A Wind of Change

Photos: Prabir Das

Here in Bangladesh, in terms of employment, women face great inequality, both in urban and rural areas. Breaking all barriers though, they are now stepping out of their cocoons and working side by side with men. 

One such example that our girls have recently created is selling bus tickets to passengers. Basically, what we are used to in Bangladesh is girls are not usually engaging themselves in such jobs and it happens mostly due to our conservative work environment. However, to our surprise, to make a change in our systems, eight girls have embarked on the journey of employment and have been selling tickets of tourist buses run by HR Transport Agency at the Hatirjheel Project area.

Take the example of Bristi Mankin. This 24-year-old hails from Haluaghat, Mymensingh, and is a third year student of Marketing at Uttara Anwara Model University College. She joined the HR Transport Agency in January, this year. Prior to that, Bristi worked at the sales department of Prince Food Products Ltd. But the long working hours interfered with her education for which, at one point, she had to quit. After that, she landed the job at HR Transport Agency with the help of one of her well-wishers. Now, Bristi sells ticket from 7 in the morning to 3 pm. 

Lihina Majhi, 23-year-old, from Madhupur, Tangail spends a very busy time selling tickets. When the number of passengers rises, Lihina doesn't get any respite to talk to people. Like Bristi and Lihina, Helana Chisim, Priyanka Rani, Mousumi Thigidi, Nupur, Nusrat and Bobita Sarker sell tickets to passengers, while continuing their studies, getting leaves during exams. Though they have dared to work in such environments, they face a number of challenges 

“The most acute problem is the washroom crisis. In Hatirjheel, there is no public restroom facilities”, says Bristi. “Whenever we feel the necessity of washrooms, we call our supervisor to send us transports and then go to our office in Niketan to use the washroom”, she adds.

Apart from these, the tin-built counters become unbearably hot at noon and there are no such arrangements for cooling it. Sometimes, passengers get angry, pass bad comments and scold them for the delay of services. “Most of the times, we don't get any proper time for lunch, and passengers do not want to understand our problems”, says Lihina.

“We have consulted the Hatirjheel Project committee about the toilet issue and the solution is almost ready”, says, Abdul Halim, the Managing Director of HR Transport Agency. “Hopefully, we will inaugurate the service very soon”, he adds. The company is also trying to import new counters with cooling facilities for ticket sellers. 

By empowering our women, engaging them into mainstream economic activities and ensuring equal opportunity for them in workplaces, we can ensure meeting our Millennium Development Goals (MDG) further. And bringing out our girls from their traditional roles, if we can drive them accordingly, going beyond our goals will be just a matter of time!