Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

[Flex Mentallo]

Only a normal life without hunger and pain is what Nahid now dream as both poverty and humiliation is part and parcel of her life. Quite unlikely as a Rajabazar girl she passed eight standard but was deprived of higher education as her family thought she read enough and more education will disqualify her candidature for early marriage in their community.

In her family she had a younger brother aged 16 now and mother. Her brother earns a meager income by working as an apprentice in a nearby shoe factory and her family suffer from immense scarcity of necessary resources. As a result, after coming in contact with Roshni she didn't think twice before agreeing to take the training opportunity to become a commercial cab driver. Roshni selects young girls and women (who have at least passed eighth standard - a prerequisite to get a license in India) from their community for this training program supported by ThoughtShop Foundation, which gives training to become a commercial driver in the future.

Her journey from a normal woman to a cab driving trainee was always complicated from the very beginning. According to her, in the beginning her brother forced her to stay at home and work as a household aid but her mother agreed to her that she at least should take the training.

Later, her mother changed her mind. When Nahid argued  she got beaten by both her mother and her younger brother.

"I didn't accept their arrangements - even I rejected a man whom they chosen for my marriage and continued my training by fighting all the odds. When they find they can't stop me this way, they increased the intensity of beating me and one day when I thought I couldn't bear anymore I broke and told Shahina appi from Roshni about my immense pain and agony ."

Shahina took immediate step and talked to her family and said "if I see you have beaten your girl like this in the future we'll surely take necessary steps against you."

Nahid is now continuing her training and fulfill her dream to become a driver to end her bigger fight against poverty.

Edited October 31, 2017 by Flex Mentallo
name amended

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Fatma Kanis

'I want to be a football player'.

 

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Fatma is a 14 year old Muslim girl from Rajabazar slum area. Her father is a Moulavi in a mosque and stays in mosque. He does not work and depends on others for his family needs. Fatma’s mother is house wife and she is suffering from some health issue thus remains sick for most of the time. Fatma takes care of her family. They are five sisters and Fatma looks after all of them. Fatma has a dream of her own. She wants to play football but her father is a moulavi and her family is very rigid and conservative. She is grown up and so her family does not allow her to play football. Her mother is trying to give her marriage. She has five more sisters so for her family; her marriage is the only way to get rid of her. Here dowry is an evil system in this patrilineal society. It is directly proportional to the age of the bride. So marriage at an early age will be easier for her parents to pay off. She is a good student and also a good dancer. No football and dance is allowed in her family and she is living a terrible life imposed by her family. Her family does not want to continue her study to save expenses. Kanis Fatma wants to continue her study and wants to support her family. Her struggle is against her own family as well as against the society she lives in. She wants to become a voice in her society as well bread earner of her family. ‘Roshni’ is doing positive counseling in her family so that they may allow her to play football. Team ‘Roshni’ is providing her mental strength and giving her chances so that secretly she is performing dance in some programs of Roshni.

[Flex Mentallo]

Fatma wants to complete her education and wants a job. Her goal is to stand on her own feet against all the odds in her life. She wants a life of her own choice. She knows that only education can make her achieve her own goal. She is struggling against all the obstructions.

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She has four more sisters. Her parents if stops her education she has no one to stand by her side. She will end up in an unsuccessful marriage and a lifetime imprisonment.

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Therefore, the present scenario necessitates an immediate support for Fatma’s education to strengthen her. A little support may help her to achieve her basic need i.e. education and may assist her to fulfill her goal. She may get courage to continue her passion for football or dance whatever she wants or may be both.

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Kainat Parveen
Kainat Parveen is a 13 years old Muslim girl from Rajabazar slum area. She is studying in class IV. Her father is Sk. Munna who is 50 years old. Her father is illiterate and jobless. Her mother is Mustari Begum who is 40 years old and house wife. She makes envelope at home. Kainat has two sisters and two brothers. Her elder sister is only 18 years old and she is already married. Her elder brother is 25 years old and works in paper plate making factory. The total family income is INR 300.00 and seven family members are dependent on this. Money is the main problem in this family. Moreover her father has cancer diagnosed last year. The treatment is costly and there is almost no income in the family. The elder sister is married but she is again the victim of dowry system. She is also sick and so remains in her paternal house. Kainat has dream to become independent and to study higher. Her family is unable to provide the financial support. Daily meal is also expensive to them and they are struggling with a system where there is no way out.

