‘I want the bare minimum for my children — a good life where they can eat and just survive.’
What progress means for Rohingya refugees and local women in Bangladesh
The arrival in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, of more than 670,000 people fleeing from violence in Myanmar has put enormous pressure on local resources. With ‘pressing for progress’ being one of the themes for International Women’s Day, World Food Programme (WFP) staff spoke to refugees and local women and girls who are involved in its relief and development activities. Here they share their life experiences and their thoughts on what progress, hope, empowerment and equality mean for them.
‘Love is hope and hope is progress’ — Nur Kajal
Still a teenager, Nur Kajal eloped and got married to the love of her life, escaping the arranged marriage her parents were planning. Such an act of defiance against the backdrop of constant persecution, and fear of forced exile, created an extra layer of tension that threatened to rip her family apart. Fleeing Myanmar to Bangladesh, however, brought Nur Kajal’s and her husband’s families closer together, as they set aside their differences to survive, seek shelter and secure food.
“As we were running from death, Bangladesh provided a sanctuary. I am very grateful for the support we got here. Whether I get food or not, I will still be very grateful,” says Nur, who is expecting her first child.
“My hope is to have enough to provide for my baby — to clothe, feed and educate him. I pray to Allah to look after my child and hope the community’s love continues as this will decide what happens to all of us.”
The uncertainty of coming to Bangladesh so abruptly has not dampened hope for this 17 year old. The feeling of acceptance and assistance she got from the people of Bangladesh and the international community has solidified her belief that love can indeed solve it all. When asked what progress meant for her as a woman, she reflected for some time then said: “Progress is having a limited number of children to love very much, with enough money to feed, clothe and educate them.’’
‘Progress is overcoming heartbreak’— Solima Khatun
Pregnant with her fifth child, Solima lost her husband amid the trauma and chaos of fleeing from Myanmar, when her home was burnt to the ground.
“My husband and I started the journey together but got separated in the confusion. It was only when I was getting on the boat for the crossing that I realized he wasn’t with me. The fear set in because I had witnessed many horrible things done — men being taken away, women having their stomachs slit open, people amputating their own limbs after getting shot and having the bullet lodged within their bodies.
What can happen to my husband if he is still there? In the end, to console myself I clung to the hope that we would be reunited in the camps. It has been seven months and I still can’t find him.”
Heavily pregnant and due any day, Solima is consumed with fear, confusion and sadness. She receives support from WFP’s food distribution as well as the nutritious porridge from the basic supplementary feeding programme. However, the difficulty of living in the crowded camp, coupled with the anxiety to feed her young family without her husband, makes life unbearable.
When asked what she hoped for, she gave a defeated sigh. “I want the bare minimum for my children — a good life where they can eat and just survive.”
‘Progress is free will’— Bulbuli Dhar, worker at WFP’s nutrition centre
Receiving Rohingya refugees into the nearby Hindu community, Bulbuli couldn’t help but find common ground between herself — a mother of two — and the Rohingya mothers she met.
“They came here because they were tortured. They have a difficult life like we do,” she says. For her, the most important element of the assistance given to the refugees is to ensure that pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children receive the food they desperately need to guarantee the survival of the next generation.
Thanks to her work at WFP’s nutrition centre, Bulbuli can participate equally within her family as an income provider, using her small salary to pay for her sons’ education and contribute to household expenses. “My husband is quite supportive of my work. My younger son sulks when I am not at home but my eldest is very proud of me. He boasts to his friends and everyone in our neighbourhood about my work and the things I can buy for him. His pride in my work means everything to me.
“I studied until the 8th grade. My wish is to give my sons a higher education so they can progress more than me and have an established life. If I had daughters, I would encourage them as well to get an education so they can maintain their independence and be free.” Believing that empowerment means being free to choose to seek education and employment within one’s family or community, Bulbuli hopes progress for future generation will translate into higher education, especially for young girls so that they won’t have to be tasked with household chores. “With education, boys and girls are the same. That will be progress.”
While responding to the urgent needs of refugees, WFP is also working with communities in Cox’s Bazar through development projects, known as Enhancing Food Security and Nutrition (EFSN) programmes. The most vulnerable women are trained on income generating and enterprise development activities, and receive a monthly cash allowance over two years to cover essential household costs and needs. We spoke to a group of 20 women in the self-help group they have created.
‘Progress is inclusivity’ — Shamsunnahar, community leader
The creation of the self-help group — which they called Surshamuki, meaning ‘face of the sun’ — has enabled women in this community to understand, listen to and collaborate with one another. They support each other on tailoring, shopkeeping and livestock. Understanding the value of community, the women urged WFP to expand the programme to include others as well.
“Before the creation of this group, we were strangers living in the same place. Now, we can say we are friends and have stronger community ties because we pool our resources together and share information to create better economic and social opportunities for ourselves and our families,” says community leader Shamsunnahar.
“Even though we still do not have as much access to the outside world as we would like, we feel there is a slight cultural shift that will perhaps empower our children a bit, but will definitely change the lives of our grandchildren and their children. We can now advise and hopefully discourage our community on the practice of early child marriage!”
This feeling of change might seem painfully slow for the outsiders looking in, but it is progress.
‘Progress is economic empowerment’ — Nunahar, shop owner on the EFSN programme
“We welcome the Rohingyas with open arms because they are our Muslim brothers and sisters. However, I have to be honest and say it has not been easy. The Rohingyas are driving down the price of jobs because they provide very cheap labour and this has had a negative impact on us. We have to increase our economic security and WFP’s programme is one way to do so.”
Nunahar has a shop which she proudly shows off and hopes to expand before the EFSN programme ends. The injection of 1,050 BDT (US$12) a month, as well as a one-off business grant of 15,000 BDT (UD$180) has great potential to increase the resilience and skills of women like her.
WFP’s Emergency Coordinator in Cox’s Bazar, Peter Guest emphasizes his team’s commitment to ensure this emergency operation is committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment: “We are listening to the voices of these women so that we can work together towards real progress.”
Thanks to Nayomee Chakma, Bhuiyan Mahmood, Binta Bajaha and Nusrat Jahir for collecting these testimonies.
Read more stories about WFP’s work with the Rohingya in Bangladesh.
