Saturday, January 3, 2015

There are some amazing females working to break the glass ceilings in conservation science in Asia

Women across the planet deal with a very different struggles compared to men. In developed countries like the United States, women’s rights have come a long way (although plenty of room still for improvement). But in many regions across the globe, chauvinism disguised as “culture” or “religious belief” still prevail, leaving women uneducated and poor, with no recourse for a better life and no chance to contribute to the world as a part of the workforce (in academia or elsewhere).

To fight this battle (against ones own society) takes considerable courage. It can mean losing ties with even ones own family and in some places could even put these women as risk for death. It is that serious and it is that wrong.


Farhana takes photos of the river dolphin on a survey in the Sundarbans (Photo: JLewis)
In this film we have had the opportunity to follow one of the many brave young women who have decided enough is enough.  And she is succeeding! Farhana, one of the main characters in our film, has a Masters degree. And she now works as the education coordinator for a major NGO in Bangladesh. Her work involves teaching the people of her country about how to conserve the dolphins of her country. She has done such an amazing job that she has been invited multiple times to conferences (local and abroad) to share her expertise and knowledge.


But her success has not come without a price, and does not come with ease. In the film we highlight her struggles from this perspective. In hopes that all the amazing young women in Nepal, India and Bangladesh and across the planet wherever chauvinism is a force against their education and rights as equal members of society, that these women can be inspired to also stand up for their rights so they can contribute too!

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