[Flex Mentallo]

Day by day Kainat is running towards a world where only darkness prevails. Kainat needs an Angel with a lamp who will direct her towards the light, towards dawn and towards betterment. Education is her right but alas she is becoming deprived of that basic right. She could not pay her tuition fees so she was thrown out from the coaching classes then “Roshni” came in her life. They tried to provide her helps like tuition and mental support. Kainat needs wings. She must fly high with her dream but to make her dream come true she needs financial support. Poverty is pushing her towards the end. Her mother said they won’t be able to admit her new class and her study will be stopped. In next one and two year she will get married with some guy who will take her as a child producing machine and a source of earning. She will leave with no dreams and nothing. Kainat is a hope for her family. She wants to earn for her family to provide a standard living to her own family. A small help can change her life as well her family.

[Flex Mentallo]

Kainat wants her basic right that is food, shelter, clothes and education. She wants to complete the education and get a job. She wants to provide treatment to her father and food to her family. She dreams of a better future for her family. She wants to become a strong woman.

Due to financial problem she has to stop her study and there will be a single option left, getting married. All her dreams will be abolished.

The present condition needs financial support to Kainat Parveen for her study. A small support may help her to achieve her basic need i.e. education and may assist her to fulfill her dreams.

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Erratum -

A page back I reported the story of 'Nahad Bano' who aspires to be a taxi driver and is being beaten by her family. I asked Shahina if she had any more photos of her and these are posted below. but Nahad is actually Nahid, and her surname is Parvin, not Bano, so I guess something got garbled with the initial story before I received it.

 

Look at these photos of this shining young woman, how she really is, when not the victim of a beating... before and after...

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..and a few more, including with her mother...

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Farha Jahan

Farha Jahan is a 14 years old girl from Rajabazar slum area. Her father is Mr. Mukhter and he is jobless. Her mother is Mustari Begum and she is a house wife. Farha has two brothers and 2 sisters. Her elder brother is the only earning member of their family. He is 19 years old and left school after class IX to earn bread for his family. He is working in a paper plate factory. Farha’s another brother is studying in class XI and he also works in a envelope making factory to earn some extra bucks for the family. Farha’s family income is INR 5000 which is not sufficient to pay house rent, electric bills and living of seven family members. Farha is a good student and wants to complete her education but she has another two sisters also. Her mother is struggling hard to sustain their family where as always with a tension of giving marriage to three of her daughters. In such a society in India marriage is the only goal for girls. They are raised for giving marriage and girls are like burden to their parents. Dowry is a typical malpractice in Indian culture which put great financial burden on the bride's family and often leads to crime against women, ranging from emotional abuse, injury to even deaths. Farha’s parents are therefore in a nightmare to give good marriages of their three daughters and eventually there is a pressure on Farha for getting married at an early age. Farha Jahan wants to struggle against this system and wants to become a potential bread earner for her family after attaining her education. She wants to be a strong woman and then she wants to marry a person of her choice who will value her as a person.

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Photos flooding in overnight. More of Farha, which help form an impression of daily life perhaps...

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Work never ceases for these girls.

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..and a few more of Nahid...I reckon Shahina paid her a surprise visit!

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Shahina just told me that it was Nahid's brother who beat her. He is a drug addict. Matters are improving because he is now away from home - in Rehab.

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More scholars bios to follow. While the scholarships have been growing, during the same period, Arc - the organisation of which I am CEO - has been developing a parallel relationship with Roshni, focused on the arts.

 

Recently, we held an exhibition in the Arc Community Gallery, called 'Indian Summer'. The exhibition displayed the embroideries I brought back from my trips, and promoted Roshni's work through photos. The intention was to raise funding for a joint international project with Roshni. I'm happy to say the funding target was achieved, sufficient to run parallel projects 4000 miles apart, and pay for artists and materials...

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Over the past three days, Roshni has been running their half of the project. The focus is to connect participants in different countries through creative representations of the things they cherish.

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