One of the most anticipated discussions held yesterday at the Dhaka Lit Fest 2015 was “Wow Bites,” which was moderated by the creator of the Women of the World (WOW) festival, journalist Jude Kelly. The discussion panel included the first Bangladeshi woman to climb Mount Everest, Nishat Majumdar, journalist Munni Saha and entrepreneur and photographer Sabrina Islam.
The fascinating discussion evolved around the struggles and stigmas these talented women faced while advancing in their career. Munni Saha recalled a time when she had her peers and acquaintances tell her that women are not “cut out for journalism.”
Nishat Majumdar explained that when someone is told the same thing over and over again, they start believing in it even if it’s not true. She lost count of the times when people told her not to do certain things because it was “a man’s job.” But it was her mother who taught her to believe in herself and kept encouraging her to pursue her dreams.
During the Q&A session, someone from the audience narrated a story from her childhood. When she was 13, her neighbour who was about the same age would come play with her every day. She would climb five stairs up, from fifth floor to the ninth, in the same apartment complex every day with her six year old brother. Her mother used to make the younger brother accompany her just so that he could look after his elder sister if something went wrong.
The speakers in the discussion panel stressed on how our society is engraving the idea of men being superior to women in boys from a very young age, which was clear from the story such as this one.
They all agreed on the fact that only education will not suffice to empower women in today’s world, and that it is mutual education that needs to be taught to both women and men to help minimise these stagnant stigmas of the society.
