Jonaki Akhter grew up with her two sisters in Jamalpur, a flood-prone northern-east district of Bangladesh. Having no brother, she was always treated like a burden in her family. Even the neighbors used to make fun of his father for not having a son. Their village gets inundated during monsoon causing suffering to the people, almost every year. For Jonaki’s family, the suffering is even worse, as she and the other women members of the family have to face multiple challenges such as lack of drinking water, fuel for cooking, managing menstrual hygiene, and the possibility of facing gender-based violence that put their safety and security at risk.
When Jonaki heard that the NRP with support from the local administration, is recruiting community volunteers for the Flood Preparedness Programme (FPP), she volunteered immediately. Her father was not willing to allow her for this, but she did not give in. She wanted to learn the ways to support her family and community. She joined as an FPP volunteer and received training on Gender Responsive Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience (GRDR3) organized by the NRP DWA subproject. Jonaki quickly put her learning into practice by increasing the height of their kitchen and tube-well at home, so they don’t get submerged during floods. She also started to support her community by making sure that women from her neighborhood receive public services from local government institutions. The training helped increase her knowledge and confidence which made her believe that women can solve their problems if the problem solution can be properly explained.
Jonaki expressed “Now I feel proud of me, and no longer thinks of me as a burden, rather an asset.” Her confidence, knowledge, and ability to engage women from her family and neighborhood, changed her father’s perspective. Now, she has a say in the decisions taken at home. She voices her opinions at the local level meetings on social issues, influences decisions, and is inspired to take up more responsibilities for the wellbeing of her community. Now, Women from her community are inspired by her to join FPP as volunteers to contribute to the family as well as to the community.
NRP DWA part subproject together with the other 3 subprojects is working to bring these transformational changes and build a resilient nation. Following Jonaki’s story, It is equally important to engage men from the community at the beginning of the program intervention to create an enabling environment for women. So, raising their awareness and engaging them will ensure their role as an ally.
