Rasheda Akhter, Ritu Rabidas, Rina Akhter, Asiya Akhter, Beauty Rani Sarkar, Sharmin Akhter, Kamal Chandra Dutta, Gazi Shahadat Hossain Badal, Samael Hasda, Satya Ranjan Saha, Shahinur Rahman and Md. Nazrul Islam from Manikgonj
BARCIK along with various non-governmental and local organizations organized different events to mark the International Women’s Day recently (8 March) in Manikganj Sadar Upazila, Ghior, Singair and other upazilas (sub-districts). Various programs such as discussions, meetings, rallies, and various sports & games competitions were organized to mark the very day where representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations, farmers, women, students, occupational groups, teachers, students and journalists participated. In those separate programs, representatives of different local government, upazila chairmen, farmers, and people of different occupation shared their feelings, experiences and understanding regarding the rights of women, their contribution as well as the discrimination family and society show towards women.
While stating the reality of women in today’ society representatives of the local elected bodies Selina Begum said, ‘Violence against women is not decreasing though there exist strong women’s organizations and their movement is going. One of the reasons for this is that women are still considered subordinate to men. We have to put an end to all this and build a society of equality between men and women.’ She went on saying, ‘Without gender equality, there will be no sustainable development. Men also have to stand by to achieve this equality. Both men and women need to work together for the overall development.’
The works done by women are seldom valued by the society said Shefali Begum, a member of the farmers’ organization. She said, “I work a lot from morning till evening as part of my household works. But no one has ever come to evaluate what we do the all day. This leads us not to get recognition of our hard works and no one values it. We want equal status.’
On the other hand, BARCIK’s regional coordinator Bimal Roy said, ‘Women need to be vocal about everything, to be self-reliant. In many families, girls are considered a burden, but if a girl is self-sufficient, she can no longer be considered a burden. Every woman must be educated. They have to acquire their qualifications, then they will become an asset to their perspective families and society.’
Meanwhile, Narayan Manidas, Murubbi of Manirishi Para, said, “In our society, women do housework, they work in the bamboo industry, rear cows, goats and chickens to support their families. Due to having no opportunity and environment for education, we have less opportunity to work outside’.
Asma Begum, a leader of a farmers’ and local organization, said, ‘Girls and women should stand on their own feet. We want our husbands to acknowledge the work we do in the world. The initiative to celebrate internal women day in our locality by BARCIK will take women forward and this can encourages women to learn and fight for their right and equal opportunity.’
In the meantime, Rasheda Begum, general secretary of Garadia Krishak-Krishani Sangathan, said, ‘We do more household works but the society never values our work due to this work has not been measured economically. Women are neglected in all respects. By doing the same work, men get higher wages and women get less. Women don’t get the price that men get when they go somewhere. This rules and practices should be broken to ensure equal rights and opportunity for women.’
While sharing her feelings attending in the program arranged on international women day, Young Ratna Akhter (22) said, ‘Most of us do not know what International Women’s Day is and why it is celebrated. We did not know that we have a special day for women. We learned about this day today attending this event arranged by BARCIK. This will help us to get aware of our right.’
However, different types of rural sports and competitions were organized in each of the events to cheer up the women and girls. Women, girls and students participated in those sports and games and got cheered up. At the end of the games and exhibitions, prizes were distributed among the participants by the chief guests and special guests of each events.
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
