In December 2024, people in Mirpur, Dhaka, waited from early morning to buy subsidized rice and flour from a government Open Market Sale truck. The Business Standard documented separate lines for men and women and reported that the women’s line was generally longer. One woman arrived at 7 a.m. and was still waiting for the truck close to 11.
Separating the lines does not increase the stock or shorten the wait. For households without food at home, position in the queue is tied directly to daily survival. Different people stand in two lines, but both lead toward the same bag of staples.