Introduction: Social class is a goup of people with similar backgrounds, incomes and lifestyles.

Social Stratification in Bangladesh has its roots in the past. The differences in social stratification are interpreted by the differences in material prosperity. Lavish living and extravagant expenses indicate one's wealth accompanied by status and power. However, upper strata are gradually becoming educated, and a social difference between the educated and non-educated is emerging. Gradually, a bhadralok class may also appear in the countryside with a distinct lifestyle based on modern education, etiquette and culture. The rural social stratification in Bangladesh has not always been reflected in the differences of lifestyles, customs, norms and languages of different classes. Common features in dresses or languages sometimes blur the differences manifested in social status. The urban social stratification is beset with important regional variation. While most district towns are still small and backward, a few are relatively advanced. Three cities, Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna, incorporate large industrial and commercial units along with a vibrant service sector. Cosmopolitanism has come to shape the nature of social stratification of the community living in those large cities. Modern classes like corporate executives, civil bureaucrats, professionals, intellectuals, art workers, industrialists and businessmen emerged in the urban areas. A large labour force engaged in both formal and informal sectors also characterise the urban population. Wealth and education largely determine urban social status. The traditional factor like lineage background has reduced to a level of minimum significance. Urban lifestyles, dresses, etiquette etc vary along class lines as well as the recreational activities. The term adolescence has been associated with the transition from childhood to adulthood, encompassing the interval between puberty and marriage, and it has been evolved into a distinct period of biological clock . Adolescents represent a major potential human resources for the over all development of a nation. Reproductive health is an important component of general health, it is a perquisite for social and economic and imperative because human energy and creativity are the driving forces of development.Adolescence is the time when individuals explore and develop their sexual identity, and define and solidify gender roles. Adolescence is an unknown territory to parents, teachers and even adolescents themselves. It is a period of rapid physical and emotional growth. The transition of childhood to adulthood is difficult in a society as adolescents are no longer children but are not yet considered by society to be fully adult. They can neither mix with children nor are they acceptable to adult discussion. Even in many societies the period of adolescence is not recognized, children are regarded as adults once menstruation begins or when they have passed through a ritual ceremony or marriage. Adolescence is the most important period of human life. Adolescence is a decisive age for girls around the world. More than half of world population is under the range of adolescence period. Adolescence, defined by WHO as the period between 10 and 19 years, is an important, formative time which shapes the future of girls' and boys' lives. The adolescent experiences not only physical growth and change but also emotional, psychological, social, and mental change and growth. Physiological changes lead to sexual maturity and usually occur during the first several years of this period. Adolescence represents a window of opportunity to prepare for a healthy adult life. The world's adolescent population -1200 million persons, 10-19 years of age, or about 19% of the total population-faces a series of serious challenges not only affecting their growth and development but also their livelihood as adults. Yet adolescents remain a largely neglected, difficult-to-measure, and hard-to-reach population, in which the needs of adolescent girls in particular are often ignored. Adolescence is a period of increased risk taking and therefore susceptibility to behavioral problems at

