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In Bangladesh,
domestic
violence is a
serious problem for
women and girls
who live in poverty.
These women and
girls are beaten or attacked
in the one place
they should feel
safe -- their
homes. It is difficult to change
this situation because of
deep-rooted customs. But a
group of non-profit
organizations is working to
bring change to
thousands of the country’s poor.
poverty: la pobreza, la indigencia; beaten: golpeadas, apaleadas (beat
/ beat / beaten / beating); in the one place: en el exacto lugar
(donde); they should feel safe: deberían sentirse seguras; deep-rooted
customs: costumbres largamente arraigadas; non-profit: sin ánimo de
lucro; to bring change: para aportar un cambio; to thousands of the
country's poor: a miles de pobres en el país;
In a
slum
area of Dhaka, 10
people sit in a narrow
street between
small homes. Women
with colorful
shawls on their heads
sit next to four
men. They listen
as two health
workers, both women,
talk about birth
control methods and diseases
passed through sex.
The health workers
also show photographs of
how the diseases
affect the body.
slum area: zona de barrios marginados (villas miseria); narrow:
angosta; shawls: chales, mantones; sit next to: están sentadas al
lado de; health workers: empleados sanitarios; both women: ambas
del sexo femenino; birth control: control de la natalidad; diseases
passed through sex: enfermedades transmitidas a través del sexo;
SHOKHI, MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
The surprisingly
open discussions are
part of a program
called "Shokhi". Its goals
are to improve health and
reduce domestic and
sexual violence in 15
slums in Dhaka.
Shokhi is a project of several
non-profit organizations. It
offers legal
advice and health services.
Women can find
these services in
small offices throughout 15
neighborhoods. The program
also offers
counseling services and community
information meetings. At
those gatherings,
people can learn
about subjects
like conflict resolution
and how to control
anger.
surprisingly:
asombrosamente; goals: objetivos; to improve: mejorar; legal
advice: asesoramiento legal; thoughout: a lo largo de;
neighborhoods: barrios, vecindarios; counseling services: servicios
de asesoramiento; community: comunitaria; at those gatherings: en
esos encuentros; conflict resolution: resolución de conflictos; how to
control anger: cómo controlar la ira o el enojo;
COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS.
The people
taking part in the Shokhi
program all
volunteered to be "change makers".
They talk with
small groups in
their communities about
ending violence
against women. There are
about 1,500 of these
change makers.
They received training from
about 45 professional
community workers.
taking part in: que participa en; all volunteered: todos se alistaron
como voluntarios; change makers: promotores del cambio de actitud;
about ending violence against: acerca de terminar con la violencia contra;
about 1,500: aprox. 1.500; training from: entrenamiento de parte de;
Rashida
Begum is a 32-year-old tailor,
making and repairing
clothing for other
people. She became a change
maker more than
a year ago. Years
ago, she said, her
husband often hit
her. But after
attending Shokhi's programs,
her husband has not
hit her in a year.
tailor: sastre; often hit her: la golpeaba a menudo (hit / hit
/ hit / hitting); after attending: después de asistir (after + ING
verb); has not hit her: no la ha golpeado;
"Before, if
anything happened in the
home, he got very
angry at me and
would beat me.
Now, he's working
with this group and getting
a lot of information, that
you shouldn't do
this", she said.
he got very
angry at me: se enfadaba mucho conmigo; would beat me: me golpeaba;
Another
important step for Ms.
Begum was learning
about her legal
rights. She had her
husband arrested
after he illegally married
a second wife.
Later, he ended that marriage
and returned to Ms.
Begum and her
family.
step: paso, etapa; legal rights: derechos legales; she had her
husband arrested: hizo arrestar a su marido; ilegally married: se
casó ilegalmente con; he ended: dio por terminado;
In Bangladesh,
violence against
women is widespread, even
in their own homes.
Physical and emotional
abuse
by husbands is common
among the poor.
widespread:
ampliamente generalizado; even in: aún dentro de; emotional abuse:
abuso emocional; by husbands: por parte de los maridos; common among
the poor: habitual entre los pobres;
In urban
slums, women and girls
suffer from high
rates of violence and poor
sexual and
reproductive
health.
Girls who marry
early have even
more problems.
