It was possibly mid-January 2007. I was on-board an early morning flight to Kolkata from Mumbai. The plane went into a turbulent zone just after takeoff. There were limited announcements as well as limited in-flight services.
I didn’t remember hearing the captain’s name either. Unfortunately the bumpy weather continued almost for two hours and the cabin crews continuously kept us listening to the “fasten your seatbelt” announcements. I was remembering the almighty God and my family back home.
The weather improved and we could see some sunshine once the plane was nearing Jamshedpur nearer to Kolkata and preparing to descend.
All of a sudden the cabin crew made an announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, let us congratulate our captain, this being her maiden flight as the captain of the plane.” It was a lady captain.
This time when I went to Delhi during the last week of September, by the time the plane started to move at Dhaka airport, I heard, “Ladies and gentleman, Captain Sooty Sharma and her crew welcomes you on-board the Jet Airways flight.”
I thought this was the improvement I could see within the last six years or so. Indian women have made tremendous progress in the workplace over the last few years. Many of them are calling the shots in the business and professional world home and abroad.
On the other hand, we have Indian ladies like Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and their peers, who are known to be Bombay heartthrobs. My aunt from Comilla once asked me: How do their parents look at them? How do they show up in front of their drivers, cooks and other house assistance or elders, after these dances?
I don’t watch many Hindi dances or movies therefore didn’t have any answer. But I possibly have an answer to why India has been identified as the worst place for girls.
Money is forcing everything to fall apart. At times, money is failing to protect our values or overexposing a person.
Bangladesh has seen an increasing number of women joining the workforce over the last 30 years or so. While women’s participation in the labour force was 8% in the 1983-84 period, it has reached almost 36% in 2009-10.
I am confident the situation will significantly improve over the next five to ten years. No matter who says what, nobody can distract the Bangladeshi women from their forward march. Some people seem to be too bothered about Hefazat or some other religious fundamentalist groups.
I am least bothered and feel pity for them, who are unnecessarily wasting their time talking about Hefazat or their like in other groups or parties becoming successful to take us backward.
Most of the violence against women was committed by derailed youth not believing in the teachings of Islam, political hoodlums, and even teachers. Corruption is equally responsible in failing to take necessary measures against violence on women.
Religion is rather helping our society to not see atrocities going beyond bounds. Most of our people believe a lady could only be a sister, daughter, mother or wife. Economic empowerment of women, media, senior citizens, NGOs even development partners have played a significant role here.
With the emergence of the market economy and the rise of consumerism, many young girls are allured towards better dresses, better mobile sets, good food in a good hotel, nice gifts etc. Young girls from lower income families often go for various compromises to enjoy these “not so necessary but good to have” amenities.
Otherwise brilliant, but coming from lower or lower-middle class backgrounds, private university teachers are also seen successful with various undesirable attempts on their young lady students.
For many in Bangladesh, women’s empowerment is a pep talk. You seldom get to see proper or proportionate representation of women in newspapers or TV interviews, senior government or private jobs or as such foreign training or higher education.
But we know for sure, there are an increasing number of ladies with not only proper education but fantastic academic background, grooming up and capacity available in the market. Even in the civil society organisations bosses are not promoting or projecting their lady colleagues unless they have a personal stake or gain in their successes.
It has to change and change has to happen with you and me first. NGOs have been quite successful in putting rural women at the centre. We should also be seen doing the same.