Girl Guides are not that different from Scouts. By becoming a Girl Guide, girls of different ages get a platform to develop a number of physical and intellectual skills.
According to that handout provided by Bangladesh Girl Guides Association to its members, in 1909, a Scouts rally was held at Crystal Place in London, England, where about 10,000 Boy Scouts took part. Interestingly, 11 girls also participated in the same rally dressed as Boys Scouts and declared themselves as ‘Girl Scouts’. This incident amazed Lord Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, the father of Scouting. He thought if boys could become Scouts, then why not girls, too? Soon after, he formed the Girl Guides and asked his sister, Agnes Baden Powell, to take charge. Girl Guides, or Girl Scouts, have grown immensely since then.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) was established in 1928, and at the moment, it has member organisations in 150 countries. The movement provides girls and young women with the opportunity to develop leadership and life skills through challenges and adventure. Bangladesh Girl Guides Association was established in 1973, and today, there are about 400,000 Girl Guides in the country, according to its official website.
Based on their age, Girl Guide members are divided into five different categories: Yellow Birds (ages 6-10), Guide and Sea Guide (ages 11-15), Ranger and Sea Ranger (ages 16-26), Young Leaders (ages 27-30). Young Leaders can become commissioners and if any woman wants, they can remain a member of the association as long they like.
Yellow Birds are primary school students who are motivated to help their parents at home. They are trained through participation in games. The young girls learn teamwork, poetry recitation, public speaking and sharing.
Guide and Sea Guides are high school students and they have more responsibilities and activities. Every day, they must accomplish one good task that helps their family or friends. Guides earn tenderfoot rank after completing a course that teaches them about democracy, their rights and loyalty. Guides who study in Bangladesh Navy-run schools are called Sea Guides.
Tasneem Khadiza, 14, a student of class 9 at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, is also a Girl Guide. "These days, we remain very busy with our studies, thus, it's not always possible for us to take part in all guiding activities. However, my fellow Guides and I always keep in touch. We even train together; sometimes we train once a week. But when we have exams, we only train once a month. I love guiding, it has taught me a number of interesting things, for example, how to stand up for myself. I also got the opportunity to meet many people and my confidence level has grown. I am soon going to take part in a camp in Singapore. I am very excited about this particular event as I have not travelled outside the country before," she said.
College and university students can become Rangers or Sea Rangers. They participate in different social activities. After joining a Ranger unit, they have to complete a test to earn a badge. Sea Rangers learn about Girl Guide laws, mottos and regulations of the Navy and stay active by taking part in the different social work.
Tahmina Akter, 26, is a student of Eden Mohila College. She is an active member of Bangladesh Girl Guides Association and works as a Young Leader at her college. "I love Girl Guides and I remember when I was in class 6, I decided to become one. In our college, we didn't have any Girl Guide unit, so some of my friends and I decided to change that. Based on our ranks, we wear different uniforms and badges. We have our own greeting signs. Girl guiding has taught me how to become a good person and how to be a leader. I would love to be a part of Girl Guides as long I can," she said.
Kaniz Farzana, 21, a student of Sheikh Sayera Khatun Medical College, added: "When I was in class 2, my parents got me involved with Girl Guides. Back then, I was too young to understand how everything works with Girl Guides. At the moment, I am a Ranger. The best thing Girl Guides has taught me is self-discipline. I went to Japan to participate in a camp. It was a wonderful experience. We take part in different activities, like tree planting, providing assistance during vaccination programmes, and more. We learn about trekking, hiking, camping, and administering first aid. In short, we learn how to survive on our own. I believe Guiding helps develop self-confidence and motivates us to achieve success on our own. We also work with female empowerment. On different occasions, like Independence Day, Environment Day and International Day of the Girl Child, we bring out rallies. We also organise cultural programmes and pitha (pie) festivals."
The main activity of Young Leaders is to provide leadership to younger Girl Guides. To become a Young Leader, one must get training from local (upazila), district, regional and national Girl Guide units. Since they act as leaders, they must have clear ideas about the rules of Guiding.
Fahima Akter, a parent, told Y&I: "Both my daughters have been associated with Girl Guides for a long time now. My husband and I always encourage them. We want them to remain busy with such good work."
Saleha Begum, 42, a trainer of Bangladesh Girl Guides Association, told this reporter at her office in Dhaka: "In our country, we have 400,000 (four lakh) active members. Schools that are associated with us collect a small amount of money from their students. Normally, we make a batch with at least 24 Guides. We only take funds collected from 24 Guides and send it to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). The rest of the money is supposed to be spent on different Guiding activities. On August 30, 12 Girl Guides are going to Singapore to take part in an international camp. The girls were selected for the tour based on their English-speaking skills and leadership quality."
"Through our training, we try to teach girls about healthy diets, fire safety, first aid, and so on. We give them tips on how to handle various adolescent problems. Most of our members are volunteers. There are only 95 paid workers in the Association. Over the years, some schools have stopped showing much interest in Girl Guides as they used to. However, we want to change that situation and we are hopeful we will succeed on that matter," she said.
"Girl Guides receive a number of medals, badges, andcertificates for their activities. Among them, President Award, National Commissioner Award, Rupali Award and Shapla Award are the most prestigious. The Guides receive certificates, the schools they represent get crests and their teachers receive medals. There are 21 trainers in our Association. They train Guides and teachers on different Guiding activities and social work. For example, Girl Guides help with road traffic. During the recent Traffic Week, Girl Guides worked in Khulna, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Mymensingh and Barishal to discipline road users," Saleha Begum added.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently inaugurated a new 10-storey national headquarters of Bangladesh Girl Guides Association at New Baily Road in the capital. The prime minister emphasised there should be a unit of Girl Guides in every girls’ school.
Regarding facilities at the new headquarters, Tangena Binte Mosharrof, general secretary of Bangladesh Girl Guides Association, told Y&I: "We are in the middle of moving our offices to the new building. There are a number of new facilities in the new building. For example, there will be a daycare centre there. We are yet to decide if we are going to charge any money for that service. We had a similar programme in the old HQ, where we used to provide preschool education and fee snacks to the children. We have also thought of opening an old people’s home, but at the moment, we are not unable to run that programme. We are also planning to accommodate some underprivileged children in the building; it will function as a dormitory for them. We will provide food and lodging for them."
Rita Jesmin, 42, a training commissioner, has been associated with Bangladesh Girl Guides Association since 1984. "I joined Girl Guides when I was in primary school. I have always believes that Girl Guides provide girls with a platform that they can use to learn new skills and gain self-confidence. In different emergency situations, we try to help the authorities. For example, during floods, we provide relief goods or any kind of assistance we are capable of giving. We also worked during the Rana Plaza building collapse. Progressive self-development, learning by doing, teamwork, service to the community, outdoor activities, active co-operation between young people and adults, international experience, identifying different signs and uniforms, camping, and providing fast aid are some of the activities every Girl Guide gets to learn through Guiding," she said.
Photos: Courtesy.