the time of puberty and new concerns about reproductive health. Majority of adolescents still do not have access to information and education on sexuality, reproduction, and sexual and reproductive health and rights, nor do they have access to preventive and curative service. More than half of world population is under the range of adolescence period. These young people face serious health problems in modern times. More over adolescents girls, in particular are likely to suffer sexual abuse, violence, rape, unwanted pregnancy, abortion and STDs from which they need protection. There is lack of attention in almost every dimension as adolescent reproductive health. They found poorly informed regarding their own health needs, physical well being and their own bodies. The knowledge they have is incomplete and many a time confusing. The progress of a country depends on the maximum exploitation of its human resources. The sound health is one of the first requisite conditions of development. Reproductive health is a crucial part of general health and a central feature of human development. It is a reflection of health during childhood and crucial during adolescence and adulthood, sets and stage for health beyond the reproductive years for both women and men, and affects the health of the next generation. Reproductive health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system at all stages of life. Reproductive health implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so. Reproductive health is an important component of general health, it is a perquisite for social and economic and imperative because human energy and creativity are the driving forces of development. Reproductive health of adolescent boys and girls is decisive for individual health, family well being and improving their economic productivity. There is an urgent need to increase investment in sexual and reproductive health care for adolescent girls. The extent and severity of the problems that adolescents encounter during this phase of their life include many reproductive health issues. Adolescence is a period of increased risktaking and therefore susceptibility to behavioral problems at the time of puberty and new concerns about reproductive health. Majority of adolescents still does not have access to information and education on sexuality, reproduction and sexual and reproductive health and rights, nor do they have access to preventive and curative service. Providing adolescents with access to seek information education and services is thus the main challenge for future programmes. Adolescene - the transitional period from childhood to adulthood - is difficult in every society as adolescents are no longer considered as children and also not accepted by the society to be fully adult. Adolescents can neither mix with children nor are they acceptable to perceived adult discussion. Even in many societies, the period of adolescence is not recognised, children, especially girls, are recognised as adults once menstruation begins or when they have passed through rites of passage, a ritual ceremony or marriage. Thus, being in the liminality adolescents face challenges and risks that impact directly on their physical, emotional and mental well-being. Subsequently, millions of adolescents are faced with impact of early marriage and child bearing, incomplete education and the threat of HIV/AIDS. In Bangladesh the age range from 10 years to less than 18 years is treated as adolescent age (MWCA, 2010). More than one fifth of the population of Bangladesh is adolescents, with 13.7 million girls and 14 million boys in the 10 to 19-year age group (UNICEF, 2010). However, lack of access to information and services and societal pressure to perform as adults notwithstanding the physical, mental and emotional changes they are undergoing make the adolescents particularly vulnerable to health risks, especially in the area of reproductive health. Moreover, the current information and

services that are available are not specific to adolescents, and the quality of such information and services is often poor, inappropriate and inadequate for this age group. Through various studies it has become evident that substantial proportion of the adolescents are not knowledgeable about the underlying cause/mechanism of physical changes that take place during adolescence period, the consequences of unprotected sexual acts, gonorrhea, syphilis, how a person is infected with HIV/AIDS, menstrual regulation, and the availability of treatment facilities for Sexually Transmitted Infections. Furthermore, 'what is known' about reproductive health knowledge is generally poor and is often incorrect as it is derived from unreliable sources e.g. from friends or peers who are equally uniformed (UNFPA, 1998). Furthermore, it is articulated in several reports (e.g. ICDDR, B 2005, WHO 2003, UNFPA 1998, BRAC 2000, Population Council Bangladesh, 2003) that adolescents are generally discouraged to discuss their sexual and reproductive health and rights with their parents and teachers because traditional beliefs and religious norms restrict such discussion and flow of accurate information to adolescents. The extreme vulnerability of adolescents in regard to reproductive health is depicted by a recent survey undertaken by Population Council Bangladesh. It has been found that 55% of patients with sexually transmitted diseases are aged less than 24 years (Population Council 2003 cited in ICDDR, B 2005). Therefore, adolescent reproductive and sexual health requires strategic programming focus so that youth can be aware of the grave situation that may came because of information and service gaps. Through a gender lens - the reproductive health needs of adolescent women are quite different from those of adolescent men, principally because of their young age at marriage. Like early marriage, early pregnancy is common among female adolescents in Bangladesh. Pregnancy and motherhood often occur before adolescents are fully developed physically, which exposes them to severe health risks during pregnancy and childbirth. A study conducted by ICDDR, B outlined that the fertility rate among female adolescents aged 15-19 is 144 births per 1,000 births (ICDDR, B 2005). However, a large portion of the married adolescents are unaware of emergency obstetric care which is one of the main causes of mortality in young mothers and obstructed labour is primarily caused by immaturity of the birth canal. In addition to its associated health consequences, early child bearing has an adverse effect on young mother's socio-economic status. It cuts short her education, limits her ability to earn income for the family and may lead to marital difficulties (MOHFW, 1998a). Furthermore, available information on adolescence nutrition indicates that about one-half of adolescent girls in Bangladesh are under-nourished (Jejeebhoy, 1996). As a consequence, pregnancy at an early age, before the adolescent is physically ready to bear child, can result in severe damage to the reproductive tract, elevated risks of maternal mortality, pregnancy complications, pre-natal and neo-natal mortality, and low birth weight. As preference for sons and the low status of women in Bangladeshi society affects adolescent girls' nutrition, education and access to health care the issues needing immediate attention, particularly for female adolescents, are gender discrimination, education, employment, marriage and dowry, and nutrition. The unmet need of adolescents for reproductive health information and services is huge and diverse both in terms of quality as well as quantity. Due to various reasons - lack of ARH (adolescent reproductive health) policy, programmatic effort and inadequate understanding of the significance of the issues on ARH - it has not previously been possible to meet the growing unmet need for information and services of adolescents. Therefore, a variety of school-based education and outreach programmes should come into place to directly address the school children, urban slum people, rural adolescents, homeless and high risk people, female garment workers, married female adolescents and young working males. Adolescent Family Life Education (AFLE) is to be provided to adolescents

