On 10 December, the Zonta Club of Dhaka IV, Bangladesh, arranged an advocacy program with students, teachers, club members, lawyers and other community leaders at Ajompur Government Primary School, Uttara, to share innovative ideas to fight against gender-based violence in this pandemic.

During the program Antara, an underprivileged girl from the project, shared her success story of how she gained knowledge and raised her voice against any kind of women violence through the Zonta Club of Dhaka IV’s sewing training program. In 2018, when Antara was in her primary education at Azompur Government Primary School, she learned about the Zonta club’s sewing training program. Her family was in distress since her father was paralyzed and her mother was a nurse in Bangladesh Medical. As the eldest daughter of the family, she wanted to learn how to work and gain skills to earn for the family. That same year, she joined the club’s sewing training to gain expertise in sewing so she could start earning for her family.

During her training, Antara’s family wanted her to get married when she was 14 years old. However, she wanted to learn and continue her education. She shared this with the training’s sewing instructor, who then told her family about the Zonta Club of Dhaka IV’s program, convincing them that if she continues the training, she would get a certificate and a sewing machine, which she could use to earn a living.

This stopped the early marriage of the girl and, through the training program from the Zonta Club of Dhaka IV, she became confident and had eventually found a way to earn with the help of her new skill. Now, she is an example for girls around her to continue education and learn to work and not get married at an early age. Furthermore, she got a certificate of course completion and a sewing machine, which she uses to make orders.