Science does not discriminate | Dhaka Tribune

A group of street children gathered in a residential center on the sidewalk, waiting to present a sketch for visitors at the center in which they spend their days.

Today, they were the star of the show and their excitement animated the whole room. While I was standing there, admiring a floral decorative element in the room, a doe-eyed girl pointed it out and laughed. "I did that," she says.

I looked at her – she was a skinny little girl, biting on the fabric of her sleeve and chuckling. When I asked her how she had managed this, she told me how she had gathered some newspaper, got some glue in the center, and had rolled it to look like it was. 39, a stem and flowers.

I remembered doing the same thing for a project so I could build a bridge model, and when I showed her some pictures, she asked me, "Apu, because I know how to do that, I think Can I ever build bridges to help people cross rivers?

At that time, I wanted to tell her that she could do whatever she wanted. She could look like Adity Chowdhury, civil engineer, who helps build bridges and buildings for people affected by the floods.

It could look like Syeda Sultana Razia, a chemical engineer who teaches young engineers how to create treatment systems that add safe levels to processing plants and attend policy briefings to create guidelines for safer industrial practices .

She could look like Rushan Afroze, a doctor who spends his day working in the villages of Chandpur, trying to find ways to provide free comprehensive health care for the extremely poor.

She could be like Alifa Bintha Haque, a conservation biologist who has dedicated her career to preserving sharks and other marine life in the Bay of Bengal. She could be like Fatema Tuz Johra, who works in carbonizeareas to build solar panels on boats.

I wanted to tell her all that, and most importantly, I wanted to tell her that she might build a bridge by herself. But like many kids living on the street, this little girl might not have the training needed to pursue a career in science and become an engineer or architect, a person capable of designing such a bridge.

And to my dismay, even if she had been properly educated, she might not have had the opportunity to pursue a career in science. The workstations told him that "only men are allowed to apply for this position".

Or that this work is "too technical for a woman" because she could not stand long hours like a man. Because a factory or field environment is too harsh for a woman. Because she could not balance her professional and family life well.

Despite these obstacles, what has changed over the past decade is that girls have women they can watch. They have stories of extraordinary women who work day and night and create a positive impact on society.

This progress is achieved through the many interventions aimed at empowering women and organizations that create supportive environments for women.

I spent years working as a researcher, where I found myself as the only woman in the office. But when I joined the SAJIDA Foundation, I had the opportunity to work with many women in different technical fields.

Organizations such as SAJIDA Foundation not only give women in technical fields the opportunity to put their expertise to good use, but they also promote the empowerment of women by providing facilities such as daycare, flexible work schedules and opportunity to work from home.

February 11 is the International Day of Women and Girls in the World of Science. On this day, thank all women working in STEM fields for their contributions to current technological developments.

It may be time for companies, industries and organizations in Bangladesh to recognize women in technical fields for all the hard work they have done and continue to do in creating a women-friendly work culture. .

How else are we going to encourage young girls to improve the future through the technological advances we need to achieve sustainable development? It is only when we give young girls something hoped that we can inspire them to scientific curiosity and help them build a better future.

Raida AK Reza works at the SAJIDA Foundation.