Driving progress at a community level: Rashida Akhtar Nipa

In the charming city of Sylhet, Bangladesh, lives a woman known to be soft-spoken yet doggedly determined. She is involved with her organisation, Labour at Informal Economy (LIE). As a leader of her group Swanirbhor Karmojibi Nari Unnayon Somiti, she helps women fight for recognition and fair wages through the labour market. Her name is Rashida Akhtar Nipa.

Rashida began her career as a community leader with a simple observation. On visiting Dhaka, she observed that women there received specialised training designed for their empowerment. This opportunity was far removed from what women in Sylhet are used to. Rashida saw the potential of such programs for improving women's lives and knew immediately that her community could benefit from such initiatives too.

First of all, she reached out to the training officials in Dhaka. After receiving knowledge about the training and the available facilities, she was advised to contact the government’s Women Empowerment Cell in her hometown of Sylhet to arrange similar training programs there. She reached out to LIE officials who advised her to first organise and bring together a few women in her community for a training session. Rashida set out to Sylhet with an ambitious plan of mobilising women in her locality. 

Doing this was easier said than done. Rashida first had to overcome the barriers of traditional gender norms that were deeply embedded in her society. Her mother-in-law initially forbade her to work with any group, thinking she’d be working with men. It was only when Rashida showed her the videos from previous all-women trainings, that her mother-in-law agreed to it.

Rashida wore her burkha and covered her head with an umbrella as she went from door to door to mobilise women. She initially faced scepticism. The women in that locality usually do not go outside the home, so they questioned what they’d really get out of the engagement. 

Rashida patiently explained how officially registering as a group would get them access to fair wages and skill training for the work that they were already doing from home. She also talked about the government schemes that they’d be eligible for. Eventually, 15 women agreed to join in for an initial meeting. 

Rashida coordinated with LIE to conduct that meeting. The meeting was so impactful and informative that the women crowded around Rashida and hugged her once it was over! They told her that they had only been familiar with cooking and a life inside the home – now they were cognizant of the opportunities open to them.

Together, 20 of these women formed a self-help group and Rashida arranged for more training sessions from LIE and the Women’s Empowerment Cell. The women all contributed 20 Taka as a seed fund. As the group became more empowered and the members started realising the benefits, they came up to Rashida themselves and asked her to increase the fees – with some even agreeing to pay 500 Taka! Eventually, they settled on 100 Taka as the fees. 

Now over time, the group has grown in size too – from the 20 initial members to 175+ today. They are trained in various skills like sewing, embroidery, beadwork and more. Thanks to digital skills training, they have also learned how to sell their products online. As their leader, Rashida hopes to expand the group even further. Her face lights up as she talks about the next milestone – that of becoming 500-members strong one day!