Story of a lady bike rider and women development: Organizers should go to the roots
Author: Suman Chowdhury Mony, September 2 2014 - Every morning, one lady bike rider passes me when my bus gets stuck in the jam on the way to my office. She goes ahead to her destination by driving her Scooty easily and naturally on the wide and narrow spaces on the road, just as a man might drive.
Every day when I see her I give her a salute and admire her courage because it is Bangladesh, a moderate Islamic country by the constitution, where a big part of the people do not support in their minds letting women go out from home for purposes of working - thus, opening their identity to other men. They wish to detain their women: sister or daughter, in the home and are against women doing their job. For them, this is too far for the woman wishing to drive a bike or scooty, at this point in the thinking of society and this social environment. So that, every day, she faces odd looks and deliberate bad comments made by many narrow-minded people. Though I feel proud of her and hope that by seeing her, so many women come out from their home and lead their lives independently, sometimes I also feel panicky for that lady bike rider and pray for her not to be attacked by the fundamentalists. Yes, I salute you, lady.
The women of many countries in the world, especially in some countries of the Middle East and Asia, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc., have several types of religious and state restrictions to dissuade them from independence and rights. In the comparison with women in those countries, Bangladeshi women have already gotten far ahead in acquiring their rights. They come out from their home for work; they earn money by giving labor - some of their service holders, some businesswomen, and they have played a vital role in their family’s economic development, as well as the country’s economy. In Bangladesh, there are many governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and foreign donor and aid organizations who are working for women's development, which is not possible in many conservative countries. And it is not new, but very rare, that a woman drives her bike or car in Bangladesh. Some brave-hearted individual women drive their own vehicles. BRAC and some other NGOs have appointed some women drivers for their official vehicles, some women NGO workers are doing their job-related work and going to job areas by cycle.
But what is the real situation of most women of every non-developed, developing and conservative country, even, also, in developed countries? Are all of them able to come out from home bounds?
In comparison with the city women, the village women's situations are falling backward in many cases. The city women get more benefits of modern education and livelihood than the village women. The village women are deprived of developed services. They have very little knowledge about their rights. Their world is too small. This is not only applicable to the women but also to all the village people. But why? In my view, some of the reasons are government and society’s conservative mentality, the financial crisis of the state, and city-orientated development activities of NGOs. Most of the government, non-government and international donor and aid organizations have mainly city-based activities. They arrange most of their development-based and awareness building programs, seminars, national-international conferences, several types of events, skill building programs, etc., in big cities, but not in village or remote areas. So, where are the chances for village people to know and be aware about their rights and get modern advantages? It is true, though, that microfinance organizations give the advantages of lending money to the women for their financial solvency, but they have no significant role and programs to increase awareness among women about their rights and economic independence. Everyone should note this for future decisions about women’s development programs because these loam programmes not only happen in non-developed and developing but also in many developed countries and their societies.
Conservative thinking, several types of social and religious dictums, superstitions, etc., are also big obstacles for women’s development and empowerment. Many countries and societies have these problems, and the women of those societies are falling back more than in other societies, because there is no space created by conservative governments and societies for the NGOs and international aid organizations for working on women’s development. And it is true that every country, both develop and non-developed, has many conservative families who are very sensitive about what is offered to their women!!!!
We know that economic independence is the main key for obtaining rights and empowering the use of rights. But, do those women who are earning money get full economic independence? Is my lady bike rider economically independent? I don’t know!!! But you might agree with me that all women, except some of them, are not economically independent even though they play a vital role in their family and the country’s economic development.
So, what should be done?
For women’s development and empowerment, those women who are pulling down the circle of conservative dictums can play a better role to bring out others. Also rights-based awareness and several types of skill building programs can play effective roles for empowering women in every society. Government, non-governmental and international donor and aid organizations should place several types of awareness building and development programs not only in big cities but also in villages, remote areas and small cities. Governments should take initiatives to give modern education and develop the livelihoods of people in villages and remote areas. International and developed countries should create pressures on the conservative governments and give donations to the non-developed and developing countries for women's development. Everyone knows that a woman can play a vital role for the good and humanitarian development of her child. We also know, in future, a bad child would be a thorn for developed and moderate counties by doing destructive works. So, developed countries should be aware about this and emphasise the role for women's development in those countries.
My hope is that, one day, maybe we will not wonder at seeing many ladies going to their destinations by driving their own bike or car - it will seem very natural.
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