Rakibul alam khan / Action Aid
In Kushtia, especially in the remote villages, young women are not allowed to do social work, especially work that would require house-to-house visits, because of conservatism, social stigma, and religious beliefs. Sathi Kathun, 21 years old, and Mukrima Khatun 19 years were not spared from these social norms.
Sathi is a member of the Dashpara youth organization while Mukrima is a member of the Colpara Youth organization. These are two of the three youth groups that ALO had organized in Kushtia under the Young Feminist Future Project that Global Platform Bangladesh is implementing. Sathi and Mukrima received training on Feminism, advocacy, and accountability, facilitated by ALO.
They regularly attend the monthly ‘Adda’, an informal dialogue organized among the youth groups to discuss current issues and opportunities that affect young people. The project also enables them to organize campaigns and dialogues with government officials, CSOs, communities, and their families. Their active engagement in all YFF activities in Kushtia helped them to understand their fundamental rights and their entitlements. It also enables them to get access to information from the government and lobby for their agenda. Their potential to do social work brought them an unexpected opportunity.
Sathi and Mukrima were selected to do social work supported by the D-Net and the ICT Ministry of the Government of Bangladesh. Their job is to provide health services, bill payment, e-account opening, and information dissemination in their community. Initially, it was not easy for them because their families were holding them back and were skeptical of what this work would look like since they have to visit different houses and talk to strangers in the community.
They were concerned about their safety and the reaction from neighbors. Since Sathi and Mukrima are really interested to take this job, thus they can pay for their own school fees and become more financially independent. ALO and D-Net visited the parents of Sathi and Mukrima and explained their responsibilities which is nothing wrong.
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