Imagining Bangladesh twenty-ish years from now is not the most difficult of tasks. It is the same wish-list that I have had, a couple of years prior to this, and feels like it will be something I will be working towards many more years from now.
Does that mean that no progress has been made in terms of development?
While we are quick to pat ourselves on the back for the bridges constructed and the metros in development, naysayers would opt out of declaring Bangladesh to be a middle-income nation.
And while this statement might not fare well for many, it can be hardly argued that the opportunities/services available to marginalized groups are immense.
My line of argument is however different. Here’s why I think we have a long way to go.
Twenty years from now, I see a Bangladesh where women are out in the streets, and feel safe.
They are not raped or abused, or judged based on what they wear.
They can move about, in the roads, late at night, to and from their houses, to their workplaces, and actually have time for themselves, without being made to feel guilty about it.
They are not judged, if they decide to:
1. Get married
2. Stay single
3. Have children and choose to have a career (or not)
4. Get married and have no children
Twenty years from now, parents are equally proud, when they have a son, a daughter, or an intersex child and these children can prosper, irrespective of what is in between their legs.
Trans people, indigenous people, disabled people, and other marginalized groups can avail opportunities, are respected in society, and are valued for their talents as opposed to how they look.
Twenty years from now, terms like female genital mutilation, honour killing, child marriage, and female infanticide are things of the past: They are unheard of.
Twenty years from now, while my dream may be to have a gender fluid society, it might be stretching myself a bit too thin, for I am ever the pragmatist.
So, I will settle for this: I will wish and pray to everything that is above and beneath us, for everyone to understand and respect one’s gender, sexuality, and their identity.
Most importantly, we as a society will believe in one’s choice, and won’t judge them based on their lifestyles or their hairstyles.
Twenty years from now, we all have equal marriage choices, and laws that support them.
And both parents have a role in raising their children.
We will be aiming to raise better children, who have innate values, and who learn to give back to society.
Twenty years from now, we have a gender-just society, and gender-sensitive laws that treat all marginalized groups equally; whether it be in terms of seeking bank loans, or simply availing basic health care needs.
Twenty years from now, we are no longer a state whose democracy is questioned, and even though we might be fighting for our rights on the streets, these will be new emerging issues that our granddaughters are fighting for, not the same movements that our ancestors and us were part of.
Twenty years from now, for myself, I only wish that I will be remembered for the battles fought hand-in-hand with allies, for advocating for peace and justice and writing many a piece such as this, stressing on achieving a society that does not blame the victims, but holds perpetrators accountable.
Where a partner does not tell his girlfriend/wife that “he knows what other men are thinking” so to not wear this and not do that, where a parent does not tell their daughter to not go out late at night, because “they might get attacked,” instead of placing blame where needed.
For myself, I wish to say adieu to a society in which men are convinced to scream #notallmen, instead of challenging existing stereotypes and notions, instead of having conversations with their peers.
I want to see a Bangladesh where women are no longer stereotyped into roles in popular media -- she can be anything and everything, and she is shown to be so.
I want to also have a pleasant virtual experience in my lifetime, where every time I go on my newsfeed, I do not see women being threatened, violated, and abused for barely existing and where I will not have to be faced with a barrage of comments, for simply asking for my basic rights and that includes equal inheritance and property rights, and abortion rights.
Most importantly, I want to see and leave a Bangladesh where a woman has autonomy over her body; she decides what to do with her body and how.
She decides when to have a child (or not), and how many.
She decides on her last name, her religion, and is legally her child’s custodian.
A society where the legal battles she wins is no longer an exception, but the generalization; where her character is not dissected in a court of law.
A Bangladesh, where every woman figuratively and literally has a room of her own, where she can read, write, sleep, and dream of everything she wants to be, everyone she wants to meet.
Where she is free, to just be.
Syeda Samara Mortada is a feminist activist, working as a Coordinator in Bonhishkha, an organization working to remove gender-based stereotypes, and in creating a platform for youth to share their gender-based experiences, using arts as the main form to interact. She is an advocate of equal rights and contributes regularly to national and international dailies on the said topic. She is a core organizer of the RageAgainstRape movement in Bangladesh, and part of the coalition called Feminists Across Generations. Samara is an IVLP Fellow, and an Acumen Fellow, 2021.
