Joya Shikdar
Transgender Rights Activist

A decade ago, had you told the young hijra sex worker, Joya Shikdar, that one day she would be a prominent activist in the field of sexual and transgender rights, she would likely have scoffed at you. Back in those days, shunned and ignored by society, Joya used to wonder why the world was so unjust and what she could do to change it. Now, she is the President of the Sex Worker's Network and the Founding President of an NGO called Shomporker Noya Shetu.

“Yes, I had dreams and the passion to do something,” says Joya Shikdar, “but it took a lot of courage, strength, hard work and the support of my community and NGOs to get where I am.” In 1997, CARE Bangladesh recruited her as a peer educator for their HIV prevention programme, where she worked to raise awareness about safe sex and provide support to HIV inflected female and hijra sex workers.

In 2000, Joya founded Badhon Hijra Shongothon, along with 11 others. “Working on hijra issues at the grassroots level, we realised that the NGOs only focused on HIV prevention. No one talked about the rights of this marginalised community,” she comments, “So we organised ourselves and started our own movement.” Badhon has been working for 11 years now to end discrimination against the hira community.

Joya has worked in different projects under icddr'b and HASAB-Manusher Jonno Foundation. Since 2009, she has presided over the Sex Worker's Network in Bangladesh. “We work to empower sex workers, and to ensure that the state does not violate their rights,” she states. She is also the focal person of the LGBTQ coalition.

In 2010, Joya formed her own organisation, Shomporker Noya Shetu (A New Bridge for Relationships), to foster an alliance between sexual minority groups and work on LGBTQ instead of just hijra issues. It's difficult, she says, to maintain all her networks with different groups and to be vocal all the time. “I've given up my job so I can be an active part of the movement,” she comments, “but it's a price I'm willing to pay to be a leader and an activist.”

By Sushmita S. Preetha

Photo: Amirul Rajiv

Farzana Yasmin
Defying Oppressive Conventions

Farzana Yasmin Nipa raised her voice against 'dowry' by dumping her dowry demanding husband, Shawkat Ali Khan Hiron, on her wedding day. Taking a dowry from a bride and her family is prohibited in a major religion like Islam, and it is also banned by law. Farzana is now a household name for those who know what she did. Many people would like see her just once, to say, “Congratulations Farzana Yasmin! We salute your bravery! You made us proud!”

Unquestionably, it was a heroic act. She is an iconic inspiration today for many girls who have been victims of their own silences, tolerating social injustices and interpersonal oppressions. She is also a strong daughter many parents should learn from, as many believe giving a dowry is compulsory to ensure their daughters' happiness, even when it is unaffordable, and of course, unnecessary.

Farzana comes from a middle class family in Potuakhali, where her father had to work hard to provide a quality education for each of his five children. She completed her Masters in Social Welfare from Eden College in 2009. Currently, she is doing well in life, working as a Junior Officer in an insurance company in the capital. She said, “When a girl marries a man, she dreams of leading a better life with her husband, with love, respect and understanding between one another. In him, she wants to see her whole world. She expects him to be her home. She expects her in-laws to be welcoming and appreciative.”

During Farzana's wedding ceremony, her in-laws embarrassed her parents by saying they were disappointed not to have received a dowry. Her new in-laws complained that they wouldn't take Farzana with them for as long as it took to receive the wedding gift (namely, the dowry) from her family. Is this how a new relationship should start?

Farzana was not happy to see her parents embarrassed in this way and could not sit idle. She had to protest! She had to speak and take immediate action. So Farzana got up from the stage, changed from her wedding sari to her regular clothes, and refused to go with her in-laws by announcing she would divorce her newly-married spouse. It would have been a heart-breaking moment for any bride, but Farzana did not hesitate for stand up for what she believed in -- that her happiness should not come at the unaffordable cost of a dowry.

“How could I imagine living peacefully with a family that did not know how to respect my rights or give prior respect to my family? What good could I expect from a family who supports a fallacy like dowry?” she exclaimed.

