Ei Poth Amadero
Ei Poth Amadero - Poster
As part of a larger campaign for dignity for women in the streets, Drishtipat Bangladesh produced a series of write ups in local media. They are below
Sachalayatan – Ei Poth Amadero – Shobjanta
Somewherein Blog Ei Poth Amadero – Saimon
Daily Star R-e-s-p-e-c-t – Zafar Sobhan
Claiming Our Ground – Shabnam Nadiya
Walk down the street with your eys down – Jahanara Nuri
Frogs and Snakes — Iffat Nawaz
Take Back The Streets — Hana Shams Ahmed
Street Defenders — Naeem Mohaiemen
This leads up to the event April 11 at 4 PM at National Museum
Men and Women are both welcome and encouraged to participate, you must be at least 13 years old. If you can’t run you are welcome to jog or walk or bike. Please wear comfortable shoes and a smile on your face, we will take care of the rest.
Below is the piece by Zafar Sobhan:
Because unspoken complicity is how attitudes and assumptions are formed and harden into conventional wisdom and culture. And that is the problem: the attitudes, the assumptions, the culture we have created.
This is why I think that the Ey Poth Amadero (The Road is Also Ours) walk tomorrow is such a good idea. It focuses on one very simple right, but the implications of that one right and what the denial of it means for our society and the women who live in it are immense.
Men in Bangladesh take an awful lot for granted. We take it for granted that we can walk down the street without harassment. We take it for granted that we can come and go late into the night. We take it for granted that we can dress pretty much as we please. We take it for granted that we can travel alone without fear for our safety.
Most men never think for a moment what it must be like to not be able to take such simple freedoms for granted, and what it must be like to have to negotiate, every minute of every single day, the boundaries of what one is able to do or say, to constantly negotiate the very parameters of one’s existence.
When we talk about women’s rights and women’s equality, it is not merely a question of women’s education, women’s employment, women’s health, etc.
These are all, without doubt, absolutely crucial issues, and the advances made in these areas stand as an achievement the nation can rightfully be proud of, even though there remains so much room for improvement.
But more than these macro-issues, what I would like to focus on today is, for want of a better word, the micro-issues. These are the issues that too many men dismiss as somehow trivial or unimportant.
But they are very far from that. They only appear trivial to us because we take them for granted. Being able to walk down the street without being harassed is only a trivial concern for someone who does not have to suffer it.
What each one of us needs to look at very critically is his (or, for that matter, her) own complicity in the hostile environment that exists for women and what steps each one of us can take to make things better.
Ultimately, it comes down to us, to society, to our attitudes and assumptions. The attitude that accepts that it is appropriate to have dress codes for women, but not for men. The attitude that accepts that it is inappropriate for women to smoke in public, but not for men. The attitude that accepts that it is considered impermissible for women to live alone, but not for men.
These double standards and unspoken assumptions and prejudices that permeate our society are the problems, and a national conversation on the issue is long overdue.
Our entire society is saturated, from top to bottom, with corrosive and toxic attitudes that we need to examine and discuss and question and ultimately move beyond.
We may say: I don’t think that way. But perhaps unwittingly we do contribute to the perpetuation of such attitudes. We need to stand up. We need to challenge others. It is not enough to not harass, we need to stand up and challenge those who do or those who condone it. It is not enough to say that we believe in women’s rights and equality and empowerment. When we hear a comment or see someone do something that demeans women or dismisses them, we need to challenge it.
Because unspoken complicity is how attitudes and assumptions are formed and harden into conventional wisdom and culture. And that is the problem: the attitudes, the assumptions, the culture we have created.
This is why I think that the Ey Poth Amadero (The Road is Also Ours) walk tomorrow is such a good idea. It focuses on one very simple right, but the implications of that one right and what the denial of it means for our society and the women who live in it are immense.
It is not just about employment and education. It is about simple respect and dignity. If we were to acknowledge the dignity deficit that exists in our society for women, and ensure that women are afforded the same respect and dignity that men are, then everything else would fall into place.
We like to think that in our culture we do respect women, but the simple truth of the matter is that, as a society, we do not. The evidence of this disrespect is all around us, but one way we can work to change things is by extending to women the simple freedom to walk the streets without harassment. It’s a worthy goal and I hope that you will all support it.
Zafar Sobhan is Editor, Editorial & Op-Ed, The Daily Star. Please come join the Drishtipat-organised Ey Poth Amadero walk starting at 4 pm in front of the National Museum on April 11.
[...] Voice blog of the human rights group Drishtipat informs about an unique campaign launched in the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh for ensuring dignity for [...]
Wish I was in Dhaka right now.
Solidarity, sisters and brothers.
