Sompa Rani | In May I took part in the exposure visit together with Ronita, Jinat and Afsana from Bangladesh. We went to Frankfurt, Tönisvorst, Krefeld Townhall, Tübingen, Wetzlar and Hohensolms from 5th to 19th of May. Who are we?: Ronita, she is a committee leader in Bangladesh; Jinat, she is leader of the international campaign WE CAN; Afsana, she is project manager of the Human Rights program with NETZ Bangladesh; and me, first volunteer from Bangladesh to Germany. NETZ is working for the development of Bangladesh and this exposure visit was on the topic of women’s right in Bangladesh and Germany.

Frankfurt (First Day): I met with Ronita, Jinat and Afsana, the guests from Bangladesh, in Frankfurt on the first day. We went to the sights of Frankfurt. We all enjoyed a lot together. Eva V. and Anne, my colleagues from Wetzlar, were with us all the time. Then we all had Chinese lunch together at noon.

Krefeld an Tönisvorst: On 5th May Ronita, Jinat, Afsana, Eva V. and me went together to Krefeld. The NETZ supporters Caner and Eva M. and many others waited with chocolate for all of us at the train station. On 6th May we went to ride the Draisine, we all enjoyed a lot together, even though Caner, Eva V. and me, we worked most. Afsana, Jinat and Ronita only worked a little. Then we went to Manfred’s home for a meeting. He is the chairman of NETZ Germany. On 7th, 8th, and 9th May we went to visit the school Michael-Ende-Gymnasium, where Eva M. and Caner teach. On 8th May we had a meeting in the Townhall of Krefeld together with Manfred. We talked about women’s rights in Germany, for example eve teasing and domestic violence and prevention. Afterwards we attended a self-defense course. Jinat, Ronita, Afsana and me, we split a piece of wood hitting it with our hands. And on 9th May in the evening we went to bowling ball game.

Tübingen: On 10th May we came to Tübingen with Franziska, another colleague from NETZ Germany, and in the afternoon we went to a church. In this church, Uta, a NETZ-supporter, played the organ and sang a song for us. The place was very nice. We took pictures together. On 11th May we went around the old city of Tübingen and took a boat ride. While on the boat it was raining very much. We stopped under a bridge and sang Bangladeshi songs. For dinner we went to Uta’s house and had potato soup. I liked it! There was a meeting in the evening from 6-9 pm with some people in the committee of the church and Adnan, also a NETZ-supporter, who translated German to Bangla for us. Ronita told the audience what work she is doing in Bangladesh and explained about the problems of child marriage in their village and the dowry price. Uta and other members of the committee said that the work of Ronita is very good and important.

Wetzlar: After we came to Wetzlar, we gave presentation on our visit to Krefeld and Tübingen for our colleagues in German office. On 13th May we went to the town hall and discussed with the district commissioner. At the same time we went to the art gallery “Rituale des Alltages. Begegnungen mit Bangladesch”.

Frankfurt: In Frankfurt, we discussed the laws on the rights of women with a journalist. We visited the exhibition on “Contemporary Muslim Fashion”. I liked it a lot. You could see dressing styles and burka fashion from all over the world. We also went to the river Main and took a lot of pictures and afterwards we returned to Wetzlar.

Hohensolms: All members of NETZ Germany came together and discussed human and women’s rights in Germany and Bangladesh. I liked a lot that so many people were there and we discussed many things. For example I was in a group where we discussed Bangla language in NETZ Germany. I enjoyed watching Ronita, Afsana and Habib, team leader of NETZ Bangladesh, explain and discuss NETZ’s work in Bangladesh. In the evening there was a concert. Ronita and me we joined the singers on the stage and sang Bengali songs.