about their physical, mental, social, moral, behavioural changes and developments at different stages in adolescent life. The topics of Adolescent Family Life Education programmes could include reproduction and menstruation, marriage and pregnancy, age of marriage, right age for pregnancy, problems of early marriage, problems of early fertility, safe sex methods and prevention and protection from HIV/AIDS, information on common Reproductive Tract Infections, signs and symptoms of Sexually Transmitted Diseases etc. AFLE services are to be provided through school education, peer networks, youth friendly centres involving family, parents and local superiors. Furthermore, involvement of teachers, school management committee, parents, religious leaders would ensure access to health care and good communications for improving ARH. Apart from AFLE, clinical services meeting the adolescent health demand are to be made available, easily accessible and culturally acceptable. Awareness programmes through youth friendly centres, peer networks, leaflets, handouts and posters and mass-media would capture the mass under adolescence reproductive health information umbrella. Moreover, information about social norms, religious beliefs and cultural taboos of Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health education might increase the awareness level of people. However, the physical access barriers that need to be overcome to establish an ideal scenario include inadequate reproductive health service points; inadequate clinical services for RTIs/STIs and HIV/AIDS; absence of peer group approach in the service point; lack of clinical instruments for screening RTI/STI and HIV/AIDS and so forth. Furthermore, the psychological and social barriers include shyness of adolescents to discuss the reproductive health issues; keeping reproductive health problems secret; traditional values; norms and myths; ignorance about sexuality; and parents/guardians and elderly people (who act as gatekeepers) who are uninformed about ARH needs. Because sexuality and sex education is discouraged by the religiously sanctioned culture, multifaceted programmes are to be strategised providing ASRH services in rural areas. Furthermore, as there is strong son preference and girls tended to be discriminated by their families and by the culture, reaching girls with ARH service demands more attention from the policy makers. Moreover, strategies are to be devised to withhold the quality barriers including service environment, which does not ensure privacy and confidentiality of adolescent service seekers, lack of professional staff or lack of professionalism among professional staff and relatively high service charges. In this regard, mobilisation programmes for youth and community members to change norms, attitudes, and social systems are strongly recommended. Various Organizations has Done: Considering the above-mentioned reasons BRAC launched this program in order to make the rural adolescent girls aware about different critical problems around them. The SAFE project is a very ambitious intervention as it takes a multi-tiered approach. This project will contribute to decreasing child marriage and violence against women and adolescent girls."The Growing Up Safe and Healthy (SAFE) project seeks to provide context-specific strategies for vulnerable adolescents to build their social and health assets, with the eventual goal of improving their lifelong functional capabilities and well-being. The SAFE project works in line with the recently approved National Women Development Policy. The NWDP wants to empower women to uphold their rights irrespective of their status. UNFPA recogn izes that the world is different for girls than it is for boys, and programme approaches must reflect this. UNFPA is committed to reducing gender inequities in the lives of young people, paying particular attention to the vulnerabilities, pressures and risks faced by young women.

