In the city, school finishes around 17-18, and then university.

I hear ya, E! 

It is kind of hard to explain where me and my family is actually FROM. I just say Indian or South Asian because that's the best way to explain it.

My mother's family is a direct descendent of the Turks who came to India during the time of the Moghul (?) Empire. Her grandfather was a prince in India, as there were many small regions that were ruled by monarchs. When the English came, they refused to recognize anyone as monarchs and took away their titles.

This was also around the time when Pakistan was coming into being. As they were Muslims, they moved to Pakistan to avoid the conflict. My mother was born in Karachi and moved around quite often; she has lived in south India, north India, Pakistan, and then London from the time she was 14 till about 26. That's when she got married and that's why it was a huge culture shock when she came here. But technically, she's Pakistani  .

My dad is not Bangladeshi, although he has sort of "become" it. His parents lived in India and my grandfather used to sell... iron or something for a living. It was something that really shocked me when my father told me, because I look at our family now and can't believe how small we started. Anyway, Daddy's parents moved here because of the conflict between Muslims and Hindus. All three of the older children (Daddy is the youngest) were born in India, while Daddy was born here. He went to school here, and then did further studies in Switzerland. Then he came back here and joined in the family business. Because everything originated in India, I call myself Indian.

The primary industry over here would probably have to be garments, because the quality is good and the labor is cheap. There are definitely large businesses and factories, including the ones that my family owns. We own biscuit factories, battery factories, pen factories, oil factories, and candy factories. Most of this stuff sells cheap (especially the candy which is a popular favorite among those who cannot afford much) but the income is great because they know who to aim their business towards.

The primary places of employment... that is a hard question. There are just so many jobs, lol! Although garments is a huge industry, there aren't that many garments factories. I guess most of the city jobs are office jobs... I'm not quite sure, really!