RAJSHAHI, Dec 30: A total of 70 poor and distressed women have become self-reliant doing road repairing work at Bagha upazila in Rajshahi district.
The poor women have changed their luck doing the work and made an identity in the society.
Sources said that 10 women are working in each union after getting work throw union parishad chairman. The work is implemented by the financial support of European Union and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) LGED. Those women go to their work place with spade and basket. They work for repairing and take care of the roads from 8am to 2pm every day.
Talking to The Daily Observer, Kajoli Begum, 48, wife of Shariful Islam, Shilpi Begum, 45, wife of Meraj Ali, both are residents of Horipur village under Arani union of the upazila, said that earlier they had to pass days amid abject poverty. They could not send their children to school.
"We have become self-reliant and gained a social status doing the road repairing works. Now we are passing very happy life with our families," they added.
Shahana Begum, leader of 10-woman group in Arani union, said that the women were engaged in the job for two years. They have already demanded to increase it for five years. They can do repairing work on 50-metre long road from 8am to 2pm a day.
Rafiqul Islam, Chairman of Arani Union Parishad, said that the poor women including divorced women are doing the job in this upazila. A woman gets Tk 150 per day as salary.
Meanwhile, many of them requested us to increase the job duration to five-years. He would inform the higher authority in this regard, he added.
AKM Masud, Engineer of the Upazila, said that it is necessary to take care of the rural area roads. For this reason, the poor women were deployed are given Tk 150 each per day as wage.
To keep roads usable for more years, the project is being implemented. Each of the women works for the project and get Tk 4,500 monthly through their respective bank account, he added.
