Today, September 28, 2022 is the 76th birthday of Bangladesh Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina. Her auspicious birthday is being celebrated across the country.
Sheikh Hasina, the eldest among the five children of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, was born at Tungipara in Gopalganj on September 28 in 1947.
During the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Sheikh Hasina, following the footprint of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered speech in Bangla at the UNGA like the previous years.
Like the previous years, Awami League (AL) and its affiliated and likeminded bodies are celebrating the day through various programs highlighting the life and achievements of Sheikh Hasina, who is driving Bangladesh towards prosperity.
Sheikh Hasina spent much of her childhood in the small hamlet where she was born. She started her schooling there. When Bangabandhu was elected a legislator, his family moved to Dhaka in 1954.
She was admitted to what is now Sher-e-Bangla Girls’ School and College and later to Azimpur Girls’ High School from where she completed her secondary education in 1965. She was then admitted to Badrunnessa Government Girls’ College.
During her bachelor course, she was elected as the vice-president of the students’ union of Eden Girls’ College (Badrunnessa and Eden Girls’ College was a single entity during the period). Later, she enrolled in her Masters’ program in Bangla at Dhaka University.
As a student leader, Sheikh Hasina actively participated in the historic six-point movement of 1966 and the student movement of 1969 which saw the abdication of General Ayub Khan.
In 1968, with the blessings of her imprisoned father, Sheikh Hasina, who is leading the country as the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, married nuclear scientist Dr MA Wazed Miah.
During the Liberation War, Sheikh Hasina and her family were interned in a house in Dhaka. On July 27 in 1971, her first child Sajeeb Wazed Joy was born. Her second child Saima Wazed Hossain was born on December 9, 1972.
After the assassination of her and other members of the family on August 15, 1975, Sheikh Hasina and her family were offered political asylum in India, where she stayed till 1981 when she was elected as the president of the Awami League in her absence.
Sheikh Hasina returned home on May 17, 1981 when she was greeted by a mammoth crowd.
In the 1986 parliamentary election, Sheikh Hasina was elected as parliament member from three different constituencies. After the overthrow of autocracy in 1990, she was elected as the Leader of the Opposition in the House.
In 1996 general elections, 21 years after her father’s assassination, Sheikh Hasina led the Awami League and helped the party assume power and became the Prime Minister for the first time.
On August 21, 2004, Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader, barely escaped an assassination attempt as grenades were thrown at an AL rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka city. Although she survived the attack, at least 24 people were killed and over 500 others injured. Most of them were Awami League leaders and supporters.
In 2008, she led the Grand Alliance to an overwhelming victory acquiring 90 percent of parliament seats in the general elections. She was elected the Prime Minister on January 5, 2014 for the second time in a row.
Sheikh Hasina assumed office of the Prime Minister for third consecutive term with a thumping victory in general elections in December 2018.
Under her leadership, Bangladesh has become a role model for development, attaining steady economic growth, becoming self-sufficient in food and attaining a marked progress in the fields of women empowerment, agriculture, education, health, infrastructure, communication, energy and power, trade and commerce, ICT and the SME sectors.
Her most recent role in extending humanitarian support to over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, who took shelter in Cox’s Bazar, drew accolades from global leaders, international forums and institutions and eminent personalities.
The UK-based ‘Channel 4’ dubbed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the ‘Mother of Humanity’ in 2017 after she gave refuge to hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas fleeing persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The government introduced an award named after it.
Asiatic Society of Kolkata honored Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the prestigious “Tagore Peace Award-2018” in recognition of her contribution to maintaining regional peace and prosperity.
The Premier was conferred with the award ‘Champion of Skill Development for Youth’ by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for Bangladesh’s great success in youth skill development.
Sheikh Hasina was also conferred with various honorary degrees, accolades and awards in recognition of her leadership excellence and intellectual flair.
These include: honorary Doctor of Laws by the Waseda University of Japan, honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Liberal Arts by University of Abertay Dundee, UK, honorary Degree of Desikottama by Visva-Bharati University of West Bengal, India, honorary Doctor of Laws by the Australian National University, honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the Bridgeport University, USA, honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Dhaka, Paul Haris Fellowship by the Rotary International, UNESCO’s Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize in 1998, M K Gandhi Award in 1998, Mother Teresa Award in 1998 and 2006, Pearl S. Buck Award by Randolph Macon Women’s College of USA in 1999, CERES Medal in 1999, UN Award for MDG achievement (child mortality) in 2010, Indira Gandhi Peace Prize in 2009, South-South Award in 2011, UN Award for MDG Achievement in 2013, Rotary Peace Prize in 2013, Tree of Peace in 2014, ICT Sustainable Development Award in 2015, Champions of the Earth in 2015, Agent of Change Award in 2016 and Planet 50-50 Champion in 2016.
She penned more than 25 books. Her notable books are ‘Mujib Amar Pita’, ‘Living in Tears’, ‘Sada Kalo’, ‘Amara Janaganer Kotha Bolte Esechhi’.
