Be bold for change

When I was asked to write on the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day I was excited and also quite frankly, stumped! While I pondered on the theme of #BeBoldForChange personas like Jahanara Imam, Sufia Kamal, Maya Angelou, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Mother Teresa came to mind. I kept wondering what possibly could I contribute to something of this magnitude when I am just..well.. me! So I will share certain experiences which stand out in my consciousness as moments of realization, when I took a step—sometimes to change myself and sometimes to catalyze a change, shaping and defining who I am today. 

When I tried for the school debating team I was tepid at best. It seemed to be a coterie reserved for those who were consistently the top three students of the class. I wasn’t one of them. I went on to be selected to the team and participate in the National School Debate Competition then televised by BTV. Even though I was a bundle of nerves throughout the telecasts, I can vividly remember that first boost of confidence that came from challenging myself and overcoming my insecurities.

I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. In our first year of law school, we had a small round-table discussion where Prof. Dr. Mizanur Rahman asked us to narrate our individual purpose for studying law. I remember saying I was keen to reform legal education. During my LL.B. (Hons.) at Dhaka University I participated in several moot court competitions (a mock court at which law students argue imaginary cases for practice) both nationally and internationally. After one such competition, my team-mate Taslima Yasmin and I decided to found the Dhaka University Moot Court Society. This was our small effort to establish a student-led platform for vocational legal training. Today it’s a sense of great satisfaction to see that the society was a pioneering enterprise which has induced similar initiatives in public and private universities all over the country. Students now work on issues ranging from war crimes trials and human rights to energy law and commercial law.

When we stepped out of the world of make-believe courtrooms into the real world of unpaid internships, competitive law-firms and long hours it became even more apparent and indeed necessary to be as bold as you can, especially if you are a young woman. While pleading in the court-room, female lawyers have to be louder, with heightened assertion simply to draw the attention of the judge in a room crowded with men ready to dismiss you at the first opportunity since you are young and a female! Outside the court-room you have to put in long hours, even if you’re finished with your work, just to maintain parity with the face-time put in by male colleagues. I wouldn’t be the first to say that the legal profession is an elitist men’s club albeit evolving for the better. I was fortunate to have exceptional role models at Dr. Kamal Hossain & Associates, the law-firm which moulded me and which consciously seeks to develop young associates and drive gender issues through it’s pro-bono human rights litigation. I’m proud and humbled when I think, my first advocacy in a writ petition, before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, was challenging a gender discriminatory residency rule which the Court finally struck down establishing gender equality in residency rules.  

When I ventured from practice into the corporate world, while re-orienting myself in the new professional context, I discovered fitting-in was much easier for male colleagues. Recognition had to be earned and accepted with caution to avoid cynicism about whether it was deserved for performance or privilege for gender. During my stint with British American Tobacco I was a part of the diversity initiative which shaped changes, triggered by a handful of predecessors, with the aim of making diversity not just a conscious metric but rather an instinctive normalcy.

Today I head Legal Affairs at a publicly listed FMCG company--Marico Bangladesh. I am the youngest member of the management team. I hold this position because of Marico’s believes in challenging and enriching young members in leadership roles. I have the opportunity to use our share of voice to speak on broader industry, consumer and diversity issues and, most importantly, to in turn nurture and grow team-members in their change journey.

In conclusion and in hindsight, I remember what Mother Teresa said: “Be faithful in small things, because it is in them that your strength lies”. In our lifetime not all of us will fight wars or lead nations, but we all can look within ourselves and take each small step with courage and confidence overcoming our own boundaries and inspiring others to overcome theirs. We can #beboldforchange for each other.

The writer is an Advocate and Head of Legal, Marico Bangladesh.