Women's empowerment falters

Poor women engaged in sewing under a training programme run by the District Women Affairs Department, Netrakona. PHOTO: STAR

Seven training centres run by the department in six upazilas of the district are training women between 18 and 35 in handicrafts, sewing, dressmaking, poultry raising, family planning, basic healthcare and sanitation. Soft loans are given after the six months' training so that they can be self-reliant, Shagata Sharma of the department told this correspondent during a recent visit to a centre. The upazilas are Mohongonj, Barhatta Kendua, Atpara, Durgapur and Purbadhala.

The women are grouped in 39 associations and a total of 260 women are trained in each batch.

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Each trainee gets 30 kilograms of rice and Tk 90 as allowance per month during the training period. Each of them has to open a savings account with a bank and deposit Tk 25 every month.

Starting in 1997, the department has so far disbursed Tk 15.55 lakh loans women after training. An amount of Tk 3.5 lakh will be disbursed this month, but the department does not have the entire money in hand now, Sharma said.

She said the credit program is playing an important role in empowering the poor women.