The Daughter Who Adopted a Village

Kakapir is a tiny village by the sea. Approximately, one hundred families live in this village. The majority of the men here go out in the open sea every day to catch fish. Due to lack of road transportation, the fishermen sell fish at a low price to the middlemen.

Since the place is hard to access, there is no school, resulting in a 100% illiterate population in the village. For hundreds of years, the people of Kakapir are without any education. But that was until a poor resident of the village, Baba Bashir, thought of providing at least some literacy to his daughter. For him, literacy was the foundation of woman empowerment. Fortunately, he wanted to deliver it to his daughter at any cost.

Unfortunately, the nearest literacy center was no less than 30 km away. Baba Bashir sold his small boat and bought a motorcycle. He took his daughter to the literacy center every day and stayed there for two hours while Mumtaz attended her literacy classes. Indeed, at the end of the third month, Mumtaz became the only literate girl in the village of Kakapir. She was the first literate female of Kakapir in the last 100 years!

Naturally, the whole village. celebrated the achievement. In the evening, there was a tea party. Mumtaz demonstrated her ability to read and write. Old and young, men and women amazed to see a 14-year-old girl hold a book in her hand and read!

After Mumtaz’s demonstration, the village elder asked the audience, “Would you like to learn how to read and write?” The answer was affirmative. The community requested Mumtaz to work as a literacy teacher. The village elders contacted LPF for books, which were provided. The response was so overwhelming that the community established multiple centers. LPF staff visited the centers regularly to monitor the progress of the learners.

Today, every female in the village of Kakapir is literate. Last but not least, Mumtaz earned enough money to help her father repurchase a boat. She is respected in the village. Moreover, sometime back, a documentary aired on a TV channel, which made her very famous.

In conclusion, education and literacy are the fundamentals of women’s empowerment. As it said, a journey of a thousand steps starts with a single step. Similarly, the journey of women’s empowerment begins with literacy.