Recently I was reading an article by Abida Ali, a Sales Manager in a Bangladeshi Bank. The article was published in the Daily Prothom Alo’s special issue on Women’s Day.  It was based on the theme of self-confidence in women. Writer stated that she at her workplace does not expect to be treated differently for being a woman; neither does she expect any undue favors for being a woman.

Practically speaking, we all at our workplaces face the same challenge as men.  At home, challenges are even greater!  But seemingly there is a misconception in many Bangladeshi women that they cannot succeed to the same extent as men can. This is caused by lack of self-confidence.  In general, women in Bangladesh are raised either in a protective environment, or in an environment that lacks respect for women.  These weaken women’s confidence. In order to overcome these, women need to be stronger, educated and self-confident.

If women are trained equally, there is no reason why they can not take the same responsibilities, or perform the same tasks as men can.  We need to be able to deal with challenges when they appear, instead of being helpless and waiting for others to rescue us.  It would help male members in the family too, since there would be more sharing of responsibilities.

I would like to reiterate Abida Ali’s theme of the article; we need to think ourselves as human beings, not weak women. We need to believe in ourselves!