Women and Girls

We all have a role to play in creating a fair and just world for everyone.

1. Listen to Women and Girls: Actively listen to the experiences, challenges, and achievements of women and girls around you. Create spaces where they feel heard and valued.
2. Share the Care: Recognise and address the disproportionate burden of caregiving that often falls on women. Whether it's within your own home or advocating for policies that support parental leave and childcare. Sharing care responsibilities benefits everyone.
3. Advocate for Economic Equality: Support women-owned businesses, advocate for equal pay, and promote workplaces that provide opportunities for women to thrive and advance in their careers.
4. Encourage Young People: Mentor the next generation, educating girls and boys about gender equality, and provide them with the tools to challenge stereotypes and promote inclusivity.
5. Include Women in Decision Making: Advocate for equal representation of women in leadership positions. Recognise the importance of diverse perspectives in decision-making processes.
6. Encourage Male Allies: Invite men and boys to take an active role in supporting gender equality. Highlight positive male role models who demonstrate respect, support and fairness in their daily interactions and communities, inspiring others to step forward as allies.
7. Say Thank You: Take a moment to express gratitude to the women in your life. Send a message acknowledging their contributions, whether it's a colleague who has mentored you, a friend who has supported you, or a family member who has inspired you. Let them know how they have positively influenced you.
8. Support The Salvation Army's Work with Women and Girls: Donate and raise awareness about how The Salvation Army is supporting women and girls through international projects.

The paths that lead women there are many – debt, deception, abandonment – but choice is not one of them. In Jashore, as in so many places, choice is an illusion dressed up as opportunity. The project responds with a simple conviction: if exploitation is a cycle, then intervention must be a rhythm – proximate, consistent, reliable. This is quiet, radical work, rooted in compassion and sustained by professional resolve. 

For over three decades The Salvation Army has maintained a steadfast presence, evolving and adapting the project focus over the years to meet changing needs. The current phase, which began in 2024, prioritises community-driven solutions, building trust, listening to women to understand their challenges and engaging them in setting priorities. 

Alongside regular outreach – where a Salvation Army chaplain meets women in their homes within the brothel to listen, advise and support – community organisers travel to neighbouring villages to raise awareness of child marriage, gender discrimination and human trafficking, to drive social change and address the push factors that feed exploitation. 

This situation is complex and nuanced and there isn’t a single, simple solution. Women need stable income to be able to pay off debts, exit the brothel and support themselves. The Salvation Army partners with local organisations to provide skills training and pathways to just and sustainable income opportunities or employment. Staff practise trauma-informed care, recognising that leaving the brothel is only the beginning of a longer journey of healing and rebuilding.

The drop-in centre for children opened in 2021. It was born out of the concerns that the women shared with project staff: that their children would be drawn into the same life as them. As part of the project, the children’s team provide education, creative activities and nutritious meals in a safe, caring and engaging environment, with compassion and care shown practically to children at risk of abuse and neglect. 

Each weekday morning, the staff gather for a time of reflection and worship. As well as spending time in prayer, reading Scripture and singing together, this space offers an opportunity to speak openly about the concerns that weigh heavily on their hearts. It’s a time to support one another which has become an important rhythm in the week. 

Barna, one of the children’s workers, outlines the pastoral and practical care that they provide: ‘If children don’t arrive at the centre, I go over to the brothel to collect them. We give them snacks and make sure they have the appropriate clothes and books for school. For the children who are still going to school, we check that they have done their homework. For those that don’t go to school, we play with them a little and then teach them basic lessons.’ 

For Barna, this isn’t just a job, it’s a vocation: ‘I love being with the children. It is very important because when I go to the brothel … sometimes I have seen children tied up there. The brothel is not a healthy place for children. When the customers come to the mothers, the children are sent out and they are just roaming around.’ 

Reflecting on the centre’s impact, Barna said, ‘This centre is changing children’s lives. Without the centre, the children can easily get into trouble. We are educating them and teaching them a good way to live. The most beautiful thing is when I see children who have been to the centre, who are grown up and are in a good place now. When I see that they are doing well, it brings joy to my heart.’

If you would like to find out more about our work, order resources or get involved in advocacy or fundraising, simply contact us and we will be happy to help. 

The Salvation Army International Development UK, 101 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BN

Telephone +44 (0)20 7367 4777

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Our Develop Podcast features conversations about how a faith-based organisation tackles poverty around the world. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Acast or wherever you get your podcasts.