A Scout group in Bangladesh highlights gender equality and women empowerment

Humayra Ibnat is a female Scout from Bangladesh Scouts who pioneered the first all-girls Scout group in their school comprising of eight members. Her group aims to boost the confidence of all the women they could reach out and to educate them about their basic human rights. 

The women in Bangladesh often face various disadvantages that hinder self-development. Most of the women are forced to get married because their parents thought that education is not for women. This perspective made Humayra decide to create an all-girls Scout group that will highlight the capacity of women and provide new opportunities for growth.

Humayra believed that Scouting serves as the perfect platform to increase women’s self-esteem and to promote gender equality. To achieve her goal, she conducted several Scout meetings to convince the girls in her school and their parents to join her all-girls Scout group.

The all-girls Scout group started with eight members only. Since then, it has grown to have over 2,000 female Scouts – Scouts, Rovers and Scout Leaders. These Scouts have begun establishing Scout groups in their communities and are encouraging more young people to join Scouting. 

She currently leads a team of ten Scout volunteers called “Team WINGS.” They are working on a project called “Fight the Power” which aims to further educate women on their rights and to raise awareness about the inequalities that women face in Bangladesh. 

Humayra’s team is conducting various events in their schools and would often conduct interviews with several girls to discover the root cause of their problems. They also hold lectures, as well as face-to-face conversations with the women’s parents to further explain the inequalities that women face in their country.

The project has been very vital in combatting gender inequality and empowering women in Bangladesh.

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With report from Humayra Ibnat, Bangladesh Scouts