Meet Inclusive Bangladesh!
For this November’s Member of the Month, we’re travelling to two parts of the world to meet with our new Member Inclusive Bangladesh, the only trans-led LGBTIQ+ organisation which works in two different countries, Bangladesh and the UK, with Bangladeshi LGBTIQ+ youth and the whole community.
Their aim? Creating an inclusive society where every citizen will be a resource for safeguarding each other’s human rights and peaceful living. They achieve this by promoting human rights, gender equality, religious literacy, global citizenship, diversity, and equality. Inclusive Bangladesh, the floor is yours!
Heya, can you tell us more about Inclusive Bangladesh?
Inclusive Bangladesh is a local non-profit and transgender-led LGBTIQ+ youth organisation, currently working in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. It envisions creating an inclusive society where every citizen will be a resource for safeguarding each other’s human rights and peaceful living. Our work and effort circulates in promoting human rights, gender equality, religious literacy, global citizenship, diversity, and equality.
Aiming to advance the human rights of LGBTIQ+ communities from Bangladesh, the organisation was established in 2013, and after working 6 years, we extended our work in the United Kingdom in 2019. Inclusive Bangladesh is now working with diverse local and international organisations, multilateral and multi-layered development partners, and active youth changemakers.
What have been your main achievements? What makes you unique in your country?
Inclusive Bangladesh is one of the very few transgender-led youth LGBTIQ+ organisation, not only in Bangladesh but in the United Kingdom as well. Most significantly, most of its senior team members are notable LGBTIQ+ human rights activists and we only focus on the very grassroot level LGBTIQ+ community members who often left out from the developement diary. Inclusive Bangladesh is also the only LGBTIQ+ organisation which works in two different countries with Bangladeshi LGBTIQ+ youth and the whole community.
Inclusive Bangladesh is one of the organisers of the significant “Dhaka Pride”, which brought together the Bangladeshi LGBTIQ+ community from all over the world through its virtual pride. Also, it is the introducer of the Xulhaz Mannan Memorial Award of Diversity, to encourage LGBTIQ+ activists for their work. This award is a very first of its kind in Bangladesh, named after the notable LGBTIQ+ activist Xulhaz Mannan who was assassinated in 2016 for his activism.
The list is long to note as how Inclusive Bangladesh is unique and its achievements. However, our employability skill development programme for LGBTIQ+ community, emergency fund for LGBTIQ+ individuals and annual virtual pride made us significantly different from other organisations.
Are there specific ways in which you have supported the community that you would like to highlight and/or share with other European organisations?
Inclusive Bangladesh assists the local Bangladeshi diasporas in the United Kingdom who often seek sanctuary because of their safety. Through our employability skill development programme, we provide training support, resume building, job reference and placement for vulnerable LGBTIQ+ Bangladeshi, British Bangladeshi youths. We also provide GBP 5 to GBP 50 as an emergency support for those LGBTIQ+ individuals who need the support in case of emergency.
What can governments, (national and international) authorities and institutions do more to support the communities you serve?
Acknowledgement of LGBTIQ+ identities, their development work as youth work and building more partnership with them can be one way the governments, and various institutions can support LGBTIQ+ youth work. Flexible and frequent small-scale funding, joint initiatives and resource sharing can also be important ways to support the LGBTIQ+ community.
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Thank you so much Inclusive Bangladesh! In case our readers want to know more, they can find more information on your website.