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Just came back from the post-run concert @ Rabindra Sharabar (it is still going on), with Bangla, Anusheh, Krishnakali, Shuchi, etc. Speeches were given by Asif Saleh, Iffat Nawaz, Munni Saha, and the best one by garments workers organizer Najma Akhter.
More about her at DP’er Hana Shams’ 2008 write-up:
http://hanashams.wordpress.com/2008/03/07/standing-out/
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Thanks for the joyful and successful event with a strong message for all of us. Let’s this be the beginning to the end of mindlessness, cheap behaviors of men to our sister-hood. Together we can. We just have to keep the campaign alive each day, everyday at home,office,roads, factories and keep people accountable for their wrong doings right there right then.
I second Jyoti’s comments, I wish I would have been there to boost the support on the ground,but our heart and souls are with you with the very same sentiments of the event.
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Right to the streets
Music and musings mark the ‘Ei Poth Amadero’ campaign
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=83897
Krishnokoli performs at Rabindra Sarobar, part of the ‘Ei Poth Amadero’ campaign. Photo: Saikat Mojumder
Cultural Correspondent
Global social and human rights organisation, Drishtipat, arranged a unique rally in the city last Saturday to promote the dignity of women and the rights of pedestrians on the streets. Titled, ‘Ei Poth Amadero’ (The Roads Belongs to Us Also), the rally, drawing people from different backgrounds and professions, started off from the National Museum premises and ended at the Shaheed Minar.
Coach of the Bangladesh women’s cricket team, Farida Akhter, who joined the rally with her entire team, said, “Such programmes shouldn’t be a one-time event.” Acknowledging the presence of many youngsters in the rally, executive director of ‘Manusher Jonno,’ Shaheen Anam, said, “We’re elated to pass the torch of social movement to the young.”
The rally was followed by a concert at Rabindra Sarobar where leading female singers performed for the cause. The concert, featuring the band Bangla and artiste Krishnokoli, was attended by almost 10,000 people. The event kicked off with brief speeches by Drishtipat executive director, Asif Saleh; organiser of the event and one of the directors of Drishtipat, Iffat Nawaz; TV journalist Munni Saha, and garments workers’ rights activist, Najma Akhter.
“Initiated by some expatriate Bangladeshis, Drishtipat, talks about everyone’s rights, with an understanding of the social context of our country. Starting as a web-based organisation, Drishtipat has mobilised quickly over the years and currently has nine chapters in five countries with more than 3000 members and donors,” said Asif Saleh. Iffat Nawaz talked about the issues she faced on the streets of Dhaka after moving back from Washington DC and said that she would consider this event a success if it makes even two individuals think twice before harassing a woman on the street. Munni Saha recalled her experiences in reporting on the streets and called for a united social understanding of dignity of women in public places.
The concert began with a young singer, Suchi. A student of English Literature, Suchi wrote and composed the songs she performed at the event. Next to perform was the troupe, Chirkut. Krishnokoli and the band, Bangla, presented some of their popular numbers and spoke on the theme of the campaign in between performances. Anusheh, the vocalist of Bangla, addressed the need for women to gather strength and protest every injustice, while Krishnakali called for a collective change in the attitude of Bangladeshis in the new (Bengali) year, embracing everything good and noble.
The campaign was preceded by a writing campaign in The Daily Star, Prothom Alo and major blogs on the theme. The event was supported by Bitopi, The Daily Star, Channel i, Kazi Farms, Partex and Radio Foorti.
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Good to see such an initiative.
While all the comments seem very satisfied with this I have been asking myself, how does those eve teasers get a strong message and stop doing this. I am sure there is a correlation somewhere, only that I am not seeing it right away.
My only fear is we may get into the euphoria of doing such a big thing while in reality it might help very little for the real incidents.
I was hoping to see some comments from a police sergent or a typical guy standing in the “Morer Dokan” (who doesn’t have any real day job).
I grew up in Dhaka, I dared to go to any event like Boishakhi mela or any other gatherings in the fear of getting harrased. When I went, I made sure I have a big group with some male frineds or family with us. I hope the situation is better these days.
There are lots to do here, it can be a big social project by itself. If anyone has any idea or data to share please let me know.
Sharmin
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“ey poth amadero” heartiest congrats!!! to the trail blazers of this event for holding this courageous apparently debut event. i both hope and pray that, this sacred event will become and annual event for dhaka &/or held in each and every city of BD with holding of this event, hopefully in chittagong next year!!!
only holding of similar events can we do away with the curse of; eve teasing and similar such discrimination of women folks on the roads and highways!!! wishing all the best to the organizers, especially drishtipath apparently for being the trail blazers!!!
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