Fall 2010 - Asian University for Women

12
OCTOBER 2010 VOL. 4, NO. 2
An AUW Student Reports on Women’s Issues in Bangladesh
Canada that serves as a forum for young people
across the globe who wish to speak out on the
issues of the day (http://www.dispatchesinternational.org).
Kaushi applied, but given her limited
experience writing in English, she doubted she
would get the position.
It is winter in Bangladesh and the end of the year
has ushered in an unforgiving bout of cold
weather. In this part of the world, cold weather
means more than merely an extra sweater; as
temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit,
newspapers across the country report on the dire
condition of street dwellers who spend their
nights sleeping outdoors.
The effects of the cold snap can be seen in the
plastic surgery and burn unit of this Dhaka hospital,
where a lack of sufficient beds leaves patients
stretched out on the cold floor with nothing
more than a thin bedsheet as covering. The wails
of a young girl, her forearms raw with burns, fill
the ward as her mother explains that she cannot
afford the cost of painkillers. The scene would be
daunting for even an experienced reporter, and
Kaushalya Ruwanthika Ariyathilaka (“Kaushi”),
just 22 years old, is neither a professional
reporter nor a hospital staff member. But she is a
student from the Asian University for Women
(AUW), and she is determined to get her story.
At the start of winter break, Kaushi and her
friend, a fellow AUW student from Bangladesh
who came along to serve as a translator, boarded
a train headed for the capital city of Dhaka.
Using their own money to purchase train tickets,
the AUW students set out for a three-week journey
that promised to leave an indelible mark on
two young women standing at the intersection of
the classroom and their future careers. Kaushi
was on assignment from the Canadian journal
Dispatches International to investigate the issue
of acid attacks against women, one of eight feature
articles she plans to write on the challenges
women face in the region.
A native of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Kaushi is the
daughter of a building contractor and a housewife.
She is unassumingly driven and quietly
passionate about her experiences as a student
reporter. She explains: “When I read about
things, I can’t forget them … I know I can’t do
anything, because I don’t have the means to. But
maybe the little thing I’m doing will do something
for the people.”
As an Access Academy student at AUW, Kaushi
volunteered to take part in a cyber-mentoring
program that AUW offers in conjunction with the
University of Toronto in Canada. The program
was designed to allow AUW students from both
the Access Academy and the undergraduate programs
to discuss mutual career goals and
“When I read about things, I can’t forget them … I know I can’t do anything,
because I don’t have the means to. But maybe the little thing I’m
doing will do something for the people.”
hobbies with student mentors half a world away,
using online tools such as video chat and instant
messaging. Some AUW students became particularly
close with their mentors and, aided by the
marvels of modern technology, managed to
speak with their mentors frequently and even
face to face. Kaushi’s mentor, a law student at the
University of Toronto, encouraged her to apply
for a position as a student reporter at Dispatches
International, the quarterly publication of the
International Partnerships Foundation (IPF) in
KAUSHALYA RUWANTHIKA ARIYATHILAKA
Kaushi did nonetheless go on to win a position
as a reporter. Soon thereafter she also submitted
an essay to the World Bank essay competition on
climate change and was selected as one of the
top 200 finalists from a pool of 2,500 candidates.
“I never imagined I would write things like this,”
she says. In the summer of 2009, she and her
AUW classmate Mowmita Basak Mow attended a
journalism conference hosted by the IPF in
Canada. The conference brought together aspiring
reporters from 11 countries around the world,
including Canada, the United States, Germany,
Moldova, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. “It was so
nice to meet people from so many different
places in the world,” Kaushi gushes. The conference
provided workshops on photojournalism,
research techniques, and how to write feature
articles. Kaushi stayed with the family of a former
Access Academy teacher of hers for the entire
three-week visit, demonstrating the far reach of
AUW’s still-nascent network.
Kaushi’s investigation of acid attacks led her from
Chittagong to Dhaka and into this hospital ward.
She has interviewed professors at Dhaka
University; met with police officers at the local
station; and traded statistics with staff members
at an NGO that caters to burn victims. In each
instance she has relied on pure gravitas and
determination to get her interviews; most, if not
all, of these interviews were a result of her knocking
on one door, then another, until she found
the person who was willing to help her. She has
also faced down dissenters who would prefer she
not investigate this topic at all, like the doctor
who refused to grant her an interview, insisting
that she must receive permission from the courts
or from the police first.
Kaushi ignored his warnings
and marched up to the director
of the hospital instead,
who agreed to the interview.
Most important, Kaushi has
spoken with the victims
themselves. In a powerful
example of the impact AUW
hopes to have in the region, Kaushi has displayed
the remarkable ability to connect with the
victims on a personal level, transcending the
boundaries of suspicion and fear to grant a voice
to this perpetually marginalized segment of the
population. For her article on the issue of dowry
violence, Kaushi was able to interview women in
their homes before their husbands came home.
“[The women] were scared all the time. [But] we
were also girls, so they were free to talk,” Kaushi
says. Her role as a student reporter ultimately