Moreom breaks social stigma through karate

Source: 2014 Plan Bangladesh

Growing up in the Mirpur Bawniabadh slum of Dhaka, Moreom lacked the confidence to stand up for herself. But now Moreom is a 17 year old activist, karate athlete and role model to her entire community. Through her engagement with Girl Power Project (an initiative of UNFPA partner, Plan International Bangladesh), she gained the skills, knowledge and courage to challenge harmful social norms and champion gender equality.

 Surviving on only 5,000 taka a month, Moreom's 8-member family struggled to make ends meet. Her neighbourhood was characterized by criminality, discrimination against, and victimization of girl children and young women in particular.

Poor living conditions and constant harassment compelled Moreom to run away from school, even though she had immense interest in her studies. This experience eventually inspired her to take action; Moreom decided to devote herself to fight social ills and foster justice and peace in her community.

By the time she joined the Child Group of Plan International Bangladesh in 2005, Moreom had already established many child and youth groups in her neighbourhood. She flourished as a part of this group, connecting with many NGOs and social organizations, participating in trainings and contributing to awareness raising programmes on social issues.

Moreom's dedication did not go unnoticed: she is currently the President of the Bawniabadh Girl Forum under the GPP. This forum is actively working to stop child marriage in Bawniabadh and established a successful reporting mechanism on child victimization.

Moreom at a peer education session of Mirpur Bawniabadh Girl Forum. Photo: 2014 Plan Bangladesh

Under Moreom's leadership, the Mirpur Bawniabadh Girl Forum took action to reduce drug dealing which was all too common among the children of her community. After mapping the most problematic areas, Moreom, with the assistance of the Child Protection Group, met with local elites and rallied the community behind the cause.

With the support of her friends, Moreom also established a library and started a shop where girls and women can buy health materials, like sanitary napkin and contraceptives, at a low cost.

Moreom works very hard to share her knowledge and experiences with Plan International Bangladesh and with others in her community. For example, after a livelihood training, she took it upon herself to pass along her new skills by teaching sewing to roughly 400-500 disadvantaged children.

Under the GPP, Moreom discovered her enthusiasm for karate and self-defence. After realizing the need for self-defence training among young girls in her neighbourhood, Moreom shared her skills with more than 100 girls (including her sisters) and committed to teach karate to the entirety of Mirpur Bawniabadh Girl Forum.

As President of the Forum, Moreom plans to apply the community-level child marriage prevention initiatives to the national level - going one step closer towards achieving her dream of a violence free country.