BNPS was set up in June 1986 by a group of committed professional and activist women who came forward to advocate alternative development processes that would give prime emphasis on the fundamental rights of the deprived and marginalized people of Bangladesh particularly women. Since then, the organization has been initiating programs positively causative to empowerment of women of all social categories in Bangladesh.

BNPS follows a bottom-up right-based approach linking community to the national level. In the process its role is the one of a catalyst and a facilitator. It is trying to create an environment for women and other marginalized groups to raise their voices and to claim their entitlements through a variety of activities, like awareness development, institution building, livelihood activities and reforms of different policies, system, institution and mindset. The congenial working environment, culture of co-operation and team work, non-hierarchical management with activist orientation is seen by all as an asset in BNPS.

Vision

A society free from all sorts of discrimination against women, religious & ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups where they enjoy equal rights and status in all spheres of life from family to state.

Mission

Equality through empowerment of women.

Goals

Establishing an enabling environment for the disadvantaged people particularly women to be able to get organized, exert for demand and ensure access to their rights and quality services for social, political and economic empowerment.

Executive Committee of BNPS (2008-2010)

Ms. Rahima Chowdhurani	Chairperson	Social Worker
Ms. Shyamoli Nasreen Chaudhury	Vice Chairperson	Educationist
Ms. Afroza Banu	Vice Chairperson	Cultural activist and artist
Ms. Shibani Das	Treasurer	Educationist
Ms. Rokeya Kabir	Member Secretary	Freedom fighter and Women’s movement activist
Ms. Syeda Shamim Siddiqui	Member	Social Worker
Ms. Mahfuza Khanom	Member	Educationist and Vice-president of Asiatic Society
Ms. Parveen Sultana Jhuma	Member	Journalist and women’s movement activist
Ms. Kanak Chapa Chakma	Member	Indigenous rights activists and artist

Core Values of BNPS

BNPS has an ideological base with some core values. These are considered as guiding factors that contribute as essential elements in developing all the programs implemented by the organization. BNPS is neither an organization for subcontracting development projects nor an agency for supplying services to the customers. To be more precise, it believes development as intervention for social transformation. The followings are the core values of the organization:

Inclusion:

BNPS makes every effort to bring all sections of societies, particularly the disadvantaged and marginalized groups, women, poor and minorities in the development program.

Plurality:

BNPS promotes culture of plurality.

Secularism:

BNPS believes and encourages secularism in every aspects of social and national level to eradicate disparity and discrimination to any religion.

Core Competencies

• Long experience in women rights movement
• Wider acceptance into the community, civil society, media and donor as a women rights organization
• Activists nature of work with committed workers
• Learning organization with required flexibility
• Bottom up approach
• National, regional and international network
• Micro-Macro linkage

Principal Thematic Areas

• Mainstreaming gender and marginalized groups in education, budget, national policies and empowerment of women
• Poverty eradication
• Governance
• Promote concept of plural society

Core Programs

The programs of BNPS are encircled around the following three main empowerment areas:
Policy reform interventions and mass awareness

• Reformation of Education System
• Reformation of Electoral Process
• Analysis of National Budget and PRSP
• Mapping implementation of policies and commitments

Local governance

• Strengthening local government and community level governance through inclusion of marginalized people

Community level awareness, mobilization and livelihood initiatives

• Leadership development through institution building and development education
• Legal awareness and legal aid through referral service
• Financial services to poor women

Achievements

So far BNPS has directly worked with around 140,000 women and over the period of time more than 500,000 people from different background involved with the efforts of BNPS, and it has been recognized as one of the most dynamic women organization in Bangladesh. BNPS is focusing on social, economical and political empowerment of women, policy reform, education reform, electoral reform, strengthening local governance and gender budget analysis. As a pioneer organization, BNPS introduced the question of gender in the education system in the year of 1993. In 2000, BNPS for the first time in the country, started national budget and PRSP analysis from gender perspective.

In addition, BNPS has been the pioneer in taking up many firm steps on many challenging issues like inheritance laws, women representation in political institution, i.e. parliament, local government. It also introduced different cultural media as a tool for awareness building process. As one of the pioneer organizations it started work to sensitize media personnel on gender and other development issues from the beginning of nineties. BNPS works in the community level for involving women in income generating activities (IGA) through providing credit support, training for management of micro enterprise, marketing technique, accounts keeping and skill development, which have created a sustained environment and space for women.

As a strategy for creating greater impact BNPS pioneers in developing many networks/platforms for the above-mentioned issues. In the late eighties and beginning of nineties it also worked to build the bridge between NGOs and other groups of civil society.

The issues like, fundamentalism, secularism and its relation to democracy and development were also brought to the table of NGOs through the tireless efforts by forming and activating different networks like, Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB), Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP), Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), Samajik Protirodh Committee (SPC), Sammilito Nari Samaj, Women’s Development Forum, Gender in Media Forum (GIMF), Aamar Odhikar Campaign (My Rights Campaign), etc. in national level. Executive Director of BNPS is the current convener of My Rights Campaign.

