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Nari Jibon Project
Introduction:
Nari Jibon is a great place for women to learn some new
skills and improve their life. Students of Nari Jibon
receive training on a number of fields. The students get
their basic language skills (Bengali and English), tailoring
and computer. We have to remember that the students who come
to Nari Jibon are often very poor and they cannot afford to
learn these things if they did not receive generous support
from Nari Jibon. Thus, these girls are learning a set of
skills. However, just learning a skill is not enough and
that is Nari Jibon is trying to support the students for
increasing their presentation skills in the job market. This
Internet based magazine is a great place in which computer
students are now getting real life work experience.
Dr. Kathryn B. Ward is the main driving force behind Nari
Jibon. She has dedicated her life for the welfare of the
Naris (woman) that she works with. Her active participation
is the best blessing for Nari Jibon and its students. Every
one at Nari Jibon (both employees and students) can touch
the active presence of Ms. Ward in their daily life. She is
actively engaged in planning and implementing at Nari Jibon.
Recently, she came to Bangladesh and we had the opportunity
to interview her. Here is the interview:
Q: Tell us about yourself
Kathryn B. Ward: I am Kathryn B. Ward, my father
worked in Oil Fields and my Mother was a teacher. My family
moved around a lot. I was born in Louisiana, but lived in
Texas, Oklahoma, and finally in Kansas but grew up in
Kansas. I completed High School in Kansas, Bachelors in
Sociology from Fort Hays State University. I started
studying music, played the French horn, but then became
interested in women’s issues and changed to sociology.
Graduate School in University of Iowa in Iowa city,
1977-1982, Masters and Ph.D. in Sociology 1982. I went to
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale as an assistant
professor in sociology. Currently I am full professor in
sociology and women’s studies and is the director of
graduate study.
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The women of
Nari Jibon ICT Magazine are interviewing Kathryn B
Ward |
Q: When did you come to Bangladesh first time?
Kathryn B. Ward: I came to Bangladesh in 2000 first
time to talk about women’s studies at Dhaka University for
two weeks because we were talking about starting a women’s
studies group. While I was here, I noticed many different
types of groups of women. I saw garment workers and sex
workers, and wanted to study these groups. I wrote a grant
and came back in 2001 and spent a month in Bangladesh. While
I was here, I interviewed 60 women about their work. My
second trip was nice; I met many interesting people and did
good work. I met Bithi’s Khala, who started doing some field
work for me. From that research on that trip, I wrote two
grants and stayed for 9 months in 2002 and 2003. For the
last three years I spent most of my time in Bangladesh. I
had my sabbatical and also got a Fulbright fellowship. This
is my seventh trip [and third summer in] Bangladesh.
Q: When and why you setup Nari Jibon?
Kathryn B. Ward: I set up Nari Jibon in 2005, and
before that, I founded an organization called Sathi. The
teachers and coordinators were not very good, and I became
very angry with them and closed it. I was paying all the
bills, but didn’t like the way the organization was being
run. Since the staff refused to make positive changes, I
stopped funding the project and I decided to close it down
and re-open with new staff and real students with real
classes. In March of 2005, I opened Nari Jibon. It was a
much better training program than the previous program. In
December 2005, we opened the research cell. And the cyber
cafe just opened recently.
Q: What are your benefits from Nari Jibon?
Kathryn B. Ward: The benefits of Nari Jibon
have been wonderful, and I am very happy to see the progress
of Nari Jibon. While there are many problems that happen
with any growing organization, I am very happy to see the
progress. I am especially pleased with Ruma (Khala) and how
she has been able to learn English and Bangla, and develop
herself into one of the best employees of Nari Jibon. I am
pleased to see the eagerness of the students. I like to come
to Bangladesh and check my email and get my clothes made in
a quality establishment (Nari Jibon).
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The women of
Nari Jibon ICT Magazine are interviewing Kathryn B
Ward |
Q: Did you face any problem when did you set up Nari
Jibon?
