Earning respect as a lifeline for new mothers
As a member of the lower caste of society, Maloti in the past was often ignored and disrespected by her community and discouraged from attending local events in her small village, Belpukur, in the northern district of Dinajpur.
Then in 2006, when Plan Bangladesh gathered villagers to discuss the start of development activities in Belpukur, Maloti – a 25-year old mother of two – decided she wanted to get involved.Beat for leaving the house
Because Plan Bangladesh does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion or ethnicity, Maloti immediately felt comfortable working with Plan. She dug into the work, identifying problems in the village and finding solutions. When a village development committee was formed, Maloti became one of the group’s most eager and enthusiastic members.
However, with her new responsibilities, she had to go out a lot for meetings and training programs – and her husband disapproved, beating her for leaving home.
“Why do you go to the meetings? What good will it bring us if you go out and abandon your household work?” he demanded of her.
But Maloti stood her ground, attending the meetings when her husband was out. She eagerly learned about the health issues and basic rights of mothers and children, but her in-laws and her husband still disapproved.
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Convincing her family
So she began to think of ways to convince her family. One day, after learning about child health issues, she passed the lessons on to her mother-in-law to keep her own daughter healthy. Her mother-in-law then realized the importance of Maloti’s work, and set to convincing her husband and son to let Maloti attend all the meetings and learn more.
These days, Maloti is even allowed to leave the village to attend different programs, and has become a specialist in mother and child care. When the villagers in 2008 decided to appoint a traditional birth attendant, the village development committee members unanimously selected Maloti, who has gained a reputation as a conscientious mother and a very good counselor for
the pregnant women and new mothers.
Maloti’s dream now is to do more development work, so that she can help even more.
