“My motivation is to better people’s lives. Young mothers have so much potential if they are equipped with the right information. Proper family planning services can offer women the freedom to map their futures as they choose.” –Maari
Maari is 24 years old and provides family planning and counselling services to women in rural Bangladesh, including the hard to reach area of Sunamganj district in North-East Bangladesh.
She received training from Marie Stopes Bangladesh, which is supported by RESPOND through the Australian Government.
“The training and skill building I received helped me be self-empowered,” says Maari.
“Now that I can provide family planning and counselling services to other women, I can empower other women in their decision making,” she said.
Her journey was not without obstacles, with her family against her taking on this role for religious reasons, and put enormous pressure on her.
Despite this pressure, Maari sees her work as crucial to ensuring women can make choices about how they contribute to society.
Through the RESPOND project team, Mariam has received moral and legal support for her work, which helps motivate her.