On March 8, the International Women's Day (IWD), the national flag carrier, Biman, often the butt of criticism for its many failures, did something special that deserves praise. Though what happened had nothing to do with Biman's business performance, still it had a symbolic value. Actually, Biman on that day operated a flight from Dhaka to Dammam, the capital of Saudi Arabia's Eastern province on the Persian Gulf, in which all members of the air crew, from the cabin crew to first officer to pilot to even members of the ground staff working on the flight, were women. It was indeed an event of note for women of Bangladesh and for Biman because it hosted the event.
Every year we hear of reports-- of how girls are doing better in public examination than boys. Even the results of last years' Higher Secondary Certificate Examination in which girls did better than boys not only in pass percentage, but they also convincingly outshined their male counterparts in scoring better grade points. And it was for the third consecutive year that girls outperformed boys. These results definitely show the progress the country has achieved in female education. Even so, these numbers do not say much about how those successful girls have been faring in higher education or in their professional life, if employed, after completing education.
The all-female crew that flew the Biman's aircraft on the International Women's Day tell the real story of what women of Bangladesh are capable of. And they have demonstrated that in full view of their fellow men and women at home and others outside the country. It's a kind of feat that speaks for itself. Here no one will be asking how those women on the international flight number BG-349 of Biman did fare in their school, college or university exams. Of course, that does not mean that women's academic performance is not important. In fact, nowadays women have been declaring their proud presence in the academia, in research, in legal profession, in government jobs, business, politics, you name it, they are there. And in most cases, they are from the privileged class. But there are countless faceless others who did not ever get the opportunity to go to school and prove their potential. Even so, numerous unlettered rural women, many of them housewives, have proved their entrepreneurial skill by taking small loans from microcredit-providing NGOs.
Becoming a flight attendant or a pilot needs a certain level of education. But becoming an entrepreneur, for instance, in farming, raising poultry or cattle what one needs most is the opportunity. The government is to create the opportunity by providing them with basic education, training and, of course, the seed capital to show their entrepreneurial talents. And the more women are trained in various trades, the more will they be able to prove their talent from farming to diving to flying aeroplanes. And these successful women will then be able to send their girls and boys to school where they will also be able to show their academic talents. But for that to happen, the entire education system would be required to be taken out of its elitist trappings and made affordable to all strata of the society.
And it is such a society that can create more of aviators like captain Alia Mannan who flew the Biman plane to Dammam, first officer Fariha Tabassum, the flight attendants and other female staffs who made Bangladesh proud on the International Women's Day.
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