Sakina S. Ahmed, the managing trustee of NGO Kalinga Bazaar Educational Trust. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, April 20: Nusrat (26) could hardly utter a word in front of strangers. A follower of the purdah system, neither was she allowed to step out of her house nor converse with her neighbours.

Two years have passed and Nusrat is no longer a timid woman. A resident of Kanta Toli Chowk, Nusrat has become a role model for the rest of the Muslim women. She now deals confidently with customers along with her husband at their small shop.

“My four children are attending school. Now I hold public meetings by roping in women of the locality. Women like us should come forward and fight for their rights. Only then can we make our place in this male-dominated society. My image has completely changed and people no longer frown on me. I have become the group leader of 10 women,” she said.

Poor Muslim women in slum areas have shed their inhibitions and become vocal. Nusrat, along with 2,000 urban slum women, are visiting different localities to encourage other women who have never ventured out of their homes to speak publicly and share their experience.

These women reside in areas like Hindpiri, Doranda, Manitola, Kohratoli, Karbala chowk, Maulana Azad Colony, Azad Bustee, Millet colony, Islam Nagar, Karbala Chowk, Harmu Bustee and Vidyanagar.

Sakina S. Ahmed, the managing trustee of Kalinga Bazaar Educational Trust, an NGO, who has been organising public speaking functions since the past five years, said that she is providing a platform to women like Nusrat.

“These women would come forward and speak. They would be selected as the best group, given awards for their best work and for being the best leader. Besides, there would be also small stalls exhibited by the women who have entered into a business,” Ahmed added.

“These women are staying in the system which is mainly dominated by the men. We created an environment and slowly and steadily made a role model which took two years to be successful. We asked them to take part in public meetings for which we had to convince the male members first who, after some hesitation, paid heed,” she said.

“Initially only a handful took part in this conference but slowly the numbers increased. Now there are 110 self help groups (SHGs) that take part in public speaking. This shows that even women from the lower strata of the society want to be independent,” said co-ordinator of the programme Vikas Choudhary.