The Our Lives, Our Health, Our Futures programme, funded by the European Union and Simavi, is designed to support and empower girls to transition into adult womanhood with dignity, and bodily and sexual autonomy, without violence, coercion, and discrimination.
In the course of this 5-year programme, girls of various ethnic groups of the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been raising their voices to advocate for their needs in their communities and beyond.
842 girls’ groups have identified a topic they perceive as a priority issue that needs to change, and which lies close to their heart.
According to the girls, the most urgent issues in their communities are, among others: the practice of child marriage; taboos surrounding menstrual health and a lack of proper menstrual health management; gender based and domestic violence; gender inequality and challenges to girls’ education; the lack of economic empowerment of girls; the quality and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health services; and environmental and climate related problems.
Girls chose a creative format to sensitize their families, friends, neighbors, community leaders, and government stakeholders. They prepared drama plays, painted posters, wallpapers and leaflets, made handicrafts, organized environment cleaning and planting days, art exhibitions from drawings, paintings and pictures, and created performances using dance, song and video art.
In this publication, we are highlighting the story of 10 girls from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, raising their voices for issues that matter to them.
We hope that their courage, motivation and strength will inspire you to also make a change for girls!
None of this could have been possible without the efforts of all the organizations in this programme.
Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) and our ten local partners: Ananya Kalyan Songothan (AKS), Gram Unnayon Sangathon (GRAUS), Hill Flower, Khagrapur Mahila Kalyan Samity (KMKS), Progressive, Tahzingdong, Taungya, Trinamul Unnayan Sangstha (TUS), Women’s Education for Advancement and Empowerment (WEAVE) and Zabarang Kalyan Samity. A special thank you to all the girls involved in the Our Lives, Our Health, Our Futures programme, and to their families and community leaders, who supported them throughout.
Thank you to Center for Communication Action Bangladesh for putting this booklet together.
