City Desk :
Many extremely poor rural women have attained sustainable economic development and sociopolitical empowerment in northwestern Bangladesh during the past couple of years.
They have become self-reliant through community solidarity and action groups, collective actions, engagement in income generating activities (IGAs), mainly off-farm, and with local union parishads in particular.
These successful rural women are now playing vital role in their family and community affairs and some of them participating as members in different standing committees of union parishads.
They had also organised several successful campaigns for reducing the man-woman wage gap particularly in agriculture sector.
In recognition of able leaderships, many of them in different unions have been elected as Union Parishad Members in recent elections.
This transformation in lives of these rural women mainly started in 2009 when they formed own organisations – Para Unnayan Committee (PUC), community-based savings groups, Women’s group – EKATA at ward levels and natural leaders’ organisation at union levels with support of the Social and Economic Transformation of the Ultra-Poor (SETU) project.
CARE Bangladesh in partnership with five NGOs has implemented the project in 25 unions under seven upazilas of Rangpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat districts characterised by high levels of extreme poverty.
SETU project beneficiary women of different villages narrated as how they began the journey.
“We identified our problems first and took collective decision to address those,” said President Sufia Begum of the PUC of village Sarkerpara under Ramnagar union in Sadar upazila of Nilphamari.
“We identified open defecation practice as a major reason for frequent diarrhea and dysentery. … .We went for Community-Led Total Sanitation to stop open defecation,” she said.
“We ensured cent percent sanitation for all 116 households with own resources within a month under leadership of natural leader of our village Anufa Begum,” she added.
The villagers have used the project’s grants and also mobilised local resources, and taken collective actions under Anufa’s leadership to diversify livelihoods, built own organisations and relationship with local union parishad.
The 25-member EKATA group made the village free from child marriage, malnutrition, illiteracy and violence against women. The able couples, pregnant women and adolescent are now aware of health, hygiene and nutrition.
The villagers formed community based ‘Sarkerpara Women Savings Group’ with 32 members and Anufa as its Secretary to cope with lean season as they had to sale labour in advance and household goods earlier.
They started with saving fistful rice. With increase in earning for engagement in IGAs, they turned it into cash group raising capital to Taka 18,000 early this year.
The SETU project then added Taka 20,000 as grant to the savings group to raise its capital when it started providing loans up to Taka 8,000 among its members for IGAs.
SETU project beneficiaries Anufa Begum, Tahuza Begum and Sufia Begum said they have taken Taka 7,500 to 8,000 each as interest free loans from the group and invested in off-farm businesses.
“Every family is now earning well, our children are going to schools and our members are depositing Taka 20 weekly,” said Anufa.
“SETU project has provided grants ranging from Taka 4,000 to 8,000 to each of the extremely poor 63 households depending on skills, and they are running businesses successfully now,” she added.
For her huge contribution in bringing socioeconomic change in Sarkerpara village, local people elected Anufa as Female Union Parishad Member from reserved wards of Ramnagar union parishad in recent elections.
Similarly, housewife Bharoti Rani led 62 households of Gangadas Baraipara village under Rangpur Sadar upazila in attaining self-reliance with SETU project assistance.
For similar reasons, local people elected Bharoti as Female Union Parishad Member from reserved wards of Haridebpur union parishad in last elections.
Both Anufa and Bharoti, who were distressed, dependent and quite helpless housewives, have now become dazzling examples of how women empowerment matters.
Team Leader of the SETU project Abdul Matin Shardar said, “We have facilitated community-led empowerment approaches.”
“The project is supported by GoB, UKAid and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation through EEP Programme to empower 45,000 beneficiary households in the northwest to sustainably bring them out of extreme poverty.” he said.
Many extremely poor rural women have attained sustainable economic development and sociopolitical empowerment in northwestern Bangladesh during the past couple of years.
They have become self-reliant through community solidarity and action groups, collective actions, engagement in income generating activities (IGAs), mainly off-farm, and with local union parishads in particular.
These successful rural women are now playing vital role in their family and community affairs and some of them participating as members in different standing committees of union parishads.
They had also organised several successful campaigns for reducing the man-woman wage gap particularly in agriculture sector.
In recognition of able leaderships, many of them in different unions have been elected as Union Parishad Members in recent elections.
This transformation in lives of these rural women mainly started in 2009 when they formed own organisations – Para Unnayan Committee (PUC), community-based savings groups, Women’s group – EKATA at ward levels and natural leaders’ organisation at union levels with support of the Social and Economic Transformation of the Ultra-Poor (SETU) project.
CARE Bangladesh in partnership with five NGOs has implemented the project in 25 unions under seven upazilas of Rangpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat districts characterised by high levels of extreme poverty.
SETU project beneficiary women of different villages narrated as how they began the journey.
“We identified our problems first and took collective decision to address those,” said President Sufia Begum of the PUC of village Sarkerpara under Ramnagar union in Sadar upazila of Nilphamari.
“We identified open defecation practice as a major reason for frequent diarrhea and dysentery. … .We went for Community-Led Total Sanitation to stop open defecation,” she said.
“We ensured cent percent sanitation for all 116 households with own resources within a month under leadership of natural leader of our village Anufa Begum,” she added.
The villagers have used the project’s grants and also mobilised local resources, and taken collective actions under Anufa’s leadership to diversify livelihoods, built own organisations and relationship with local union parishad.
The 25-member EKATA group made the village free from child marriage, malnutrition, illiteracy and violence against women. The able couples, pregnant women and adolescent are now aware of health, hygiene and nutrition.
The villagers formed community based ‘Sarkerpara Women Savings Group’ with 32 members and Anufa as its Secretary to cope with lean season as they had to sale labour in advance and household goods earlier.
They started with saving fistful rice. With increase in earning for engagement in IGAs, they turned it into cash group raising capital to Taka 18,000 early this year.
The SETU project then added Taka 20,000 as grant to the savings group to raise its capital when it started providing loans up to Taka 8,000 among its members for IGAs.
SETU project beneficiaries Anufa Begum, Tahuza Begum and Sufia Begum said they have taken Taka 7,500 to 8,000 each as interest free loans from the group and invested in off-farm businesses.
“Every family is now earning well, our children are going to schools and our members are depositing Taka 20 weekly,” said Anufa.
“SETU project has provided grants ranging from Taka 4,000 to 8,000 to each of the extremely poor 63 households depending on skills, and they are running businesses successfully now,” she added.
For her huge contribution in bringing socioeconomic change in Sarkerpara village, local people elected Anufa as Female Union Parishad Member from reserved wards of Ramnagar union parishad in recent elections.
Similarly, housewife Bharoti Rani led 62 households of Gangadas Baraipara village under Rangpur Sadar upazila in attaining self-reliance with SETU project assistance.
For similar reasons, local people elected Bharoti as Female Union Parishad Member from reserved wards of Haridebpur union parishad in last elections.
Both Anufa and Bharoti, who were distressed, dependent and quite helpless housewives, have now become dazzling examples of how women empowerment matters.
Team Leader of the SETU project Abdul Matin Shardar said, “We have facilitated community-led empowerment approaches.”
“The project is supported by GoB, UKAid and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation through EEP Programme to empower 45,000 beneficiary households in the northwest to sustainably bring them out of extreme poverty.” he said.
