Who cares about women's leadership in emergencies? Rabeya does.

Barguna District suffered severe destruction from Cyclone Sidr in 2007 and has faced repeated storms, most recently Cyclone Yaas in 2021 and Cyclone Remal in 2024.

The project operates in three Borguna subdistrict: Taltoli, Patharghata, and Barguna Sadar, some of which take up to two and a half hours to reach. “If a program starts at 10 a.m., I must leave home by 7 a.m.,” Munni says. “The public ferries are slow in Taltoli and Patharghata, so I travel by trawlers [local engine boats].”

Once off the boat, the shorter route to Taltoli is in terrible condition, so Munni travels the final stretch on a motorcycle taxi. Under JAGO NARI policy, a female staff member can hire a motorcycle taxi just for herself, traveling alone rather than with a companion.

Building a group of 20 to 22 members from scratch was not easy. “People in the region often assume that forming any group means receiving something or aid,” Munni says. Explaining that this project works differently — teaching women to set their own priorities rather than depend on handouts — has required patience, village by village.

Two years into the project, 20 groups are active, supported by seven field facilitators. These are not discussion circles: each group builds its own capacity to organize local projects and tackles pressing community issues. Every group receives a grant of 350,000 taka (around $2,850) to design and carry out its own initiatives, with guidance from CARE and JAGO NARI.

Munni supervises all 20 groups. Field facilitators send reports and other updates to her first, and she visits groups in person to observe sessions, or leads them herself when needed.

Where women’s leadership begins at home

Alongside these community groups, Munni works directly with families, where women rarely hold decision-making power. She runs group dialogues, workshops for couples, and role-shifting exercises that bring husbands into the conversation.

In one exercise called the “24-hour clock,” men and women map their daily routines hour by hour, side by side. “The men realized that even when a woman sleeps, she rarely rests,” Munni says. “If a child cries, the mother gets up while the father sleeps. The men also noticed that while they spend an hour relaxing at a local shop after work, women never get a break.”

These sessions and workshops — the 24-hour clock, couple workshops, cooking competitions — produce visible shifts. Women who once hesitated to speak in public now do so confidently in public and community spaces. Men who once made every decision alone now consult their wives. One husband put it simply: “I used to think I worked harder because I earned income outside the house. After the workshop, I understood that my wife’s workday never ends. I try to help her much more now.”

These shifts create a powerful ripple effect. Women who learn to speak up at home soon begin advocating for their rights across their communities.

Securing a seat at the decision-making table

Across Barguna District, women in these groups now meet with local council members — the Union Parishad — to advocate for their own safety and disaster recovery needs.

Before joining the program, many of these women had no experience with government processes or civic leadership. “I used to believe women like us could never lead,” says Rahima Begum, president of a local women’s group. “Now I understand that when women are informed and united, we can support each other and solve our problems.”

“I never thought my voice mattered,” adds Jahanara Begum, a group member. “Now I speak with confidence and know that I deserve a better life.”

What does this change look like in practice? In one village, the answer is concrete — both figuratively and literally.

From voice to action: Rebuilding vital infrastructure

In the village of Dakshin Itbaria, the Newton Women’s Group made repairing the deteriorating Molla Bari Bridge their top priority. The bridge provides the village’s only access to the main road, but it had grown unstable. Pregnant women struggled to cross, children risked falling into the water on their way to school, and local drivers were cut off entirely.

Rather than wait for outside help, the women convinced the local council chairman to donate 96,000 taka (about $785) worth of construction materials. They then contributed 257,110 taka ($2,100) from their own grant budget to complete the repairs.

“As long as this bridge stands, people will remember what our women’s group achieved,” the members said.

“In the past, many villagers assumed NGOs only provided relief goods or micro-finance,” says Proma Israt, CARE Bangladesh technical coordinator for the project. “Now they know there’s a budget, the state is responsible, and they can demand public allocations.”

“Women Lead in Emergencies is designed differently,” explains Rafiqul Islam, CARE Bangladesh project manager for WLiE. “It works on women’s power, participation, and decision-making. The model makes women realize how far behind they are in terms of power and decision-making.”

But none of this happens without people like Munni — who start before dawn and cross rivers to reach the women who need them.

A mother’s dedication

Every day, before dawn, Munni wakes up. Her morning starts with cooking and household chores before she helps her son get ready and heads off to work.

Her 12-year-old son, Jubayer, now in seventh grade, attends a city school for a better education. To make his commute possible, she rents a house there in the city.

Despite her relentless schedule, Jubayer deeply respects her mother’s mission. “Even if my mother can’t spend much time with me, I feel very proud of her work,” he says. “Because my mother goes to villages and works hard for the development and awareness of women.”

When she returns home in the evening, her domestic responsibilities continue with cooking, washing, and cleaning.

Asked whether being a woman traveling to remote areas alone makes this harder, she does not hesitate.

“Our social system is still not entirely women-friendly,” she says. “But I see myself as a human being, and as a human, we can do it. We have the courage and mental strength for it. Work is work, regardless of being a man or a woman.”

What sustains her is watching a husband in a couple’s workshop finally grasp that his wife’s day never ends. “Seeing them realize that the daily life women lead is not easy,” she says, “that realization is what I enjoy the most.”

It is that conviction — not a schedule or a job description — that carries her to the next village, the next group of women deciding what their own leadership should look like.

CARE in Bangladesh: CARE has worked in Bangladesh since 1949, supporting communities affected by poverty, conflict, and disaster. CARE Bangladesh’s work currently focuses on three major program areas: women and youth, humanitarian and resilient futures, and health and nutrition. Last year, CARE directly reached over 4.7 million people through 41 projects across 36 out of 64 districts. Working alongside local partners, the organization focuses on enhancing health and nutrition systems, expanding opportunities for women and youth, and building disaster preparedness to ensure communities lead secure and dignified lives.