Adolescent girls are also exposed to various forms of gender-based violence from harmful traditional practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting to the growing problem of sexual trafficking. The first sexual experience for many adolescent girls is forced, often by people they know, including family members. This can lead to long-term physical and psychological damage. UNFPA is part of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI). Its goal is to accelerate progress in closing the gender gap in primary and secondary education. UNFPA, in partnership with UNICEF and WHO, has been involved in a major initiative to reach out to the specific needs of young women and men in thirteen countries. Though the specific activities in each country vary, all of the initiatives work towards some common goals to ensure that adolescent girls have the same rights and opportunities as boys. At the core of this inter-agency programme, funded by the United Nations Foundation, are these fundamental building blocks:

Ensuring that the particular reproductive health needs of adolescents are addressed and youthfriendly services provided. Working with communities, including local political and religious leaders, to increase public awareness of the reproductive and sexual health issues affecting adolescents. Providing life skills and counselling so that adolescent girls are aware of their rights and know about available services. Developing vocational training and income-generating programmes for adolescent girls to increase their status, independence and opportunities. Mobilizing the support of decision makers at all levels to support programmes aimed at improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

UNFPA is also working with UNIFEM, UNICEF, the Population Council and International Planned Parenthood Federation on a special project to improve social and economic opportunities for adolescent girls in Bangladesh. International agreements affirm that adolescents have a right to age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information, education, and services that enable them to deal in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality. Programs and policies are typically designed for older adolescents, however. This briefpart of the International Womens Health Coalitions series on young adolescentsuses evidence on their sexual and reproductive knowledge and behaviors to argue for more responsive policies and programs in South and Southeast Asia as well as globally. Although South and Southeast Asia are very different settings with regard to many aspects of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, there are also important commonalities. Most young adolescents throughout the region have little if any accurate information about their bodies and their sexual and reproductive health. In Bangladesh, adolescents ages 12 and over enrolled in a non-governmental reproductive health program were eager for information about their bodies, romantic relationships, sex, pregnancy, family planning, and STIs. A community-based nutrition project centre of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)s project objectives are:

To create opportunities for adolescent girls to participate in empowering social and economic processes, while building their capacities to make informed choices in matters that relate to their own lives. To create an enabling environment for adolescent girls' empowerment at the family, community and national levels. Increased visibility and acceptance of adolescent girls outside household sphere.

Adolescents today constitute more than a fifth of the population of Bangladesh, with 13.7 million girls and 14 million boys in the 10-19 year age-group. While data on this group is scattered and patchy, a recent review undertaken by UNICEF Bangladesh highlights some disturbing facts about the situation of adolescent girls.

More than 50% of adolescent girls are illiterate. Almost 50% of girls are married by the age of 15, and 60% are mothers by the age of 19. 60% of girls in the 15-19 age group are employed, predominantly in low-wage and insecure sectors of the economy. More than 50% of adolescent girls are undernourished and suffer from anemia. The majority of adolescent girls are uninformed or insufficiently informed about reproductive health and contraception. The project focuses on adolescent girls and works at two levels. On one level it provides support and strengthens networks of Kishori Sanghas (adolescent girls' groups) in selected rural districts in Bangladesh. These groups will be "mentored" by NGOs that have demonstrated experience and capacity working with groups of adolescent girls, providing them with opportunities for education, training, and post-literacy activities.

At another level, the Project Office links with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs/Department of Women Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh to carry out activities in the same communities that have Kishori Sanghas. In particular, it will carry out various sensitisation and training activities with elected members of local government, parents and adolescent boys to help create a more supportive environment for adolescent girls. At this level, Kishori Sanghas will also be provided with platforms for effective implementation of other national programmes, policies, and services for adolescents. With UNICEF's added support to these pre-existing structures and support to the Government for the community and national level activities, it is expected that a more enabling environment will be created for adolescent girls who have become socially and economically empowered. Concept and importance of Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH): According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Reproductive health is defined as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system at all stages of life. Reproductive health implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so. Implicit in this are the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to safe,

effective, affordable, and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, and the right to appropriate health-care services that enable women to safely go through pregnancy and childbirth. Reproductive health care is defined as the constellation of methods, techniques, and services that contribute to reproductive health and well-being by preventing and solving reproductive health problems. It also includes sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement of life and personal relations, and not merely counseling and care related to reproduction and sexually transmitted infections. In support of this aim, WHO's reproductive health program has developed four broad programmatic goals: Experience healthy sexual development and maturation and have the capacity for equitable and responsible relationships and sexual fulfillment; Achieve their desired number of children safely and healthily, when and if they decide to have them; Avoid illness, disease, and disability related to sexuality and reproduction and receive appropriate care when needed; Be free from violence and other harmful practices related to sexuality and reproduction.

