Bharoti Rani Sen, a struggling woman, has become an icon of women empowerment through changing fortune of local women and villagers overcoming many hurdles in her life.
Born in a poor Sanaton family in remote Gangadas Baraipara village of Haridebpur union under Rangpur Sadar upazila in 1977, she suffered a lot since her childhood due to extreme poverty.
Overcoming innumerable hurdles, she has contributed a lot to changing fortune of local women and villagers by relieving them from extreme poverty and eliminating social curses.
Bharoti is the fifth among her three brothers and three sisters in their poor family of nine members.
At the age of six, she lost her right eyesight in an arrow hit while playing on homestead adding further darkness to her life.
“My parents were extremely worried about my future,” Bharoti told The News Times while narrating the tough journey on her uneven pathway.
“I led my life downheartedly as class friends avoided me in school since I lost my right eyesight,” she said.
Before her secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations in 1993, her poor parents married her off with neighbour Shushil Chandra Sen, an illiterate poor day-labour, leading her studies came to an end.
Bharoti gave birth to her daughter Sanchita Rani Sen in 1995, and later, two sons Sagar Chandra Sen and Pradip Chandra Sen.
“It was extremely difficult to manage foods for our five family members. My husband frequently fell sick and could not work regularly,” she said.
Under such circumstances, one of Bharoti’s elder brothers took responsibility of her daughter Sanchita, brought her up and arranged her marriage after she passed the SSC examinations.
Her elder son Sagar had to stop studies while in class seven and took job in a hotel at Taka 500 per month salary.
“I got broken mentally as I wished my children would complete studies to become established in the society,” she said.
In 2005, Bharoti got job in an earth work project of Local Government and Engineering Department as supervisor.
“I worked in the project for two years at Taka 1,800 salary per month,” she said, adding that her sufferings again mounted after completion of the project.
In 2007, she got another job of nursing planted saplings of mango, palm, jackfruit, olive, plum and date beside of a local one-kilometer road under a project of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority.
“I earned Taka 700 per month by taking care of planted saplings for two years,” she said, adding that the trees are now giving fruits to villagers.
After completion of the project, she continued to search works to earn livelihoods without giving up her struggles for survival.
In 2009, officials of SKS Foundation, an NGO, went to the village to select extremely poor areas as a partner organization for implementation of the Social and Economic Transformation of the Ultra Poor (SETU) project of Care Bangladesh.
Bharoti desired to become involved with the project understanding that the project could improve livelihoods of the poor in her locality.
Observing her solid eagerness, the SKS officials selected Bharoti for the project.
Bharoti received training on community leadership, savings group management, raising social awareness and few other sectors.
The NGO formed Haridebpur union Natural Leaders’ Organization (NLO) with 140 natural leaders from different ‘Paras’ of the union.
Bharoti was elected General Secretary of Haridebpur NLO, which increased her movement to different institutions, including union parishad, to follow up people’s demand.
She thought to bring a transformational change in the lives of her villagers through their empowerment as they were trapped in vicious cycle of generational poverty and social curses.
The community-led total development approaches of the project facilitated environment for the change through mobilizing and utilizing human resources, social, economic and political capitals.
Talking to BSS, the villagers narrated as how they began the journey with community action plan based on participatory analysis of extreme poverty under Bharoti’s leadership in 2009.
“We identified our problems first and collectively took decision to address those,” said housewife Mongli Rani Sen.
The villagers did not only use the project’s grants, but also mobilized and utilized local resources, potentials and took collective actions.
Under Bharoti’s leadership, the villagers built own organizations and identified open defecation practice as a major reason for their various water-borne diseases round the year.
They brought all 62 extremely poor households in the village under cent percent sanitation coverage at their own initiatives within only three months.
The villagers also renovated their ‘Hari Mandir’ and started celebrating Durga Puja festivity for the first time.
To cope with the seasonal lean periods in Aswin-Kartik months, they formed ‘Baraipara Women Savings Group (BWSG)’ with 37 female members and Bharoti as its General Secretary.
Like other project beneficiaries, Jamuna Rani Sen said she took Taka 8,000 as interest free loan from BWSG and invested in betel leaf business of her husband Anno Chandra Sen at nearby Panbazar in 2011.
“We are earning well to lead a better life now. Our sons Arjun and Gautam working in poultry farms and youngest son Ajay is studying in class six,” Jamuna added.
Shyamol Chandra Sen said he got a rickshaw van from the project in 2011 and is earning well by carrying goods and passengers to lead a better life now.
“I have a house and two cows. I also cultivate three crops on 25 decimals of land taken on lease. My two children Dipto and Anamika are studying in classes seven and one respectively,” Shyamol said.
The project provided grants ranging from Taka 7,500 to 14,000 to every selected household depending on their skills for income generating activities (IGAs).
Under the leadership and guidance of Bharoti, all villagers are earning well to live happily and their children are going to schools.
Bharoti also launched her free coaching for school children. Many of her students are now studying in different educational institutions.
The village has become neat and clean, free from extreme poverty, water-borne diseases, child marriage, malnutrition, illiteracy and able couples, pregnant women and adolescents got knowledge about health and hygiene.
Bharoti’s leadership made a transformational change in Gangadas Baraipara village where women are playing crucial role in families and community affairs following their empowerment.
As per request of locals, Bharoti competed for the female member post from the reserved 1, 2 and 3 wards in the Haridebpur union parishad elections in 2015.
She was elected for the post spending nothing.
After becoming a union parishad member, she brought various allowances, VGD, VGF and all other government facilities to doorsteps of villagers. None is poor now in the village.
And thus, Bharoti won the hearts of villagers through serving them by becoming a public representative setting up glaring example of women empowerment winning every barrier in life.
