Research papers are not really my forte which might also explain my previous article. Hence, writing a topic such as women empowerment is somewhat intimidating for a storyteller like myself. Nonetheless, after seeing the feedback from my previous piece, it somehow consoles me that people could relate to it. What excited me more was the fact that it reached out to different people regardless of gender; and that explains today's write up, which is basically the experiences of a dear friend's wife.
Yes, men do talk and care about women empowerment as well.
“I believe every human carry both feminine and masculine energy, to varying proportions. All of these mixes are unique and natural to each individual, and there’s no right way to be. I have grown up with a very different idea of empowerment. My grandmother was my role model. She used to work for the World Bank and was always a very strong figure around. From that time onwards, I was interested in the idea of building a world where women, and men, can be true to who they are, their authentic nature. No matter what women have been, they still are stereotyped, even in Western areas, especially if they try to fit into male- dominating spaces. This is not because women are less capable in those domains; they are just made to believe so, and in many cases, are denied the chance to prove their worth.”
Kazi Maisha Maksud lives in Australia and pursuing her career in one of the big banks there. Currently, she is working as an Advisor in National Australia Bank Limited, while her husband resides in Bangladesh.
But before we move further with her, let me rewind to my second paragraph about a man supporting women.
S M Rawnak Islam, First Officer, ATR 72 500 NOVO AIR shared his view on empowerment mentioning how he grew up noticing that some of the most brilliant minds were actually his female classmates.
“I always respected having these brilliant female friends around me while growing up. Some of them were very smart and I never hesitated considering them superior. I have also had female classmates who were very athletic. Mastered in sports, ran and played sports as good as the boys so, basically I never differentiated between a girl and a boy while growing up.”
Rawnak and Maisha studied together in the same school and have been together for a long term now. Having asked Rawnak about his experience in aviation and observing the presence of women in those areas he stated that while studying in Australia, he came across some of the most praiseworthy female batchmates who, despite all the barriers came forward to pursue their dream as a pilot.
Coming back to the advisor in one of the big banks.
When I asked Maisha what made her choose a career as such her reply was, “I was always fascinated to work in an area where it will be both challenging and exciting. Financial Crime by its nature is a deliberate attempt to evade and avoid controls that are in place to obtain something you are not entitled to. This means that offenders are always looking for ways to beat the system and will change behaviour in response to our reactions. This makes fraud prevention a very dynamic and challenging activity.”
Given we are still struggling in a society where a woman going out of occupations considered to “non-feminine” is believed to be ambitious, Maisha’s family has supported her in almost every step she had to take to pursue her career. Not just that, but they have stood up for her when people had questioned if it was a good idea to send a daughter abroad, all by herself while her husband resides in Bangladesh. Following a norm as such where only a woman is expected to move around for her husband’s job and postings, Maisha and Rawnak give us an example of a support system that has truly encouraged the definition of respecting a woman’s choice.
“My husband and in-laws have also supported me throughout. I owe it all to my husband as he has been very understanding. He has been patient, especially since I’ve had days where we couldn’t talk because of the time differences and because of our jobs. It’s all about understanding and the support from both sides. For instance, I have applied for my permanent residency and need to stay back in Australia till my temporary residency visa expires. I was supposed to have my wedding ceremonies this year, but my in-laws understood my situation and postponed my event dates to next year, just so that I can fulfill all my tasks for residency. If that’s not being supportive then I don’t know what is!”
While this embarks a story of a true inspiration and respect that a woman deserves, it also allows us to broaden the way we have been judging the society for lacking supportive men in the march of women empowerment. Again, what exactly are we expecting the definition of this empowerment to be and from where do we expect the roots of it to be formed, is a question we are yet to figure out.
With my failure to portray a proper research paper and the constant struggle to make you all read my storytelling style of writing, I think I will end today’s story here. However, before I leave, I want us all to think how we are preparing our daughters and sons to respect themselves and the people they will grow old to. If we actually talk about empowerment for one gender, what role does the other have to play? It’s not every day that we talk about a story as supportive as the one above; but is it a story that we would like to see and hear more often?

Sanjida Tanny is the Founder of Contentier (more known as The Raconteuse/Storyteller) and a passionate Art Curator