Bow Bazar, Jessore, Bangladesh

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• published: 09 Feb 2014
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Bou Bazar -- A market for women vendors Bou Bazar! Bou means 'wife'. This bazaar gets its name from the many women vendors and the female shoppers who use this facility regularly. Most of the shoppers live nearby and shop for their groceries at Bou Bazar. Currently, a few hundred families center their livelihood on this bazar. Many vulnerable women rely on this facility for earning a living. Many more women have become self-sufficient by working here and thereby educated their children and arranged their marriages. Rizia Khatun is one such woman. 20 years ago, while she carried her third daughter in her womb, her husband abandoned her and married another woman. For a while she had worked as a maid but it was becoming increasingly difficult to raise her daughters. I have three daughters, no husband and no sons. I barely get by. I pay the house rent and I also brought up my three daughters and got them married too. In the year 1996, Bou Bazar was established at the north of The Government City College. The stories of Alamati, Munira, Romesa, Khurshida and Jobeda are quite similar to Rizia's. In this bazar, the majority of customers is women and they feel comfortable shopping here. I am Nipa Mondol and I study and reside in Jessore Government City College. This is Bou Bazar and there are more women shoppers and vendors than men. This is perhaps the reason why we find it more comfortable to shop here. In my opinion, women are less likely to cheat you. They do not charge you more and they are fair. Customers take their time and buy what they need from trustworthy vendors and take it back home. Story prepared by Firoz Gazi, DrikNEWS Correspondent, Jessore, March 2013.