Four Bangladeshi women have returned home after languishing in Indian jails for nearly three years. The four were handed over to the Benapole immigration police by India’s Petrapole immigration authorities at the land border on Tuesday evening. The women have been identified as Tanjila Akter, 23, Sabira Khatun, 20, Shilpi Khatun, 26, and Rahima Khatun, 27, belonging to Jashore and Gazipur districts. Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration police, said all of them sneaked into India in the hope of bagging well-paid jobs three years ago. Later, they were arrested by Indian police and remanded in judicial custody by courts. The decision to return them was taken following an intervention of the home ministries of the two countries, sources said.

Generally, women have been treated as icons of beauty, softness, innocence, and magnificence. They are also considered passive, soft, and innocent. But it is hardly believed that they can be valiant fighters. Though it is almost difficult for the general women to join the front line of the war, they have great contributions to the Liberation war that occurred in 1971. They could do so because of their irrepressible thirst for the country’s freedom. Let’s find out how women participated in 1971’s liberation war. We will also highlight some great women freedom fighters of Bangladesh.  Contribution of Bangladeshi Women in 1971’s Independence war of Bangladesh As a Guerilla Cobra camp was set up in Kolkata where about 400 women freedom fighters were trained to participate in the frontal war. The Awami League woman leader Sajeda Chowdhury took care of the camp. Read Achievements of Bangladesh in sports in 50 years since independence Shirin Banu, Farquan Begum, Alamtaj Begum, Karuna Begum, Shobha Rani, Bithika Biswas, Meherunnesa, and many more women freedom fighters were trained there to fight for the country. But their stories remain unexplored; the nation is not aware of its contribution to the emergence of independent Bangladesh even today. Run cultural activities to grow world sentiment Women were in inspiration. They played a special role in maintaining the determination of the warriors during the liberation war. At that time, the country's most popular radio transistor was 'Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendra'.  Most of the programs at this radio station were run by women. Its opening melody was 'Joy Bangla Banglar Joy'.  When the song was played, everyone became stunned! Poet Rosie also recited different inspirational poems at Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. Read Who was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman? A Short Biography of Bangabandhu, Father of the Nation Women share information to get the world's opinion Women freedom fighters contributed to develop public opinion for the liberation war inside and outside Bangladesh. Women both domestic and foreign, various women's organizations organized public meetings where they described the massacre of Pakistani forces to the people of the world.  

Indian authorities on Thursday sent back seven Bangladeshi women, who were trafficked to that country two years ago. The seven were received by the Benapole immigration police at the international land border after India’s Petrapole immigration authorities sent them back on travel permit. The returnees have been identified as- Shirina Bishwash Kuri from Jashore, Anjuman Sumi from Kuri village, Moushumi Akter from Farispur, Ria Akter from Chattogram, Shohagi akter Mim from Sreepur, Zakia Akter from Khagrachari and Suma Akter from Sunamganj. Also read: Banned Indian drugs worth Tk 30 lakh seized at Benapole All of them are aged between 25 and 30 years. Officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration police Ahsan Habib said that the women were produced in a local court that granted them bail. "The women have been taken to a shelter home by NGO Justice and Care." The women told cops that they had entered  India two years ago illegally through brokers and who promised job opportunities there. Also read: Govt relaxes conditions for returnees from India through Benapole Senior program officer of Justice and Care, ABM Muhit Hossain said that Indian police rescued the women after getting to know that they had fallen into the trap of human traffickers. The returnees will stay in 14-day institutional quarantine in Jashore for now considering the current Covid situation, said the officer. "After that, we will help them get jobs in Bangladesh,” he said.

Three Bangladeshi scientists, all of them women, have made it to the list of "best and brightest" 100 Asian scientists for their contribution to research. International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh's Dr Firdausi Qadri, Model Livestock Advancement Foundation's Dr Salma Sultana, and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology's Professor Saima Subrina have been included in the sixth edition of the list published by Singapore-based magazine Asian Scientist. Read Legendary Women in Bangladesh with Pioneering Contribution in Diverse Fields Scientists from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have also secured a place on the prestigious list. Researchers and inventors from across a range of scientific disciplines have been picked based on their role in tackling this year's key challenges, including Covid-19 and climate change, said Asian Scientist. Read 2 Bangladeshi women named in BBC 100 Women 2020 list All three Bangladeshi scientists previously received an international award for their leadership and role in effective discovery. Dr Firdausi, an emeritus scientist at icddr,b, won the L'Oréal-Unesco for Women in Science Award 2020 for her work on understanding and preventing infectious diseases affecting children in developing countries and advocacy for early diagnosis and global vaccination. Read Bangladeshi young medical scientist shines in Japan Dr Salma, the founder of Model Livestock Advancement Foundation, previously won the Norman E Borlaug Award 2020 for field research and application by the World Food Prize Foundation for her work with Bangladeshi small-scale farmers – namely her efforts involving veterinary outreach, treatment, and education.  Professor Samia received the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award 2020 for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for her research on the properties and uses of nanomaterials. Read Women continue making amazing contributions in STEM fields.

Digital Healthcare Solutions has recently celebrated the International Women’s Day by supporting over 450,000 women in Bangladesh with maternity free health cashback, access to doctors and specialists. Since its inception, DH has been relentlessly working to mitigate the gap between rich and poor, rural and urban people in the health sector of Bangladesh, said a press release.  Women are largely marginalized in the society compared to men in cases of accessing the basic needs such as healthcare while DH through its innovative and affordable services providing them healthcare. The women can also get both general practitioner and specialist consultations by just making a call. Through various campaigns and projects, DH has registered over 450,000 women under various health plans and packages which provide free consultations and free health cashback to its members along with their families.  In the last few months alone, DH has also provided over 1300 consultation with general practitioners for free along with over 1100 consultations with specialists including gynecologists and pediatricians. This year, in an effort to acknowledge the achievements of the women of DH, the management of DH conducted a virtual session with all the female employees on 8th March. In an effort to ensure that the female employees of DH are comfortable and happy and based on this year’s theme ‘Choose to Challenge’, DH also conducted a virtual session with them on 1st March where they discussed about the challenges they face and proposed various innovative solutions. Dr Sharmin Zahan, head of ecosystem and business development said, “We are determined to use our privilege in making digital health accessible for all, particularly for the women and their families as COVID-19 pandemic has flashed light on the inequality across the health and other areas.”  Dr Tanhar Islam, Manager of clinical team said “I'm proud to be a part of DH family where I can flourish myself without facing any negative force and doing something meaningful for the society as well.” More details about DH can be availed by calling 08 000 111 000 or visiting its website - dh.health

Ten Bangladeshi women, who served jail term in India for illegal entry, were handed over to Bangladesh authorities on Monday through the Benapole land port.

Thirty-five more Bangladeshi female workers have sent a video message from Saudi Arabia with fervent SOS (save our souls) calls to be rescued.