Special Correspondent //

Interim government’s chief advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, Begum Rokeya’s courage and imagination surprised me, even now, everyone knows the circumstances in which she grew up, it is completely different compared to today. How she got the opportunity to study, how hard she worked to study, through that she has emerged as a protesting young woman, protesting girl, protesting woman.

He said this as the chief guest at the medal presentation ceremony at Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Monday on the occasion of Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s 144th birth and 92nd death anniversary.

Dr. Yunus said, Begum Rokeya’s imagination surprised me. We all have this imagination. But we are not able to use it like Begum Rokeya. But no one has any obstacles in imagination. You cannot say that the government has stopped me here or the family has stopped me. There is no obstacle here. Imagination is beyond all human powers. It does not cost any money, there is no arrangement, just letting go of the mind and Begum Rokeya did that, which is reflected in Sultana’s dream.

The Chief Advisor further said, we read something about Begum Rokeya in the eighth grade when we were children. I did not understand why it was being taught at that time. But as we went to the higher grades, this name came up again and again and I was surprised to see her activities and thoughts. I thank those who prepared the textbooks then, who had the thought in their heads that it would be useful to include Begum Rokeya’s words in the books. Today, I urge those who write textbooks to think about how many such names, the seeds of this thought they are putting in the childhood books. Because through this, new thoughts, new ideas will emerge.

It is worth noting that Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has presented the ‘Begum Rokeya Padak-2024’ to four distinguished women for their outstanding contribution to society, women’s education and women’s empowerment. The recipients of the Begum Rokeya Padak-2024 are: Educationist Parveen Hasan. She is the Chairperson of Transparency International Bangladesh and VC of Central Women’s University.

Worker, women’s rights activist and photographer Taslima Akhtar. Chess player and the country’s first female international chess master Rani Hamid and Shirin Parveen Haque, founder of women’s rights organization Nari Paksha.

Expressed their opinions.