Strengthening Climate-Resilient Livelihoods Through Sustainable Aquaculture Practices
From the remote islands of Patuakhali to the hill tracts of Bandarban and Rangamati, the most basic necessities and facilities are often hard to acquire. Since these places are not risk free or feminine enough, these zones are not ideally considered conventional workplaces for women since.
However the female field staff from Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) project supported by Sweden, Denmark, Government of Bangladesh along with UNCDF and UNDP have defied all odds.
This year, on International Women’s Day, we are paying tribute to our female staff, who are working in unconventional fields.
Pushing Boundaries: Lipika’s Journey in Construction
Growing up Lipika saw her family- her mother and siblings being involved in social welfare and development work. This became the way of life for her.
She herself became a development worker to contribute to the welfare of the society. At 42 she decided to take up a bigger challenge. She joined joined LoGIC project as a Upazila Facilitator (UF) in Rangamati– a male-dominated sector that demanded prior technical expertise.
She underwent an intensive 13-day training on construction fundamentals and workforce management which helped her to overcome her hesitance over technical knowledge. But challenges remained.
For example, the workplace has health risk like insects and pest control and rigorous demand of physical labour. Sometimes she observes foremen doubt her authority.
There are times when she finds it difficult to keep her patience when the workers use harsh language among themselves.
In order to keep her compose, she meditates and uses strategic problem-solving techniques, starts over and she asserts herself, proving that women belong in every field, including construction.
Throughout the journey, her family remained a constant mental support to her.
“Since I have to be on the field, My husband, who is a school teacher looks after our two children and the household” she said.
And she finds joy when community people thank her for the development work.
“After installing the water schemes, community people thanked me. They treat me with so much respect and admiration—it makes all the hardship worth it.”
Shaharima Sharna: A Catalyst for Change
Shaharima Sharna is only 27 years old living in Chor Montaz. At this age, she is balancing her master’s while creating meaningful change in remote communities. She joined LoGIC project as a Community Mobilisation Facilitator (CMF) in 2018. She walks quite a few kilometres regularly to reach the doorstep of the beneficiaries.