DHAKA TRIBUNE

Womens Day
their 100 women conference last year, in which they brought 100 women together from all over the world. We were chosen to be together, and it helped us form a club of 100 women who were interacting with each other There was no shy person! We all stood up for our own convictions. The mix was eclectic, ranging from artists and singers, to comedians, entrepreneurs, athletes and politicians. We were all very tight, and at the same time divergent in our views. The beauty of multiplicity and divergence came through in the conference. We had so much life in all of us.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Rubana Huq: Emblem of empathy

Chosen as one of BBCs 100 Women, Rubana mentors an impoverished girl who dreams of design Rubana then surprised Mom with a She has made it compulsory to Rubana says she enjoyed the celeBBC 100 women Syeda Samira Sadeque n mini fashion show, where the factory counsel women and encourage them Rubana was selected by the BBC for bratory spirit of all the women.
workers modelled Moms designs. Rubana also managed to sell one of her designs to a buyer, who has chosen to remain anonymous. As a society, we lack empathy. We dont put ourselves in others shoes. I try to swap places and think What if I were there? I have been doing this for the past 10 years or so, and it has done me good. Its a strong wake up call and pushes your consciousness to the edge; its a leap of faith you have to take, thinking What if I were there? I am happy weve been able to connect with and inspire each other. She was able to touch my life as much as I touched hers. I gave her a material platform to showcase her work, and she gave me spiritual platform to come to terms with myself, says Rubana. The BBC followed Rubana to Cambodia, and has done a short documentary on Moms journey with Rubana, entitled Designing a Dream which will be aired on March 8 at 9:30am and at 10:30pm, and on March 9 at 4:30am and 4:30pm. to break these stereotypes at her factories. Within our own little worlds, we have so many hurdles to cross, and men are just so stubborn. Theres a male stubbornness that refuses to let women pass through. Were always working against the current. And you just have to cross it.

think God has given me the special gift of touching young lives, she says, sitting against a window on the highest floor of her office in Uttara, overlooking the city.

Myriad identities
As Managing Director of Mohammadi Group, the head of MG Properties Limited, founder of the company Vive Construction and Interiors, founder and editor of the literary magazine Monsoon Letters, and as a PhD candidate at Jadavpur University in Kolkata Rubana has a myriad of identities. But above all, Id like to think I am most successful as a mother. That comes above all for me, she says, adding that she is in touch with her three children 24/7. Regarding her professional careers, she feels the gap is widest between literature and the corporate world. I wear different hats, but they are all interrelated, all a part of my passion circle. Im very passionate about poetry, workers rights, marketing, networking and South Asia. These are roles I fit into. I juggle.

Transcending boundaries, touching lives

From the selected 100 women, ten were then chosen to mentor another ten young ladies. As a part of this, Rubana had been communicating since October with Srey Mom, a scavenger in Cambodia who made a living salvaging things from a dump. She told me she wanted to be a designer, but I had no idea about her capabilities: no idea she could draw or even read. I knew she didnt have a formal education. The 20-year-old has an indomitable spirit. She had the courage to communicate with me and insist that she wanted to be designer. I sensed so much courage and spirit in her. Amongst all these accomplished women, she was unfazed by it all. She wasnt intimidated. In awe of the spirit of Mom, Rubana paid a visit to her in Cambodia in January, to see how she lived and what her potential was. Given her lack of formal education, the designs were very rough initially. Thus, Rubana asked her to make some sketches and send them over, which she did within a week. Then I prepared the counter samples, and did a label and handtag for her, with her story. Rubana then invited her to Bangladesh, and during her visit she took Mom to her own factories to understand commercial design, where Mom also bonded with the workers.

The women of Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, she says, three out of the four million workers are women. They go in and work, and yes that changes the economy, but does it change her life? She earns her bread, she is probably more emancipated than many of us. She doesnt have to answer to the society we live in. Theres no social accountability, but shes still abused, looked down upon and downtrodden. There is no change in her fate. Rubana expresses her disappointment that not many women have made it to supervisor positions at the factories: I used to hear: They are not educated enough. Then when I asked how much education they need, I hear: They are not motivated enough. I find that very hard to believe, because women are the most loyal workforce, she says.

How do you find time for all this?

