The Dalits and cobblers are two of the most marginalized communities in Bangladesh. Both groups lack access to many basic government services—including proper education, healthcare, and gainful employment—and often live in muti-generational homes in the poorest slums. Often referred to in derogatory terms such as “untouchables,” these communities suffer from rampant stigma and discrimination, which has been exacerbated or ignored by government representatives. As part of its effort to support civil society and build stronger relationships between civil groups, communities, and policy makers, Counterpart’s Promoting Advocacy and Rights Activity—funded by USAID—prioritizes engagement with the most vulnerable of Bangladeshi society and demonstrates through its activities that inclusive advocacy is the best way to positively impact lives of the most vulnerable.
Working with Dalit youth and women to ensure basic rights
Today, Dalits are largely unrepresented at the national and sub-national levels of government, and only have limited access to basic rights. Dalit, an organization led by members of the Dalit community, has been working at the grassroots levels since 1998 to advocate for their community. As a Counterpart grantee over the past two years, the organization has benefitted from technical support, which has enabled them to further amplify their work at the national level as a unified coalition. This partnership represents the first time that Dalit have tried to raise their voice with Bangladesh’s Parliament and other national-level stakeholders. Counterpart provided Dalit with training in leadership and advocacy, helping them to establish advocacy groups made up of Dalit youth, Dalit women, and other marginalized people.
Dalit has convened community members to identify citizen priorities, draft strategies, and create opportunities for the community to engage with elected officials, policy makers, and political candidates. Realizing that voices are more powerful together, the Dalit community has formed a coalition of 15 civil society organizations to protect Dalit rights and the rights of other marginalized groups.
Citizen dialogue on Dalit Rights at Khulna, Bangladesh in 2024.
Access to education emerged as a key area of concern. Given the prevalence of discrimination in the education sector towards Dalit, most families either choose not to send their children to school or drop out of the system early—which has contributed to the 97% illiteracy rate among Dalit children. The older generation worry that enrolling their children in school will open them up to discrimination and aggression. This cycle further diminishes the social development potential of Dalit youth, reducing employment and housing opportunities in the future. In response to this challenge, Dalit youth champions are taking a dual approach—trying to change their communities’ thinking by promoting the value of education, while advocating with schools and teachers to ensure that Dalit children can enter school without fear. To date, Dalit has financially supported 7,000 children attend school, highlighting the importance that education will play in their ability to secure a more stable future.
In the lead up to the 2024 elections, Dalit advocacy to members of the former Awami League-led Parliament led to increased high-level support for the formation of a minority caucus and the drafting of an anti-discrimination law that would significantly strengthen the legal protections for their community. While recent political upheaval has meant that advocates will have to build relationships and reintroduce these measures with new political leadership, the success in achieving these commitments provided Dalit with the tools to do so effectively.
Building awareness about the needs of the cobbler community
Counterpart is also working with Gram Bikash Shahayak Sangstha (GBSS) to support and strengthen rights for the cobbler community. GBSS works with the Panchayat, a form of local governance made up of elected leaders who represent their community interests. Traditionally, the Panchayat have been insular, made up primarily of older men, without much collaboration with regional or national level stakeholders. Our project team supported GBSS to build inroads with the cobbler community, prioritizing needs identified by the community and supporting emerging leaders from within it. Several years into this partnership, a successful bridge has been built between the cobblers and GBSS leadership; now, the Panchayet organizes community meetings and invites GBSS to take part. Still, GBSS and Counterpart realized that not all members of the cobbler community were being heard.
Within the cobbler community, women have not traditionally been allowed to travel or attend community stakeholder meetings due to security concerns, cultural norms, and societal pressure that prohibited building social relationships between different groups within the cobbler community. With help from GBSS and vocal support from the male champions at the Panchayat level, things are changing. The younger generation shares their learnings from advocacy training and capacity strengthening sessions with their parents, who in turn are more familiar with GBSS’s work and willing to allow for their daughters’ participation in these efforts. Thanks to this, GBSS has been able to empower emerging young women leaders from within the community.
International Women’s Day 2024 observations by Dalit and the cobblers in Khulna in March 2024.
Like Dalit, the cobbler community developed a roadmap prioritizing their needs leading up to the 2024 elections, highlighting a desire for improved access to education, small business loans, improved rights for women and girls, and other government services. GBSS organized an event to raise public awareness about ongoing discrimination against the cobblers and a lack of access to education, healthcare, and other public goods and services. As a result, GBSS was able to negotiate an agreement with several schools to waive or lower school fees for cobbler children, expanding educational opportunities for the next generation. Looking towards the future, our partners have called on policymakers and government officials to support the passage of anti-discrimination laws to help to further expand and codify these changes.
