Of course, we have come a long way. The picture is far from perfect, but progress has been made. Amid all the darkness, there are heartening tales that line the clouds with slivers of silver.

Let me share a few anecdotes that may seem insignificant, yet carry a telling message.

First, I must give kudos to two sectors that have radically changed the lives of women in Bangladesh: the NGO sector and the readymade garment industry.

While the NGO sector may have lost some of the vibrancy it had a few years ago (for a number of reasons), it has undeniably been a driver of change. I recall visiting a small village in Rangpur just over a decade ago. I was researching the impact of microcredit. I walked into a yard where a woman was cooking on her mud stove. I asked if she had received any microloans. She said yes. I asked whether it had made any difference in her life. Again, she said replied in the affirmative. I persisted, assuring her I wasn’t from BRAC, Grameen, or any NGO, but simply wanted to understand how it had helped. What difference had the loan made?

She smiled slowly, untied the knot at the end of her sari aachal, and took out a ten taka note. She unfolded it and held it up.

“You see this ten-taka note?” she asked. “Never before in my life had I held a currency note. I didn’t know the difference between a ten taka note and a two taka note. I hardly ever saw money. If I needed anything, or if the children needed anything, my husband would get it for us (or not). I never touched money. This is a special feeling.”