“You can not do that, you can not go there, you are not capable enough." Those sentences make everything hard for the Youths, and that's how they become excluded.
I am Masirul Evan, Coach at the Green Village Bangladesh. Once, it was disheartening for me to hear about one Youth from batch 25 who faced exclusion and discrimination within her own family. Despite having the same rights to education and opportunities as her brothers, she was denied these due to traditional gender roles and biases. Her family believed that her future was predetermined to be a housewife, leading them to restrict her education and social interactions, and causing her significant distress. She was very scared to leave her home and her lack of confidence always caused trouble to socialize.
This story underscores the challenges many young women face in societies where gender biases and stereotypes persist. It is a stark reminder of the importance of advocating for equal opportunities and rights for all, regardless of gender.
It is not common in Bangladesh to see young people, and especially young women, take a brave step towards their future and go out from home to pursue a career. They are mostly meant to be a core member of their household according to the society. But LP4Y gives them the opportunity to step out of the box and explore the world according to their life project plan and their dreams.
The training helps them to learn and get empowered, making them ready for the battles they will have to fight. LP4Y gives them the courage to fight back and find a place where they will not feel any kind of exclusion. The young women learn all the skill that they will need to go out in the world and showcase that they can do everything like others. Confidence, ambition, dreams, survival instinct makes them stronger. With these skills, they have the potential to overcome any kind of new challenge. They all have bright futures waiting for them, if willing to break the circle and grab the opportunities that will come their way. They are the hope of our future.
During and after the Youths finish LP4Y program, I have noticed that their growth and mindset are so strong that even their family recognizes their capabilities, and society appreciates their learnings and skills. Some Youths even started giving training to their own family and neighbours. After a few months living and working at the Green Village, I have seen how they are now appreciated by the people who once used to say that girls do not need education.
They are true inspiration for other women to achieve their dreams. When they go out to arrange community events, people are amazed by their presentations and the knowledge they gain from the training. The expertise they develop in public-speaking, managing people, talking professionally, their ability to conduct researches about the training topic, their confidence and the ambition they develop are as many reasons to convince more women to join the training. Community people usually end up being interested by the training and see these strong independent women as examples.
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