Tazrina Chowdhury

"My passion in the field of disaster and emergency management and my urge to work for women motivated me to pursue my degree. I received the prestigious Flinders International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (FIPRS). My PhD thesis focuses on Women’s experiences and their wellbeing in the evacuation centres during disasters.

As a child, I was a regular and keen newspaper reader and loved to keep myself updated. I remembered how frequently I read reports on floods, river erosions, cyclones and tropical storms that occurred in our countries affecting thousands of people.

I have always considered myself as a fortunate person because my parents never treated me as a girl, rather they treated me as a child irrespective of my gender. They ensured the best education for me, nurtured my talent, supported me and let me chase my ambition. Even though it might sound very common gestures from parents towards their children, it is quite different in Bangladesh.

Many girls in my country cannot receive any academic education, because their parents think the only responsibility for their girl children is to marry them off. Women rely on their male custodians, father, husband or son all their lives.

Coming from a socio-cultural background where women face discrimination and inequity at every stage of lives, I felt it is my responsibility as a female educator and researcher to think about deprived women of my country.

Coming all the way from Bangladesh alone, leaving a comfortable and settled life, was not easy. Leaving my parents, husband, friends and started a new journey. I had to start everything from scratch from finding accommodation and making new friends to the academic expectations. It was like I was reborn in a new world. So, if someone asks me to describe my journey so far I would say it is “Empowering Myself”.