Rubana is a fitting example of her own words. She vivaciously pursues all her roles, and is considering going into teaching and activism. I have a general principle of compartmentalisation. But the reason Im doing my PhD is to teach young kids. You can take your life where you want to take it, dont set any limits, never look back. You have to rise from the ashes. Theres nothing that should stop you. As long as youre looking, opportunities will be there So, she concludes, with a hint of anticipation, a new journey awaits me. l

BBC will air Designing a Dream, a short documentary about Srey Mom and Rubana Huq (pictured above), today and tomorrow  Courtesy Rubana Huq mother, entrepreneur, writer, PhD candidate and philanthropist speaks of everything wrong and everything right with our people, delving into the details out of her own world, knitting a story of her eighteen year journey. We have to come out of the bubble. We have to stop living sheltered lives. We need to be sincere to our own focus, she says. on different planes, says Rubana, reminiscing about the gathering, which exposed them to each others stories and challenges. The BBC conference included several topics, one of which was a discussion on a recent study that said the gender gap had narrowed. No one agreed that the gap had narrowed. We were all still grumbling. We all spoke about the glass ceiling for women that still exists, Rubana recalled.

Colours FM showcases Power Women

Empowered women empowering women

Tribune Desk n
Unilever Bangladesh is working to empower the women of Bangladesh. They encourage their female employees to challenge the status quo and dive deeper into traditionally male dominated territories. A significant initiative of theirs is the Aparajita Project, where 7000 rural women have been co-opted into the Unilever distribution network in partnership with Care Bangladesh, who run the programme. One of the best performing Aparajitas, Rajeda Begum, says: My extensive sales training prior to joining the program helped me perform well. I have saved up a decent amount over the years and now I am confident enough to think of running my own shop soon enough. Five female territory managers have even risen to manage hundreds of their male subordinates and thats not all, Unilever female officers have taken the fight for equality and empowerment to Unilever production lines, with female production floor managers working alongside their male counterparts at their Chittagong factory. Their female production floor officers are highly respected in the factory because of their sound judgment. It is definitely an achievement that women in Unilever have gained acceptance across the company from field-level to the management tables. Unilever Bangladesh says it has always believed in empowering women, and congratulates all women on Womens Day. l

A female manager at a Unilever factory 

COURTESY

The 23 women on Colours FMs board of advisors 

COURTESY

Rumana Habib n
Colours FM is a new radio station for women, airing on 101.6 FM. Today, in honour of International Womens Day, they are launching a new programme called Power Woman. To kick off this programme, starting at 10am, they will air interviews with 16 successful women from a variety of fields ranging from the arts, to business, to social services, including: BRAC Director Tamara Abed, CEO of Dell Bangladesh Sonia Bashir, singer Shayan, Bibiana designer Lipi Khondokar, and BUET architecture faculty member Aupee Karim. Going forward, Power Woman will interview a different woman change-maker once a week to talk live on air about her work, challenges and inspirations. All of Colours programmes are tailored for women audiences, like Lipstick Morning and Olpo Sholpo Golpo, and feature female radio jockeys. Along with music, fashion and celebrity gossip, Colours will aim to focus on the issues occupying the modern womans mind: balancing work and family, women rights issues, and social expectations. Colours says they want to be a friend and advisor to women. One of the Power Woman interviewees, Sadaf Siddiqi of Nari Pokkho and Sidko Apparels, is also a member

of Colours advisory board of 23 illustrious women. I think it is a great initiative to help us think through our changing roles. Women have made great strides, but we still have a long way to go. Its great to have something that helps women think through these changes acknowledging that its exciting, but also challenging, and offering them some solidarity, Sadaf said. She hopes Colours will help women navigate their complicated lives and help them find their own answers. We are bombarded with so many confusing narratives: be beautiful, be successful at work, keep a perfect home. We have to find our own work-life balance, choose a path that is comfortable for

ourselves not just be dictated to by different sectors of society. The other ten power women featured today are: Rubaba Dowla, CCO of Airtel; Konka Karim, Feature Editor at New Age; Tanya Karim, Partner Architect at Tanya Karim NR Khan & Associates Mubina Asaf, legal head of British American Tobacco; Tanha Islam, representative of Mozilla Bangladesh; Nisha Selim, owner of Daily Deli; Runi Khan, social worker at Culture Pot Global; Shamarukh Fakhruddin, Marketing Director, Lafarge Surma Cement; Ayesha Dada, Stock Broker; Tropa Majumder, Director and Head of Creative, Expressions. Dhaka Tribune is a media partner of Colours FM. l

Artists Celebrating Women for a good cause

Fifty percent of the proceeds from Celebrating Women will be donated to the Acid Survivors Network. The art exhibition, held yesterday at Danish Ambassador Hanne Fugl Eskjaers home in Gulshan, and will continue to be on display for a week at the Nordic Club. The organisers, Shako Women Artist Association of Bangladesh, have held their annual art show in honour of womens day for the past 12 years, each time raising money for a different charity. This year they showcased the work of 12 female artists including (pictured here L-R) Kuhu and Kanak Chanpa Chakma. We have enjoyed a lot of success, and this is our chance to give back, Kuhu told the Dhaka Tribune Dhaka Tribune / courtesy RJs Farzana and Shumi at the studio recording their show Olpo Sholpo Golpo 
courtesy