For eleven years worked Shamsun Nahar worked in the garments industry. She earned about 4,000 takkas per month, 3,500 of which went directly to her husband. She saved 500 takkas every month to eventually invest in her own land. Surprisingly, her husband was completely supportive, but his family was sorely agitated.

This smart lady emphasises, “It is very important for a woman to be self-reliant; have economic power and the ability to make decisions. My husband was supportive because I earned. If you give money then all husbands will support their wives.” Shamsun Nahar is perhaps one of the few women who have managed to build and live in her own home – entirely due to her efforts.

Her motivation to work for the ‘We Can’ campaign stems from her heartfelt feelings and concern for her fellow sisters, “I don’t understand how the woman can be treated this way and I did not know myself that there was anything like women’s rights.”

That is no longer an obstacle for Shamsun now. She has been part of the ‘We Can’ campaign since the beginning. “The families I work with are not my relatives, we have no connections but I care for them. We are connected through our situation and I care for them in spite of everything. I cannot be quiet when there is injustice happening around me. The fact is they want peace too. I tell them that if they continue suffering the violence then the kids will be affected. They must realise that it is wrong to treat a woman as if she is not a human being and stand up for their rights.”

Shamsun Nahar is not scared of making enemies. But she is not too keen to provoke hostility. She approaches families with complete amicability and tact. One of the women Shamsun is helping is a victim of terrible torture in her home. Everyone knows about it but Shamsun took the first step to reach out to this woman. It is especially hard to work in this family because the husband is a police constable. Shamsun provides advice to this woman and supports her to change her life. This obviously has upset her husband who says that there is “some insane woman who is feeding my wife with stupid ideas.” He doesn’t know who she is. The anonymity cannot be helped. Domestic violence is a dangerous issue to deal with but Shamsun Nahar sure knows what she is doing.