WHO, 1996 reported that family planning is more precisely the prevention of too early, unwanted and unplanned pregnancy in adolescence in some what different in nature for married and unmarried adolescent. The young unmarried adolescent boys and girls will face different obstacles to effective contraception dependent upon society in which society they live and that too with incomplete or wrong conception of sexual behavior and with half knowledge of methods to control, to obtain them and to use them. As a result they arent aware of their degree of effectiveness is or possible side effects. When there is education on family life for example, in the school and college system it is more likely to deal with biological issues of reproduction and moral rules governing sexual behavior before marriage. From the above report it is understood that unmarried adolescent reproductive health service is poorly treated and they are exposing themselves for unwanted pregnancy and Sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. All the adolescents are in need of education, information, counseling and health services with regard to their reproductive health, sexuality and responsible parental hood. Similarly the problems of trainees of Awassa College of Teacher Education, is not different from the general problem of an adolescent. Awassa is found in Souther Ethiopia, which is one of the developing countries. Awassa is also a capital city of southern Nation Nationality people region which is highly populated. Trainees reside outside the college in the rented rooms as many of the trainees come from rural districts. This rented room exposes to many environmental problems like sexual abuse, harassment, unwanted pregnancy, exploitation (especially in females) and boys are also addicted to may bad habits like usage of drugs, chewing chat etc. On one hand the biological onset of adolescence and on the other hand age of marriage is rising due to expansion of educational opportunities. As a consequence people have long interval between the onset of sexual maturity and marriage. There is lack of attention in almost every dimension of their reproductive health. They are found poorly informed regarding their own physical well-being, their health needs and their own bodies. Many researches hinted that premarital sex led to worries, anxieties, venereal problems, and

psychological problems (Chauhan, 2004; Kochar, 1984; Arthur, 1974). Hence guidance and Counseling is most urgently needed for this age group. In this area very sparsely the research is conducted. One of the important resources of any country is its human resource. Education is aimed at the development of human resources to the fullest possible extent. A sound educational system is considered as a backbone of developing country like Ethiopia and the students and teachers are considered as the sole of the whole education system. Though there have been considerable improvements in the status of womens health the world over, the general status of women does not appear to have changed much. Nearly 1.3 million wom Conclusion: Analysis of data revealed that a sizable proportion of adolescent girls had incorrect knowledge or misconceptions about the fertile period, reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS. Age, education either of adolescents or their mothers, residence, and exposure to mass media were the significant predictors of adolescent girls' knowledge about reproductive health. Strong efforts are needed to improve awareness and to clarify misconceptions about reproductive health. Improved access to mass media and education could improve rural Bangladeshi adolescent girls' awareness about reproductive health. Disparities in the way girls and boys are raised and treated at the root of many sexual and reproductive health problems and development challenges. For boys, adolescence can be a time for expanded participation in community and public life. Girls, however, may experience new restrictions, and find their freedom of movement limited. Socially constructed gender roles may give girls little say about their own aspirations and hopes, and restrict them to being wives and mothers. Awareness-raising is required among public health providers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of the need for special clinics or programs for adolescents, especially where premarital sex is increasing.Laws prohibiting the provision of family planning services to unmarried adolescents should be eliminated in Indonesia, Vietnam, and wherever else they exist. Health care providers need to be trained to work with young adolescents and to be sensitive to the possibilities of incest and sexual abuse of both boys and girls. Some NGO programs and special government projects across the region (especially UNFPAsupported) are developing innovative methods of reaching young adolescents with accurate and nonjudgmental sexual and reproductive health informationsuch as media sources, out-of-school programs, and the Internet. These and other approaches need to be evaluated with respect to their impact on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young adolescents and their potential for adaptation in other settings.