AI-for-Equity — Cross-Border AI and Coding Mentorship for Girls in Dhaka

AI-for-Equity (AIE), founded by data scientist Farhana Faruqe, runs a free, online AI and coding programme for girls in Bangladesh, coordinated from Dhaka. Since its first cohort in 2019 — roughly 20 girls aged 15 and up, originally reached through a private girls' school — the programme has continued on an ongoing basis, pairing Bangladeshi students with peer mentors in the United States across a 12-hour time difference.

The curriculum starts with MIT's Scratch to build computational-thinking foundations, then moves into Python and applied AI concepts, with AI ethics integrated throughout rather than taught as an add-on. Participants need no prior technical background; the programme runs despite logistical constraints such as students relying on parents' shared laptops.

Independent reporting by the University of Virginia's School of Data Science — not AIE's own materials — cites that 60-80% of programme graduates who went on to university chose to pursue STEM fields, and situates the programme against the finding that only 2% of women in Bangladesh have foundational ICT skills. No independent, methodologically described evaluation (e.g. a matched comparison group) was found; the STEM-uptake figure is best read as a self-reported alumni outcome relayed through independent journalism rather than a formal impact study.

Read the full analysis: https://datascience.virginia.edu/news/breaking-code-empowering-girls-bangladesh-bridge-gender-gap-tech