Our work began with a simple belief: women deserve dignity, freedom, and hope. From the start, we have empowered women to break free from exploitation and rebuild their lives.
Railway stations are where you go in Bangladesh when you have absolutely nothing. Here you can sleep on the platform with your blanket and few possessions. But life is cheap and flesh can be bought.
On a July night in 2010, two teen-aged girls were preparing their beds on the train platform. ‘They’ll be in prostitution soon,’ Razia, told Robin Seyfert, Basha’s founder. When Robin returned the next day, families were preparing food along the railroad tracks, while children played in the trash.
“One woman eyed me shrewdly, having grown cynical from the nightly selling of her body in order to survive,” recalls Robin. “Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of movement, energy, colour: three women were walking towards me who were attending a support programme for women leaving sex work. ‘Sister, sister,’ they called as they waved their storybooks. ‘We’re going home to practice our reading.’
“Seeing the joy and hope on their faces in the midst of so many others resigned to squalor and degradation, suddenly I knew I could not just leave.”
As Basha’s sales and product range grew, we could give more women a chance to escape degradation and poverty.
But the need to train and restore more women and their children became evident. We needed to expand to new areas where women were being exploited and where few alternatives existed. Without partners like CUP and MCC, we knew we had to provide these services ourselves. We needed to expand beyond employment and provide the initial services required for women to break free and build dignified lives as well.
In 2017, Friends of Basha was registered legally as a Society in Bangladesh in order to ensure that women were well equipped for the workforce and that children have opportunities their mothers did not have at their age. Through Friends of Basha, more than 130 children receive education in daycare centres, as well as daily tutoring, school support and nutritious food. Establishing hostels and safe homes, was also key for Friends of Basha, to ensure that women and children are completely supported and safe.
Friends of Basha and Basha Boutique currently works in five different communities, providing training, children’s programmes, employment and other support.
Today, driven by the needs of the many thousands of women in Bangladesh who are forced into lives they are deeply ashamed of, Friends of Basha helps provide women a pathway out of exploitation, through restoration and training, which leads to brighter futures.
“The sharp pain on their faces… was gradually replaced with peace and hope.”
We are creating a society where girls and women are empowered, valued, accepted, and have the confidence to contribute to their family, community, and nation. In this society, women are not only free from exploitation, violence, and discrimination, but they are also given access to education, healthcare, and opportunities for meaningful employment. Girls grow up knowing their worth, encouraged to dream boldly and pursue their goals without fear.
Communities recognize the importance of investing in women’s potential, creating safe spaces where their voices are heard, their choices respected, and their leadership welcomed. Families thrive when women are active participants in decision-making, and nations grow stronger when they harness the talents and resilience of their women and girls. We envision a world where every girl is born into a future of possibilities, where every woman is seen as capable and strong, and where together, we build a more just, inclusive, and compassionate society.