I am Human: Women’s IP Team Challenges Caste System

TANGAIL, BANGLADESH — “'I am Human' is the most important thing I learned from the Interfaith Peacemaker Team," said Ms. Mohima Harijan. It’s a sentiment that reminds us of the “I am a Man” signs worn by African American men during the civil rights struggles in the United States. Mohima is an IP Team leader from the Garbage Worker Community in Tangail, Bangladesh. Most people in that community are Hindu, and in the lowest rung of the caste structure. Most carry Harijan as their last name, which, ironically means people of God, a designation coined by Mahatma Gandhi to elevate the status of the lowest caste people in India. In Bangladeshi Muslim society, the name helps identify the social status. One of our leaders, Mohammad Mehbub Hassan was the driving force on organizing this community into IP Teams. In the picture, Mohima is on the right. The lady next to her is a Muslim. Her family rents space in Mohima's house. Such an arrangement between Hindus and Muslims is unheard of. The only way this is possible, says the Muslim neighbor, is because the IP Teams helped us realize that we are all one people.

Women’s Peacemaker Teams are working to dismantle Bangladesh’s Caste System