Moniruzzaman Monir says he was a very impatient person before he was sensitised to ‘We Can’. “The poster of the campaign was like Alladin’s lamp to me. It opened my eyes to a new world and ideas. I always used to fight with my wife and speak down to her. I also physically abused her often. My children used to cower in fright, especially when I would scream after a hard day at the fields. My daughter who studies in seventh class would be very scared. After learning about domestic violence from the campaign, I was ashamed of my behaviour.

Margina Begum is the elected vice chair person of the Women’s Union Committee in Gotapara. Her husband Atiar Sheikh is a farmer and fisherman. They have both been instrumental in changing the lives of many families in their community. They have known each other since their youth and used to live across the river from each other. But marriage was a different story for Margina Begum. “My in-laws made my life hell, since ours was a love marriage, they did not like me and as soon as we left the in-laws home I thought my life was better.”

Ambia Khatun was in the tenth grade (15 years of age) when she was married. Her husband, like several husbands, did not let his young wife continue her education. Her fight for her rights began then. She managed to complete her matriculation in 1973 and by 1982 she had three sons and a daughter. Meanwhile, her husband rarely shared the responsibilities that came with a family.

Leelarani Das lost her husband 14 years ago when her second son was just seven months old. Her husband worked in the Bangladesh army. Leelarani is convinced that he was killed by his colleagues but conspired to make it look like suicide. Besides suffering the loss of her husband she was refused financial support from the government. Unwanted and abused by her husband’s family, too, she was forced to return to her father’s home with her two sons.

Anita Rai is the executive director of Karapara Nari Kalyan Sangstha. The organisation works for rural development with a focus on education, child trafficking and women’s rights.

Her colleagues proudly call her the ‘natural Change Maker’. Forty-year-old Sufia Begum, of Jatrapur has been elected every year as member of the Union Parishad for the past five years. She is also the founder and director of Shawnivor Nari Sangathan which teaches rural women livelihood skills such as sewing, embroidery, crafts etc, besides providing the women with low interest credit. The organisation also leases out 12 hand pulled trolleys as an income earning measure and offers a safe haven for the women to express themselves and share their stories.

The potential impact of media on the public is apparent by the kind of calls that Babul Sardar receives. A journalist with Jano Kantha, one of the major and widely read newspapers in Bangladesh, and the general secretary of the Bagerhaat Human Rights Commission, Babul Sardar is a Change Maker to reckon with. Speaking of himself, he says, “I am still to be cured of my patriarchal inclinations myself. But because of my profession, I always come across cases where women were abused. I often receive calls for help when women are abused.

Thirteen year old Husna Hena shares the dream of a better tomorrow with her classmates from the student forum at Police Line School in Chittagong. She attended the first campaign meeting after her teacher mentioned it to the class.

Emran-ul-Haq is the president of Kathalganj Samaj Kalyan Parishad, a human rights’ based organisation established in 1985 in Chittagong. It has played a significant role in making the Sholukgahar area a ‘healthy city area’ and a model of development for the city of Chittagong.

“One of my friends who is a part of We Can took me to this meeting about domestic violence. I was concerned and wanted to do something about this issue…

I learned a lot from the comics workshops organised by the We Can campaign. This method helps us to reach people in different parts of Sri Lanka with different issues, in a way that they can understand. In most of the remote areas of Sri Lanka, people cannot read and write …this is why comics as a medium are so useful.

When Mohammed Mostaque Ahmad Ronju was asked to be a member of the Sobujpara Volunteer Committee to fight atrocities against women in that area he was just 23 and still a student living in the northern district of Gaibandha. But his dynamism and efforts to establish a forum to help unemployed youth of his area were well recognised. Called Amader Somit, this co-operative society extends young persons a small loan for self-employment projects. It has greatly aided to keep the youth away from anti-social activities.

Mohammad Naushir Alam, a 42-year-old social entrepreneur in Gaibandha, admits to having been impatient and arrogant at home in his previous avtar. “My attitude has changed dramatically ever since I have become associated with the campaign. I am no longer impatient with my wife. I do not demand everything at home as a right. Instead, I help myself to water and food if my wife is not at home; I have never ever done this before and all I did was scold her for not serving me on time or in a way that I wanted it to be.

Mirza Hasan the Chairman of the Ram Chandrapur Union Parishad says, “My skills to tackle the issue of domestic violence were rather limited before I became acquainted with the campaign. Now I feel confident about speaking to people on this issue even though my constituency is very conservative and people feel awkward to talk of subjects like this in public. My team members from nine wards help me in my efforts. They talk to people and help them resolve problems at home so that they do not have to depend on shaileeshs as much.

Thirty six-old Ruleka Begum of Govindpur village in Gaibandha feels that sexual violence that married women face is an everyday occurrence but remains an issue shrouded in silence and shame. “Women seldom talk about it and feel embarrassed to discuss it even among other women. They have come to accept being coerced into sex as something they need to tolerate and believe that being non-reciprocal is their fault. But I think this issue needs to be forced into the open so that women realise that they need not and should not carry this burden.

