International Women's Day: Bangladesh

Caritas Bangladesh has been working with women in Sobeda market in the Khulna region of Bangladesh to improve their livelihoods and income generation for over three years.

They work with the women in the local communities to overcome the challenges in accessing local markets. Traditionally women were not allowed access to market; they had to depend on their husband or neighbours.

However things are changing in Bangladesh, women have traditionally been involved in seed preservation only, now they are involved in all stages of agriculture from seed collection and sowing to cultivation and needed access to markets to sell their produce.

To overcome the challenge of selling their produce Caritas Bangladesh worked with the women, the market management and local government officials to open a specific area of the market where women were able to buy and sell their produce independently. One women involved in the project called it the “housewife market”.

Assia, for example, has had a stall in the market for the last three years. Since joining the project her family income has increased so much that they are able to send all three children to school.

“I got married very early at about 13 years old. I went to school for a few days only. I can write my name and read a little.” Assia dreams that her daughter will have a better life than herself. “I will not marry her off soon. I will educate my daughter, so that she might get a job. She won’t get married young.”

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