By Monika Paik & Biswajit Mondal from Shyamnagar, Satkhira
“We women spend most of our day engaged in various household responsibilities. It is not just about managing the household. We also contribute to family income, ensure food security, take care of family well-being, and perform countless other duties. When we calculated a typical day’s work, we found that women are involved in more than 47 different tasks daily’-said Alpona Rani Mistry.
She went on saying, “We participate in household decision-making, contribute to food production and marketing, and play a vital role in ensuring balanced and safe food production. We also share our knowledge, experience, and practices from village to village, market to market, organization to organization, and from one woman farmer to another. Through these efforts, women are gaining recognition and playing a leading role in environmental protection. To sustain this recognition, all sections of society must contribute equally.”
Alpona spoke at a two-day training workshop on gender diversity and human rights organized by BARCIK in the coastal region of Satkhira. Local community members and BARCIK staff participated. The workshop was facilitated by BARCIK Director Syed Ali Biswas, with support from regional staff.
The workshop began with an expectation-sharing session. On the first day, discussions covered gender concepts, differences between sex and gender, roles and needs, gender sensitivity, equity and equality, women’s rights, human rights, and relevant policies and laws.
On the second day, topics included women’s roles in coastal agriculture, seeds and women, the impact of corporate agriculture and women’s contributions to family nutrition security, agroecology, violence and its social context, roles of family and state, solutions, diversity and social inclusion, reducing market dependency, strengthening mutual cooperation, indigenous knowledge, leadership development, and recognizing the contributions of coastal women.
The workshop concluded with participants sharing their reflections and committing to applying their learning in their families and communities.
