"Women of Bangla-speaking backgrounds are very shy and they do not want to express their [mental] illness at all," Qanita Ahmed tells SBS Bangla.
Ahmed is a social worker who has been working as a volunteer referral member for community-based services provider, Advanced Diversity Services.
Under the Australian Settlement Services Program (SSP), the not-for-profit provides a range of settlement support services for newly arrived migrants, refugees and humanitarian entrants, in Sydney's St George and Sutherland areas.
As a volunteer, Ahmed has been working with new migrants - particularly newly-arrived Bangla-speaking women.
Ms Ahmed assists new migrants by helping them access Centrelink support, Legal Aid services, Medicare and how to get access to other government services. She says she volunteers in order to liaise with community members.
Qanita Ahmed Source: SBS Bangla
For mental health issues Ahmed is working as a peer educator.
She says, "The women in the Bangla-speaking community in Australia have hesitation, fear and stigma and that is why they do not open up about their mental health issues."
"Mental illness includes depression for a while [upon resettlement] too," Ahmed explains.
As she explains, it is not always easy to identify the women who are mentally ill. This is the challenge Ahmed faces.
To reach this particular women group Advanced Diversity Services organise seminars and other programs. They invite these people to attend group activities, such as Mother’s Program, Women’s Health and Well-being Group, Mental illness and well-being group. If they come along to these groups they will definitely get help, she assured.
Ms Ahmed also emphasizes on mutual understanding. She says,"They should come forward too. If they do not come we cannot do anything. Boths side should work together.”
“To make them free, we should make sure that they must not stay alone, they should mix with others and they should keep in touch with support groups. When they will have their own circle of friends, they will receive more information. Then they will learn how the systems work.”
Ms Ahmed notes, language barriers are the main problem. They feel hesitant because of this. She says, “We offer free English classes, inform new migrant women where they should go, how to contact Centrelink, Medicare, for how to get a Healthcare card and access to medical services.”
New migrant families face financial problems, social cohesion problems and so many other problems which makes difficult for them to cope in the new society. That causes stress and depression sometimes leads to domestic violence too.
Sometimes dowry issues cause problems and domestic violence in conjugal life. The Victorian government is preparing legislation regarding dowry abuse, making Australia the first country outside the Indian Sub-Continent to do so.
It’s not uncommon for people in many countries to spend huge amount of money on weddings.
Demands for more dowry sometimes continue well after the wedding is over. In Australia such demands have ended in numerous cases of domestic violence or death.
Dowry practices are alive and well in Australia, in sections of the Indian, Pakistani and Bangla speaking communities and also prevalent in other countries such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iran and more.
Lavish arranged marriages and huge dowries can come with a hidden cost: a person's well-being and in some cases, their life.
In some communities, the dowry system is believed to be a leading cause of violence against women, ranging from emotional abuse to physical harm and sometimes even death. Sometimes dowry payments can also become a great financial burden on families. While considered dishonorable, the tradition has endured for centuries, and some families continue to practice it voluntarily.
If any dowry victim comes to her what would she do? Bangla speaking social worker Qanita Ahmed says, "We can send them to Legal Aid services and then the case officers or support workers from those organisations can take care of them and deal with the cases.
She says, 'We are volunteers. We do not advise them in any other way.”
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Listen to Qanita Ahmed's full interview (in Bangla) with SBS Bangla in the audio player above.
