Being a woman in Bangladesh

I have already mentioned that many people here think that I am Bangladeshi when they see me. This allows me, I think, to understand more clearly the status that the woman has in the culture of this country. Many times when I enter a market or when I go along the streets, men ignore me completely. But if I am with a man, they talk to him. Those who are more conservative don’t even look at me, as if I wasn’t there in front of them.
Those who I did talk to, at first asked me about my country of origin and secondly they asked me if I was married... Now I’ve learnt what to say: “Aami biba hito”, which means that I am married; it is no use to say that you have a boyfriend. Then they asked me if I have kids, and what my husband did for a leaving. I answered that I didn’t have kids and that my husband was a business man.
The other day I went to shop a cell phone card. To do so, I had to write: my name, my husband’s and father’s name and my address in Dhaka. I was really angry. At first, when I read about the Islam I open minded and I tried to understand and to respect the culture. But now that I’m living here and experiencing the culture, I can’t stand it and I feel a terrible resentment. It is very difficult to be a woman here. It means to lose your individuality, to become an object that belongs to man; a man who becomes the owner of your destiny, your desires and plans.
At this very shop of cell phones, the owner offered my friend his 10-years-old daughter! He even showed him a picture and told him that she would be a great wife for him. Mi friend is 35 years old! Then I was even more irritated.
That same day, I exchanged money and the clerk me didn’t even look at me. I felt like a ghost, a miss nobody.
If you do say that you are unmarried… someone might even ask you if you want to marry him. I assure you, it can be an awkward moment.
We will see how things at the Village are… I will tell you on Wednesday.
Shuvó shap tajo! (Have a good week!)