Zohra Khatun is a 45 year old woman living in a small village in Satkhira. She is the only earning person in her family of four with two daughters and one son. For years she earned her livelihood by begging for alms from her neighbours. With little to no education, she could never find any long term employment, and continued living from day to day.

Shiuli Mondol is a homemaker from Joynogor, a small village in Tetulia Union under Bagerhat district. Shiuli is the primary caregiver for her family of five people. A shy but energetic woman in her mid-twenties, Shiuli’s eyes lit up with joy when she started talking about her children. Her daughter is six, attending first grade in the local primary school, and her son is only 17 months old. She spends her day in cooking, cleaning, and taking care of her elderly mother-in-law and young son.

Moyna Begum is the owner of Pranto Sanitary, a small sanitary shop located in a village in Bagerhat. She is very well known in her community as a successful female entrepreneur. Her journey began in 2012 as a service provider of Bondhu Chula (Improved Cookstove). She is still involved with Bondhu Chula and her long standing experience has given her more confidence to manage her business. She has two sons who support and inspire her to move ahead with her business.

Bithi Karmaker is a young home maker from Satkhira. Her family consists of her husband, his mother, and Bithi’s 4 year old son. Bithi and her mother-in-law share the duties of daily household chores.

Rawshan Ara Mili grew up in the southern coastal belt of Bangladesh, and always had a dream to contribute towards the development of her community. After working in many national and international organisations for 22 years, she decided to pursue those dreams. In 2006 Mili started an organisation named ‘Source of Hope and Ambition’, with an aim to improve the quality of life for the climate affected communities of Khulna Division. In 2013, she was awarded a project on integrated water management and biogas generation in the coastal area by Rural Development Authority (RDA). The water treatment plant they established has served over 10000 people.

Shukri Begum is the matriarch of a household of eight. The fifty year old grandmother lives with her husband, son, daughter in law and three grandchildren. They live in the outskirts of Gazipur, in the middle of Tongi Industrial Area. The family has lived in a small two-room shack in Tongi for years.

Parvin Khatun has worked in Satkhira’s Subodh Rice Husking Mill for almost six years. Like her female co-workers, she works mostly in the Chatal (paddy drying yard). An ordinary working day can include drying paddy by spreading it in the yard, frequently rolling or moving it, gathering it after drying, paddy threshing or steaming. One shift is usually 8 hours long, however during peak season it can stretch to twelve hours.