Empowered to stand on their own

Originally published in The Daily Star. Click here to read the original Story

When her husband fell ill in 2013 and could no longer work, 36-year-old Moni Begum from Sherpur's Nakla upazila suddenly became the only earning member of her family. However, she refused to give up.

Leaving her six-year-old son in the village, Moni moved to Dhaka and found work as a helper in the quality department of a garment factory in Ashulia. For seven years, she supported her family alone.

By 2020, her own declining health forced her to return home, unsure of what to do next.

Back in the village, Moni felt lost but determined. Her turning point came when she enrolled in SWAPNO, a social protection and employment programme for rural women facing extreme poverty -- widowed, divorced, abandoned, or with husbands unable to earn

Run by the Local Government Division with technical assistance from UNDP since 2015, SWAPNO offers temporary public works jobs along with financial literacy, savings support, and livelihood training.

According to project data, over 10,000 women have been employed under the public works component, each earning around Tk 75,000 during their term. More than 6,000 women have also completed skills training in livestock rearing, small business management, fish culture, and crop production, with many now running their own income-generating activities.

For Moni, the programme was a chance to rebuild.

She completed a week-long life-skills course at the Swopno Puron Training Centre in Sherpur, where she learned commercial duck rearing. Using Tk 30,000 saved from her wages, she bought 100 egg-laying ducks; within two years, her flock grew to 500.

"After all expenses, I earn about Tk 1,500 a day -- sometimes more," she said. "People now respect the work I do."

Moni has even hired three women, including 26-year-old Lucky Akter, who had been abandoned by her husband. "This job means I can pay for my children's schooling. For the first time, I feel I can manage on my own," Lucky said.

Elsewhere, the project has opened doors to trades traditionally dominated by men.

In Laksham, Cumilla, 35-year-old Shilpi Rani Robidas wakes up before dawn for her apprenticeship at a local footwear manufacturer.

Married at 15 to a man twice her age, she was widowed by cancer and left to raise two children with almost no income. She repaired shoes door-to-door, earning about Tk 300 a day, while also dealing with family estrangement.

Under SWAPNO, she joined an apprenticeship placement and hopes to open a small shoe-making workshop. "If I can make and sell my own shoes, maybe I can finally bring some peace to my life," she said.

The project also links women to formal sector jobs.

In Cumilla, 33-year-old Shipra Rani Das -- divorced, a mother of a 10-year-old boy, and recently remarried -- has completed a two-month residential Sewing Machine Operation (SMO) training at AID Cumilla.

She is among 2,208 women enrolled in industrial skills training; 483 have completed SMO training, and 171 have secured jobs in garment factories.

Shipra, who survived physical violence and dowry demands in the previous marriage, said the training has given her the chance to earn a stable wage.

"Without this training, I would have had to join as a low-paid helper," she said. "Now, as a machine operator, I can earn more than twice that."

SWAPNO is currently active in 283 Union Parishads across 12 districts, including Sherpur, Cumilla, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, and Patuakhali.

The project also runs a micro-health insurance scheme. So far, 10,371 women have enrolled using smartcards, with 781 claims and 11 death claims processed, according to UNDP Communication Associate Nusrat Mahmud Ananna.

For many beneficiaries, the numbers matter less than the confidence the programme has restored.

As Shipra said, "I don't want to endure violence again or depend on anyone. I've learned that no one can guarantee my safety or income -- only I can."