Kathryn B. Ward:
I have had a hard time
trying to set up something “different’ in Bangladesh. I was
told that women wouldn’t be able to learn computers, and
that they wouldn’t want to do Business. I was told that I
would have to pay them to come to class. But I have been
able to prove that it isn’t true, and it has taken a lot of
time to change attitudes.
Another problem is that I have seen that many of the Bengali
medium schools are not very good. The students need help
developing their creativity and other skills.
Q: What do you thing about the position of Nari Jibon?
Kathryn B. Ward:
I am happy to see the
development of Nari Jibon, even in my absence. I have seen
many women who were here in December, who are still
continuing in July.
Q: What is your next plan about Nari Jibon?
Kathryn B. Ward: Bangladesh has many women workers,
garments workers, micro-credit recipients, and Bangladesh
women have many challenges. Some Americans think that
Bangladeshi women mostly live in the rural areas and are
uneducated, but I have found that there are many bright and
educated women living in Bangladesh. I want people to have a
commitment to “thinking outside of the box” and women to
think of new opportunities that could be available to them.
I also want women to develop some skills that are not
usually taught to women, for example: Office work,
computers, tailoring and business. I have faith that women
are able to do these things. I want women to have other work
alternatives besides garment work
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Interview of Katie Zaman
Q: When did you come to Bangladesh for the first time?
And why?
Katie Zaman: In 1997 I came to Bangladesh for the
first time as a new bride to meet my in-laws. I had never
left the US before, and it was a very new experience for me.
I came again in 2003 for a short visit, and then in 2004 as
a Fulbright scholar for research on public health. I did a
project on breastfeeding practices of women in rural
Bangladesh. Doing this project helped me to understand the
strength and ability of Bangladeshi women to survive. I
realized that they deserve more support and opportunities to
enhance their lives.
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The women of
Nari Jibon ICT Magazine are interviewing Katie Zaman |
Q: How did you involve with Nari Jibon?
Katie Zaman: I met Dr. K.B. Ward, executive director
and founder of Nari Jibon, through the Fulbright program.
When I finished my research project and had some time
left in Bangladesh, I asked Dr. Ward if I could work with
her in Dhaka. She offered me an internship to help set up
Nari Jibon and to teach the English classes. For the
next five months, I spent almost every day at Nari Jibon and
learned so much about the project.
Q: When did you become a member of board of trustees?
Katie Zaman: On 20 July 2006 I become the member of
board of trustees of Nari Jibon.
Q: What do you do now?
Katie Zaman: Now I have been admitted in the
PhD program in Development Studies, Sociology and Economics
the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am starting classes
in September 2006, and I will be conducting my dissertation
research in Bangladesh.
Q: What is your future plan?
Katie Zaman: My short-term plan is to conduct my PhD
research in Bangladesh on women working in the IT sector.
The technology field is growing rapidly in Bangladesh, and I
believe it offers wonderful opportunities for women to work
in this profitable field. In the US, the technology field is
a very male-dominated industry, but the trend in South Asia
has been that more women are working in this field. It is
encouraging to see this social structure in South Asia. In
the long-term, I would like to teach at the college level
and continue to work in Bangladesh. I hope that some day I
will be able to apply for funding for Nari Jibon in order to
support and extend the project.
Q: What is your feeling about the present position of
Nari Jibon?
Katie Zaman: I am proud of how the organization has
grown and developed in the year that I’ve been away. Nari
Jibon has been able to change the lives of many of the women
students and staff that have been involved. There is still a
long way to go, so I hope that the next time I visit, I will
be even more proud.
Q: What is your opinion about the activities of ICT
magazine?
Katie Zaman: I am very excited about this project
because I have been involved in web design and the internet
for the past ten years. I think it’s a great tool for
communication, and it can give the women of Nari Jibon a way
to express themselves to the rest of the world. I enjoy
reading the articles and would like to see more photographs
posted.
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