Women in the Bangladesh Army explained

Bangladesh Army was created in 1971 in the Bangladesh Liberation War, and one Bengali female officer from the Pakistan Army's medical corps participated in the war, she was Captain Sitara Begum, who was awarded the Bir Protik medal; she was commissioned into the Pakistan Army Medical Corps as a lieutenant in 1970. She took part in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after being in the Comilla Cantonment. She was also the commanding officer of a field hospital shortly after the war started.[1]

From the early part of the 2000s decade women are allowed to join every corps and regiments as officers like men though women can't become officers in the infantry regiment and in the armored corps.[2] [3] [4] Captain Zannatul Ferdous became the first female paratrooper in 2013 who was commissioned in December, 2008 from the Bangladesh Military Academy's 59th long course.[5] [6] In 2019, four female officers were made lieutenant colonels and were appointed commanding officers, three of them were from artillery regiment and one was from engineers corps.[7] [8] [9]

Colonel Nazma Begum from the Bangladesh Army Medical Corps was the first female contingent commander in United Nations Peacekeeping Mission, she went to UNOCI in 2016 with a 56-member contingent; as a lieutenant colonel she was the first female commanding officer of the 21st Field Ambulance of the Bangladesh Army.[10] [11] Another woman from the medical corps Susane Giti was the first woman in the history of the Bangladesh Army who was promoted to the rank of major-general in 2018.[12] [13]

The first batch of female ordinary soldiers of the Bangladesh Army completed their recruit training on 29 January 2015 from Ghatail Cantonment.[14] [15] [16] In this batch, total 879 women were enlisted as ordinary soldiers in the army's medical corps.[17] In the same year, the army got first female pilots, two women named Nazia Nusrat Hossain and Shahrina Binte Anwar became pilots; Nazia was commissioned in the corps of engineers and Shahrina was commissioned in the ordnance corps, both were commissioned in December 2009, both of them completed their first solo flying training successfully in June, 2015.[18] [19] [20]

In 2022, a wheelchair-bound female officer named Kaniz Fatema was promoted to the rank of Major.[21]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 50 years later, the fight goes on. The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Mayabee Arannya, Tasnim Odrika. 8 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210308111925/https://www.thedailystar.net/in-focus/news/50-years-later-the-fight-goes-2056797. 8 March 2021.
  2. Web site: Bangladesh army recruits women. United Press International. Inam Ahmed. 8 July 2000.
  3. Web site: Beacons of success: The life and challenges of female army officers. Dhaka Tribune. Afrose Jahan Chaity. 8 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20230804113658/https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/170680/beacons-of-success-the-life-and-challenges-of. 4 August 2023.
  4. News: The woman keeping pace with men in the Bangladesh army. BBC News Online. 16 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20210710064149/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-17708147. 10 July 2021.
  5. Web site: Ferdous first female paratrooper. Bdnews24.com. 7 February 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130209212328/https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/02/07/ferdous-first-female-paratrooper. 9 February 2013.
  6. Web site: Capt Zannatul first female paratrooper in country. 8 February 2013. The Daily Star (Bangladesh). https://web.archive.org/web/20230201103851/https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-268304. 1 February 2023.
  7. Web site: Four women promoted to Lt Col. Bangla Tribune. 24 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20230306155803/https://en.banglatribune.com/national/news/26849/Four-women-promoted-to-Lt-Col. 6 March 2023.
  8. Web site: Bangladesh Army appoints four female officers as battalion chiefs. Bdnews24.com. 25 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20230216053906/https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/bangladesh-army-appoints-four-female-officers-as-battalion-chiefs. 16 February 2023.
  9. Web site: Four female Bangladesh Army officers made COs. Dhaka Tribune. 24 January 2019.
  10. Web site: First female officer leads contingent. The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 29 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160229112211/https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/first-female-officer-leads-contingent-783856. 29 February 2016.
  11. Web site: Army medical core gets first woman brigadier. Prothom Alo. 8 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201027185122/https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/army-medical-core-gets-first-woman-brigadier. 27 October 2020.
  12. News: Susane Giti becomes first female major general. The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 1 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181008014134/https://www.thedailystar.net/country/susane-giti-first-female-bangladesh-army-major-general-1640794. 8 October 2018.
  13. Web site: Bangladesh Army gets its first female Major General. Bangla Tribune. 30 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181003124419/https://en.banglatribune.com/national/news/14727/Bangladesh-Army-gets-its-first-female-Major. 3 October 2018.
  14. Web site: Serve people with professionalism; PM asks female military paramedics. The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Unb, Tangail. 30 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150629234953/https://www.thedailystar.net/serve-people-with-professionalism-62387. 29 June 2015.
  15. News: 29 January 2015. Women now country's proud soldiers: PM. Banglanews24.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184307/https://www.banglanews24.com/english/national/news/bd/35266.details. 9 July 2021.
  16. News: Women going ahead in challenging professions: PM. Risingbd.com. 29 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185351/https://www.risingbd.com/english/national/news/21910. 9 July 2021.
  17. Web site: Women troops on the march. The Daily Observer (Bangladesh). 30 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201104543/https://www.observerbd.com/2015/01/30/69570.php. 1 February 2023.
  18. Web site: Army gets first female pilots. 28 October 2015. Prothom Alo. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201105401/https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/Army-gets-first-female-pilots. 1 February 2023.
  19. Web site: Women pilots of Bangladesh Army 'herald new era' by operating first flights. Bdnews24.com. 28 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20240304035506/https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/women-pilots-of-bangladesh-army-herald-new-era-by-operating-first-flights. 4 March 2024.
  20. Web site: Nazia, Shahrina become first ever female pilots in army. Dhaka Tribune. 28 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20240303121436/https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/bangladesh-others/112452/nazia-shahrina-become-first-ever-female-pilots-in. 3 March 2024.
  21. Web site: Bangladesh Army promotes Kaniz Fatema, the wheelchair-bound officer, to major. Bdnews24.com. 4 June 2022.

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