Seventeen-year-old Shahana of Jummapara village in Gaibandha, says,” My family was terribly opposed to the idea of my joining the campaign but they have overcome their reservations after I have convinced them of its relevance to me and to other girls like me. We girls still live under the shadow of fear and we need to move away to a less fearful world. After I became a Change Maker, neighbours often approach me for advice on sick children and when they need help to write letters. I use this opportunity to raise issues of domestic violence.

Thirty-three-old Lakshim works in a bakery in Jummapara village in Gaibanda. He is an active human rights’ volunteer, a member of the local club Jummapara Krida Sanstha, and enjoys being part of its theatre group. He says, “I see violence in my own home. My brother has no job and wastes his day on useless activities. It upsets my sister-in-law and there is constant friction at home. He beats her regularly. Earlier, I used to be a mute witness to his abuse. Now I intervene when he attempts to beat her.

She was the only woman among 300 men studying to be a lawyer but that did not deter her. She went for her bar examination wearing a burqua, much to the consternation of her examiners. They posed tough questions hoping to disqualify her but she answered them all with amazing confidence. It silenced all their disquiet. Today at 43, she is an advocate in the Gaibandha District Judge Court with 17 years of practice behind her.

Asha Firdausi Aktar, a fourteen-year-old girl who studies in class nine at the Rebeka Habib Girls High School at Tulsighat in Gaibandha, says, “I am not allowed to go anywhere other than come to school. I have to wear a burqha even to get to school. But there are no such restrictions on my brother’s movements. Ever since I have become part of the campaign, I have been allowed a little more liberty. My parents actually allowed me to go to Dhaka. After being sensitised about domestic violence, I tried to stop my own uncle from beating my aunt.

Abdul Manna Mondof, head master, Rebeka Habib Girls High School at Tulsighat in Gaibandha, says, “I am convinced that as an educator, I must sensitise my students to issues like gender equity and nurture gender-equal practices in my school. Our managing committee has agreed to take forward the ‘We Can’ campaign and I have also chosen to play an active part. With their help, I have initiated a campaign to end eve-teasing and have organised several debate competitions and cultural programmes revolving around the issue.

Sakina Begum, Chokmusha village, Dinajpur, says, “Before I joined Polli Sree, an ally of the campaign, and the ‘We Can’ campaign, I was confined to my home. My husband did not allow me to step out of the house. When I began working for the NGO, I began to gradually move out. But my husband, at first, did not like it. When my male colleagues came home he was very sharp with them and would lash out at them unfairly.

Ayub Ali of Chokmusha village, Dinajpur, says, “I must admit to the fact that I was abusive to my wife for many, many years. I have been so infuriated that I even asked her to leave home; I forced her back into her father’s home two times. I came to realise how harsh my behaviour was towards her only when she joined an NGO that works for the welfare of women. When my wife volunteered her services to the local NGO, I was very unhappy. I felt uneasy about her straying out of the house and attending rallies and visiting police stations.

Akbar (Sub Inspector), Shajed (Sub Inspector), Jamir Uddin Ahmad (Second Officer) of the Dinajpur Kotwali thanna or the Sadar thanna as it is more popularly known, say, “Women rarely come to us with complaints on domestic violence. They prefer to keep quiet. They fear public shame and the issue becoming public knowledge. Police are their last resort because of this. There is also an inherent fear of the police as the institution of the police has been associated with brutality and indifference for far too long.

Twenty eight year old Tauhin Nahar Seema, says, “I was married at the age of 15. I have a nine-year-old daughter. I am 28 now. My husband has been abusing me since the early years of our marriage. I did not talk of the abuse to anyone as I felt I would be disloyal to the family if I did. I felt it was my shame to bear. And, bear alone.

Dr. A R M Farooque worked as a medical officer in a reproductive health project of Nari Maitree, an NGO. He recently became a Change Maker in the “We Can’ campaign. Each Friday he provides free service to his clients in his village Kapasia in the Gazipur district. He has also actively begun to counsel his women patients on the health hazards they face due to discriminatory practices at home.

Born in April 1935, Pushpo Rani Guho is the eldest of the seven children of Niharkona and Nepal Chandra Som. In an era where women seldom went to school, she completed her primary education in the only school that her village Mehediganj has. Seeing her extraordinary interest in studies, her father took the initiative to boldly rent a house in the town so that she could continue to study. She got admitted to the Jagadish Sarashwati Girls’ School. The school offered her a wonderful opportunity to participate in cultural programmes.

Shorif Zakir Hossain Hira volunteers his time to help women in distress. He has quit his job with the government to become a full time social worker even though he has two sons to support. He is a member of the Madhya Balubari Welfare Society in Dinajpur and has been actively involved in campaigns to prevent family violence. He is also involved with various awareness-raising activities in the municipality as a member of the Community Resource Management Committee (CRMC) formed under the aegis of the UNICEF Slum Development Project.