Even PM's Award fails to draw officials' attention

But their uplift efforts have fallen on the deaf ears of the authorities.

They are a group of 72 women at a remote village, producing textiles using Bangladeshi yarn. Their products are exported to China and Korea, bedsides having a good domestic market.

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"We started with empty hands in 1990 with only two handlooms. Now we have 15 including two Japanese powerlooms. We are honest and hard working and can bring about radical changes in the area with a little support", Binodini Rema, executive director of Birisiri Multipurpose Women's Cooperative Society told this correspondent during a recent visit. Birisiri is a Garo village along the border, about 50 kilometres from Netrakona town.

The 15 looms are housed in several small factories.

"We can expand our factories right now, employing more people and helping them change their life. But this needs finance, she said.

It was a different scene. Besides the 72 Garo women who are members of the Society, at least 100 people are involved, doing various jobs. All were busy.

Binodini said their textiles and garments are in good demand in cities like Dhaka and Chittagong. They make wholesale supplies to traders there.

But the traders are making high profit at the cost of their hard labour.

"We should have out own display centers in the cities, but that needs money.

"We moved to banks but could not draw their attention", she lamented.

Some very positive things about Garo women came to light during the visit.

The Garo women are quite different from women of other races and religions.

Sources at Birishiri Tribal Cultural Academy at Durgapur said, about 65 per cent of Garo women are educated against 20 per cent among men. About 40 per cent of the women are in service against only about five per cent among men.

Garo women work with NGOs, foreign embassies, missions and airlines. A good number is in nursing profession also.

They are very hardworking. Women also work in fields with males in their spare time, producing food.

Suchoreta Mankin of Modhupur who works at a CARITAS (a foreign NGO) silk factory at Modhupur said, "Our success lies with out hard work, honesty and sincerity".

Garo women were drawn to nursing decades ago.

Monoroma Sangma of Ranikong village in Durgapur upazila working at a private clinic said, "I feel happy if my nursing gives comfort to a patient. It is my duty".

"They (Garo women) are always smiling and energetic. This is their distinctive feature", said Rakhi Mrong, Community Development Officer of CARITAS at Fulbaria in Mymensingh.

This makes them different from women of Musluim and Hindu communities in their neighbourhoods.

About one fifth of the world's half a million Garos live in Bangladesh's bordering hilly areas. These are Haluaghot and Dhubaura in Mymensingh; Modhupur and Ghatail in Tangail; Kalmakanda and Durgapur in Netrakona; Nalithabari and Jinaigathi in Sherpur; and Darmapasha, Tahirpur and Bishambazpur in Sunamgonj districts. The rest are in northesatern India.

Though the Garo society is matriarchal, their women were confined to houses and croplands two decades ago. The present high rate of literacy and employment among women are due to efforts by foreign and local NGOs.