Sadia Alam
Bangladesh National Women Lawyer’s Association
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Today was finally my first official day at the office. I spent the first few days in this country catching up on my sleep and adjusting to the drastic time difference. Yesterday, I went to the Chittagong Court Building in search of the woman I was told would be my supervisor, Advocate Dil Afroz.
The court building was like no place I’ve ever seen before. Upon entering the area, I was greeted by multiple fruit and vegetable vendors, not to mention the herds of people aimlessly walking around. The court itself is separated into three different annexes, and each is home to different lawyers. After a long, arduous journey through each of the maze-like annexes, I finally found Adv. Afroz.
Upon speaking with her, I realized that she actually oversees the actions of the BNWLA from afar. She does not go to the actual office or meet directly with staff there. Instead, she coordinates meetings between the Chittagong and Dhaka branches of the organization and oversees larger project goals.
Adv. Afroz presented me with the option of either staying with her and seeing the bigger picture of the organization’s activities or working from the organization office. I chose the latter option so I could meet with the clients, who experience human rights violations, but I also opted to occasionally meet with Adv. Afroz to see the operation from her perspective.
Thus, today was my first day at the organization’s actual office. On my way there, I met Adv. Afroz in the flea-market like court building, and we went to the district attorney’s building, located near to the court area, where the BNWLA office is located. I was introduced today to several lawyer members of the organizations. Perhaps this is foolish of me, but I expected all the lawyers to be women. As it turns out, there are quite a few male lawyers working on BNWLA’s Protecting Human Rights project.
I was then introduced to my office supervisor with whom I will be working for the next few months, Advocate Kazi Shaheda Begum. So far, she seems like quite a nice and friendly woman. Actually, everyone here has been quite helpful and cooperative. Considering that I constantly look a little lost due to the extremely crowded nature of the entire court area, I am glad that all the lawyers here have been so supportive.
I did not do much today besides meet with all the people I will be working with. I look forward, however, to all the experiences that are to come!
