How women change the vibe:

field based WaSH experience in leadership context

Hasin Jahan Director Programmes 14 February 2014 Manila

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Introduction

WaterAid has been working in Bangladesh

since 1986 focusing on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) WaterAids working modalities ensure participation and empowerment of women targeting poor, vulnerable and excluded population in geographically and technically challenged contexts This presentation will exclusively focus on two specific cases where women leadership has been emerged

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Case 1: The challenging life of Shudha- a tea picker

Shudha Rani Basak (43) was a typical tea-picker in the Khadimnagor tea garden- a remote place in Sylhet district of Bangladesh She proved herself as a selfmade leader who challenged the typical leadership through her journey from a mere tea-picker to an elected representative of the local government institute
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Case 2: woman leadership in slum context

Fatima Akhter a face of determination She had been dropped out from her school at the age of 15 and moved to a slum Korail- the largest slum in Bangladesh Over years of struggle- now she is the general secretary of a slum development associationNDBUS

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Concluding thoughts

WaterAid believes in womens dignity, listens to their voices and appreciates their roles in decision making Leadership definitely requires a certain level of inherent quality; however, training and nurturing are essential for realizing the potentials WaterAid, as an INGO facilitated such growth through ensuring enabling environment, building confidence and skill through different capacity development initiatives and finally allowing them to bring in the forefront

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Thank you

WaterAid Bangladesh
House 97/B, Road 25, Block A Banani, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh Tel.: +880 2 8815757, 8818521 Fax: +880 2 9882577 email: wateraidbangladesh@wateraid.org

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