Our correspondent from Moulvibazar started his report with ‘believe it or not’ and truly this story is shocking. An elected Union Parishad member who is apparently quite popular in the community does not have a place to live and therefore is forced to make her home under a bridge on Dhaka Sylhet highway. The entire family of five members lives in this makeshift home, exposed to the elements.

Fifty-year-old Rahima Begum of Aushkandi union of Nabiganj Upazila (in Habiganj) is so poor that she cannot afford housing for herself, her ailing husband and three children. But as a public representative she has tried her best to serve the people and has been rewarded with a clear win in last year’s UP elections.

But how did the UP administration award her, one is forced to ask. It is unthinkable that a UP member will not be provided such a basic necessity of life as proper accommodation. One cannot help but ask whether it is because she is a woman that she has been treated so shoddily. After all, it has been almost eight months since her being elected as UP member. How could the administration not notice that one of its members, that too one who is sincere, honest and hardworking, lives like a destitute? Nabiganj’s Nirbahi Officer has said that he was not aware of the matter and that he would look into it. If this is som it points to the gross apathy of the UP high ups regarding the plight of their women members. Can we imagine a male UP member living under a bridge with his family? By any stretch of the imagination, we can’t.

Financial hardship is not the only factor that comes in the way of women UP members. Women members are not taken seriously by their male counterparts, their roles and responsibilities are undefined. Being under the reserved seat system they do not have the same authority or resources of those members who are directly elected. Thus their influence in public offices is almost nonexistent.

Obviously a change in attitude towards women public representatives is acutely needed. There is no point in having token women Union Parishad members just to fill a quota. That is an insult to women’s intelligence and ability. If the state is serious about strengthening local government then one of the primary tasks is to empower its representatives, especially women members, by giving them specific job responsibilities, resources and the authority to take decisions that will be followed through. Rahima Begum has proven that she has the ability to make positive change in the community. But she must also be treated with the respect and dignity a public representative is entitled to. Giving her a roof over her head is the least her office can do to honour her post and contribution.