'I have sold my collected meat to pay house rent'

Majeda Begum, 60, a divorcee from Kishoreganj,  has been living in Nimtoli slum of the capital for 30 years. She makes a living by working as a housemaid.

On the day of Eid, she went door to door to collect the meat of Qurbani (slaughtering of sacrificial animals), and sold it in the Karwan Bazar market.

Majeda Begum told The Business Standard she kept one-and-a-half kg for the house and sold the rest to pay house rent.

"The house rent is around Tk6,000 in total. Eating all the meat isn't an option, I have to pay rent too," said the elderly woman.

On the day of Eid-ul-Azha in many places, including the capital's Karwan Bazar, many poor and low-income people collect meat and sell it in the market. 

Some sell extra meat after keeping a portion for their families, but people also sell this meat in need of money.

The buyers of these meats are also lower-middle-income people who cannot afford to offer a sacrifice during Eid-ul-Azha or cannot afford to buy beef over the year. 

They normally sell this meat for Tk250-Tk400 per kg.

Shahinur Begum, 40, a middle-aged woman came to Karwan Bazar along with a child to buy meat. 

Her husband works for a private company with a wage of Tk25,000. They have a family of five.

Speaking in a somewhat shy tone, she said, "Brother, don't ask me anything, I couldn't buy a sacrificial animal after spending for my children's education, house rent etc." 

"We couldn't even go to the village this year due to lack of money. But the little boys and girls don't understand anymore, they have seen cows being slaughtered around the house all day long. Although the kids don't say anything, they feel sad. So to make them understand, I bought 5 kg of meat from here at a slightly lower price."