Narsingdi rural women playing vital role in alleviating poverty

Women in the rural areas of Narsingdi district have been playing an important role in alleviating poverty and attaining self-reliance to change the rural economy through income-generating activities during the last couple of years.

As a result of relentless efforts in combating poverty, the socio-economic condition of the rural women who lived in utter misery even a few years back has changed significantly along with their empowerment in the families and society as a whole.

According to available statistics in the government and NGO offices, the number of child labourers and floating street children has been reduced to the minimum due to the silent revolution taking place in the rural economy in recent years.

Hundreds of rural women have already achieved self-reliance with their initiatives and also getting assistance from different organisations, which are extending support, training and inputs side by side with creating marketing facilities for their products.

Most of them have achieved success through sewing handloom garments, animal husbandry, rearing cows, goats and poultry birds, homestead gardening, farming fruits, spices, fish and agri-activities.

Many of them have also achieved self-reliance through farming an early variety of vegetables and setting up the cottage and smaller industries, participatory social afforestation, and microcredit activities.

District Relief and rehabilitation officer Narsingdi said the rural women have also achieved huge benefits from the government's social safety net and poverty alleviation programmes and job opportunities during the lean periods.

After achieving economic self-reliance many distressed women are now hoping to contribute their maximum in building a poverty and hunger-free Bangladesh by making Vision 2022 successful, she added.

Local Nazma Begum said it become possible only after attaining economic self-reliance through their hard endeavour.