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Fatima's struggle

Patuakhali woman builds successful business after husband leaves her
SOHRAB HOSSAIN with ANDREW EAGLE
After Fatima Begum from Jalisha village in Patuakhali's Dumki upazila married her then-unemployed and landless husband Abdus Salam in 1998, he demanded Tk 4.2 lakh in dowry. He used the money to secure a job in Nigeria. There, he allegedly married another woman and eventually stopped communicating with Fatima. For her, by then also a mother-of-two, it was a devastating blow.
"To manage the dowry money I had to borrow from relatives and take a loan from a non-government organisation,” Fatima recalls. "1 was in debt. I had children to think of. I lived at my father's house since my husband had no land, but I couldn't expect any help from my family since my father had passed away and my four brothers live hand-to-mouth. When my husband left me, my whole future seemed lost."
But Fatima, who was unable to study beyond Class VII due to her family's poverty, is nothing if not resourceful. With a new loan of Tk 40,000 from Grameen Bank she started a cloth business, bringing fabrics from Dhaka to sell in her village, door-to-door.
With business profits and after completing training, including in batik design, she eventually opened her own tailoring shop and stationery store. Nowadays she has two sewing machines and over Tk 1 lakh of fabric in stock. Her business is doing well.
"I'm much happier now," she says. "Through hard work I became self-reliant. I always dreamt that my daughter and son would complete higher education. For that and for our daily survival I was determined to have a career."
It now seems that her dreams for her children are achievable. Her daughter Rabeya Ashrafi Sumaiya currently studies in Class XI while her son Siam Hossen Sabbir appeared for his Secondary School Certificate this year. "I hope my daughter can be a lawyer," says Fatima, "and my son an engineer."
On the business front, she plans to expand her business by purchasing an industrial sewing machine at significantcost.
Having re-built her own life, Fatima's thoughts have turned to others. "I would like to do something for struggling women in our society," she says. "I already train several marginalised women who are just as helpless as I once was."
Fatima's successful life struggle was honoured this year when she received a Joyeeta award from the women and children's affairs department. "Fatima has overcome all obstacles to become self-reliant through persistent hard work," says Dilara Begum, a distria-level officer with the department. "She is a shining example for others facing hardship. Her name has now been submitted for the national-level Joyeeta awards. We hope she will win."