In addition, in the age of globalization, BNPS believes that establishing the equal rights in the society, it is important to make advocacy and lobbying in the regional and international level. In purview of this BNPS is maintaining linkage, network/alliance with different institutes, donors and other organizations, e.g., Economic and Social Council of UN (ECOSOC), South Asian Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE), Committee for Asian Women (CAW), Water and Democracy Forum, South Asian Network of Gender Activists and Trainers (SANGAT), South Asian Network for Social and Agricultural Development (SANSAD) etc. BNPS is working as the gender focal point of the SAAPE.

BNPS is registered with the Women Affairs Directorate, No. MBP-465/86 dated 24.06.86, and with the NGO Affairs Bureau, GoB Vide Reg. No. FDO/R-271 dated 29.09.88.

Present Internal Context of BNPS

After 2001, BNPS had to gone through a turmoil situation-emotionally and physically challenging, transformative and tough journey due to state of affairs in the country. From January 2002 until 2004, it had to survive the harassment by the “powers that be” in the name of investigation by using different organs of government, raising different unfound allegations and accusations, initiating legal cases which also resulted in loss of freedom. In fact, all these forces targeted organization’s values of being secular, advocacy for women’s and other ethnic and religious sections rights and freedom of choices as citizen. To cope with the situation, BNPS had to adapt many changes in coping strategies. The challenge had been one of ‘not giving up’, yet being diligent and strategic, with no compromise on values. It low profiled itself and sustained the work of women’s empowerment work and continues to do Advocacy and networking nationally and internationally in collaboration with like-minded organizations, networks and individuals.

One important strategy during these troubled times was to establish a strategic alliance with Institute for Environment and Development (IED). After much deliberation and reflection, BNPS decided to work in collaboration with IED for survival in late 2003, who later on took the responsibility of continuing the women’s rights work through its portfolio of human/citizen rights and environment. ICCO-The Netherlands and EED Germany became forwarded to support in this crucial form of strategic alliance which has been started from July 2004 keeping the cause of the organization in focus and cope through difficult struggles for survival. The survival need was balanced with no compromise in values but just taking position of limiting the activities to stay low profile and gain strength from coalition building on common strength of social justice and equity.

The silencing of its voice went against the natural character and culture of BNPS. Most of all the advocacy and lobbying for women’s rights temporarily took a back stage. Facing the challenges for survival under most strenuous circumstances and to keep the contact with the community, BNPS tactfully adopted the self-financing micro finance model that paid for the minimum expenses of administration and staff salary. In all this, most of the staff who stayed and those who left for lack of funds stood together with the organization in strong solidarity physically and emotionally.

After a long period of sufferings, there have been positive signs for BNPS with the registration renewal by the immediate past interim Care-taker government for receiving funds from foreign donors and Presently BNPS is coming out of its struggles step by step. Meanwhile, NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh government approved two short term small projects; one is on “organizing Gender Budgeting Training’ funded by EED and another is on “alternative education system sensitive to gender and pluralism” funded by Misereor–Germany. In this context BNPS has decided to emerge out from the cyst and run the program as like before 2002.

Notably, at the period when the then govt. cracked down on BNPS including other four NGOs: PROSHIKA, ADAB, PRIP Trust and IVS, BNPS was implementing following projects:

Socio-Political and Economic Empowerment of Women in Bangladesh jointly funded by European Union, ICCO-The Netherlands, EED-Germany and HBF-Germany and .Total amount was Euro 2,564,888 of which, European Union contributed 58%, ICCO 20% , EED 18% and HBF 4%

Promoting Responsive Governance and Gender Justice funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the funding amount was 2313179/=taka

Empowerment of Women through Greater Access to National Resources funded by Bangladesh Freedom Foundation and the amount was 15,35000/= Taka

Under this project BNPS was developing and implementing some pioneering strategies and activities like development of one national network of elected women members of Local Government, training of union Parishad members for introducing participatory process of budget preparation, introducing direct dialogue between elected chairman, members and voters, community forums (of women and other sections of community) to interact with LG as pressure group. This program was being implemented through developed a network of elected women in Union council (the lower strata of LG).

Since BNPS could not access the foreign fund for more than six years, the partnership with different donors was ceased.

With the departure of previous government, the time of two years care-taker government came in. In this time BNPS received renewal of all its registrations and started contacting donors for its programmes again. It received a small fund from MISEREOR for a one year study on education which came to end on October 2008. From July 2008, a one year bridging grant from EED has been received to restart the PRiME project. In addition, another two year’s policy study and advocacy project has been started on August 2008 with the support of UNDEF.

At last, about two years after from scheduled time, the people of Bangladesh has delivered a stunning electoral verdict on December 29th of the last year by inflicting a decisive defeat on the political parties they had voted to power in 2001. Apart from defeating the misrule of the earlier regime it is also a people’s bold verdict for democracy and an open and pluralistic society ensuring rights. In practical life one may not expect much change in economic term, but in mindset, in participation of majority of people there will be some change. There is some hope of women and minorities that conservation and religious extremism will not get any organized and state supports- which will allow them more space.

Organogram of BNPS

Location Map Of BNPS