Farzana's protest was not just about dowry. Her protest is also against the lack of understanding and respect for the true value of righteousness. It is about voicing against the oppressive evils that the society burdens upon us, the women. “Why did I have to accept their wrong demands? Is it because I already got married to him?” Farzana added, “This society needs to change their mentality, their attitude towards us.” People need to develop their sense of value for relationships, whether personal, social or political.

Farzana's actions should teach us to stand against wrong deeds when we see them, or else her act of courage will have been a wasted lesson. It's time when we learnt from Farzana and stand up to dowry demands.

Her divorced husband, Mr. Shawkat Ali, and his aunt, are now both suspended from the school they were involved with as teachers.

“I don't want to see girls getting their dreams broken like mine. Let my experience be their lesson,” Farzana hopes.

Let us ask ourselves, “Aren't we brave enough like our sister Farzana to stand against such demands?” Of course, we are! After all, we are the ones here to show that actions speak louder than words!

by Amena Alam

Mehreen Yusuf
Creating Opportunity for Nimtoli Victims

By the time the country woke to the news of Nimtoli two years ago, the face of Dhaka City had already changed. It was forever scarred, if not only on the surface. While the flames of the fire at Nimtoli may have died down, their embers continued to take victims, even a year after the incident. Over a 100 lives were lost. Livelihoods were destroyed and sudden orphans and widows were the remnants of the disaster. A long and arduous task began to unfold, because before rehabilitation, entire lives needed to be restored. Mehreen Yusuf (L in photo) is an example of one such individual, who, along with 22 of her friends, reached out to help, choosing a long-term action plan as opposed to a short-term monetary compensation.

Mehreen Yusuf, Founder of IDA Events; Athban Yusuf, Executive FAPL, Brand and Communication; Faizul Khan Tanim, Senior Staff Writer, Independent; Faisal Kamal, Executive, Robi and Malik Talha, Director, United Group (pictured) were the backbone of this community action group. Relying on donations from family, friends and many other project members, Mehreen and co. finally began their endeavour. Visiting the site a week after the disaster, the group had a first-hand experience of the tragedy. Their desire to do something became stronger. Sadequz Zaman, resident of the area, offered his premises and acted as a guide for the group, providing valuable assistance throughout the entire duration of the project.

Mehreen's vision, shared by her peers, was to bring about a positive change in the lives of the widows and the orphans. After conducting extensive interviews to determine those that needed help the most, the group helped them by trying to get them jobs and also by setting up education funds for the children. Jobs were offered on the spot to those who wanted it but unfortunately few showed interest or had the desire to work as they were still reeling from the disaster. Initially 25,000 taka was offered to each woman while additionally 20,000 was also spent by the group on carrying out required burials of the families they had chosen to help. The orphaned children were allocated 1 lakh, while in cases of two siblings the money was equally divided, to be paid in instalments to help their education. Mehreen and her friends brainstormed various ways of helping these people and in a way, they achieved more than they imagined.

Selim, a tailor by profession, lost everything to the fire. But the group chose him as he expressed an interest to get back on his own feet. He wished for four sewing machines and 30,000 taka cash. The group arranged to fulfil these wishes and now Selim has not only become self-sufficient but has become the most successful of the all the people that Mehreen has worked with in Nimtoli. Another widow, who was seven months pregnant at the time of the fire, gave birth to a beautiful baby, named Ayesha by Mehreen herself, at United Hopsital, under the full care of the doctors there, courtesy of these few individuals who crossed the threshold of just mere charity work. Shifa, another burn victim, was allocated 40,000 taka for a much required after-burn outfit whilst her family's financial problems was also being looked after by the same group of dedicated people.

Using Facebook, charity concerts, a Spin-a- Thon arranged by Gary, a British health instructor in Gulshan and a charity show at Le Saigon by Farhan Quddus and others helped raise the amounts needed to carry out the work on a large scale. In a matter of weeks the group raised 12 lakh taka for the victims.

While the Nimtoli story may have taken a backseat, Mehreen and her friends till maintain contact with the victims and offer help when needed. With their dedication and effort, they are truly beacons of hope the youth of tomorrow can aspire to become.

by Osama Rahman