Bangladesh has the world’s fourth
highest rate of child
marriage. Here, 65
percent of young women
marry before the
age of 18.
urban slums: barrios marginados urbanos (en plena ciudad); suffer from:
sufren, soportan; high rates: índices elevados; reproductive health:
salud reproductiva (en materia de procreación); who marry early: que se
casan a temprana edad; the world's fourth highest rate: el cuarto índice
mundial; child marriage: casamiento antes de cumplir los 18 años;
CHANGING BEHAVIORS.
changing behaviors: modificando comportamientos;
Through
Shokhi, men and women are
learning that abuse is
unacceptable and illegal. In
small group
meetings, many women and
girls are learning
about their rights for the
first time.
through:
a través de, por medio de; unacceptable and illegal: inadmisibe e ilegal;
Sara
Hossain is head of "Bangladesh
Legal Services
Trust", one of the organizers
of Shokhi. She says that
providing information is
very important to
her work.
organizers: organizadores; that providing information: que proveer
información;
"It's not just
telling them
that you have a
right not to be beaten, but where
to go if this happens,
what you can
do, who will help
you", she said.
a right not
to be beaten: derecho a no ser golpeada;
Three other
nonprofit groups are
involved with the
program. "Marie Stopes
Bangladesh" is a nonprofit
organization that deals
with women's
reproductive health issues.
"The Bangladeshi Women's
Health Coalition" and "We
Can" both work
against domestic
violence.
involved with: dedicados al; deals with: trata con, se relaciona con;
issues: problemas; coalition: alianza;
REDUCING VIOLENCE, ABUSE.
Shokhi is
similar to an earlier program
in Dhaka called
SAFE. Some of the same
nonprofit groups
directed that program from 2012 to 2013.
earlier: anterior (en este contexto); directed: condujeron,
dirigieron;
Population
Council, a U.S. non-profit
research center, and ICDDRB,
a public health
institute, looked at the results
of SAFE. They
studied more than 12,000
people in the program.
They found that
SAFE reduced violence
against women and
girls. When men
were included in
activities, there was even
less violence.
Population
Council: el Consejo Demográfico; research center: centro de
investigación; found: descubrieron (find / found / found / finding);
reduced: redujo (la); even less violence: todavía menos violencia;
More people
used birth control,
and more victims of
violence asked for
help. Among teenage
married girls,
sexual and physical violence
decreased.
asked for help: solicitaron ayuda; among: entre (más de 2 personas o
cosas); decreased: disminuyó;
People at the
meetings say the
sessions can make
them feel stronger.
One female change-maker
said, "Public
action is the best action.
The police can't
do it. Before, if
something happened in the
home next door,
you ignored it.
Now you can
tell them, "You
can't do that".
say:
expresan que; can make them feel stronger: los hacen sentir más fuertes;
the home next door: la casa vecina; you ignored it: lo ignorabas;
Since the
program started in 2013, it has
directly given services and
information to 10,000 people. It
has reached tens of
thousands more
indirectly through media
campaigns and street
theater. Shokhi
aims to reach 500,000 people
by 2018.
since:
desde que; it has reached: ha alcanzado; tens of thousands:
decenas de miles; through media campaigns: a través de campañas
mediáticas; street theater: espectáculos callejeros; aims to reach:
se propone llegar a; by 2018: para el año 2018;
Involving
men in awareness sessions
and as change makers
led to a greater
reduction in violence. That
finding comes from surveys
of the earlier program in
Dhaka. Male change
makers lead about
one third of the
community groups.
involving: haciendo participar (a los); awareness sessions: sesiones
de concientización; as change makers: como promotores del cambio de
actitud; led to: condujo a (lead / led / led / leading); a
greater: una mayor; finding: descubrimiento; surveys:
encuestas; male: masculinos; lead: lideran, conducen;
On a hot
spring day, another
group of 20 slum
residents sat on the floor
of a school in a slum
area of Dhaka
called Mohammadpur. Amid
the women were
five men. They
were starting
their three-day
training to become
change makers.
on a hot
spring day: un pálido día de primavera; amid: en medio de; three-day
training: entrenamiento de tres días; to become: para convertirse en;
Mahubab
Alam is a 45-year-old night
security guard. He
attended the training during
his off-duty hours.
He explained why he
volunteered to become a
change maker. "We
think we live in an undignified
way. We have an
opportunity to change this", he
said.
security guard: guarda de seguridad; attended: asistió a; off-duty
hours: horas fuera de servicio; why he volunteered: por qué se
ofreció como voluntario; undignified way: manera poco digna;
It is not easy to
stop violence
against women and girls in
Bangladesh. But Shokhi is
raising hopes that
change can happen, from the
ground up.
raising hopes: dando esperanzas; from the ground up: partiendo de
cero.
I'm Pete
Musto. And I'm Jill
Robbins. |
