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Women in the Bangladesh Armed Forces

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In Bangladesh, women have played important roles in the country's armed forces. Women have been members of the Bangladesh Army since the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. On 30 May 2016, the Bangladesh Navy had female sailors for the first time in its history. Women had also been recruited as airwomen in the Bangladesh Air Force in 2020.

Army

A female soldier of the Bangladesh Army's ordnance corps in Comilla, 2018
Female soldiers of the Bangladesh Army on parade, 16 December 2016, the Victory Day of Bangladesh

Women have been associated with the Bangladesh Army since the 1971 Liberation War.[1] Sitara Begum, a female Bengali doctor from the Pakistan Army's medical corps participated in the 1971 war; she was commissioned into the Pakistan Army Medical Corps as a lieutenant in 1970. Begum took part in the war as the commanding officer of the Bangladesh Field Hospital, and was awarded the Bir Protik medal for her contribution.[2]

Since the early part of the 2000s, women have been commissioned in various corps of the Bangladesh Army alongside men. However, women cannot become officers in the infantry regiments nor in the armoured corps.[3][4][5] Zannatul Ferdous became the country's first female paratrooper on 7 February 2013, after being commissioned on 24 December 2009 from the Bangladesh Military Academy's 59th long course.[6][7] In 2019, four female officers were made lieutenant colonels and were appointed commanding officers of units; they were Sanjida Hossain, Syeda Nazia Raihan and Farhana Afreen of the artillery regiment and Sarah Amir of the engineer corps.[8][9][10]

Nazma Begum of the Bangladesh Army Medical Corps was the first female contingent commander in United Nations peacekeeping. Nazma went to UNOCI in 2016 with a 56-member contingent, and as a lieutenant colonel was the first female commanding officer of a field ambulance of the Bangladesh Army.[11][12] Susane Giti of the medical corps was the first woman in the Bangladesh Army to be promoted to major general, in 2018.[13][14]

The first batch of female ordinary soldiers of the Bangladesh Army completed their recruit training on 29 January 2015 in Ghatail Cantonment, which is situated in Tangail District.[15][16][17] A total of 879 women were enlisted from that batch into the army's medical corps.[18] In the same year, the army got its first female pilots: Nazia Nusrat Hossain and Shahrina Binte Anwar. Hossain was commissioned in the corps of engineers and Anwar in the ordnance corps. Both women were commissioned in December 2009, and completed their first solo flying training successfully in June 2015.[19][20][21]

In 2022, a wheelchair-bound female officer named Kaniz Fatema was promoted to major.[22]

Since September 2024, women in the Bangladesh army have been allowed to wear the hijab head covering to express their Muslim faith.[23]

On 12 January 2000, 16 women joined the Bangladesh Naval Academy for officer cadet training, this was the first batch of female officers of the Bangladesh Navy.[24]

The navy enlisted female sailors for the first time in its history on 30 May 2016. 44 women were enlisted as sailors on that day at BNS Titumir naval base in Khulna, alongside 727 male sailors who completed their basic naval training on the same day.[25]

Air Force

A female Bangladesh Air Force officer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2016

In 2000, women were inducted as officers in the Bangladesh Air Force.[26] In 2014, the air force started taking women in the pilots' branch.[27]

On 25 November 2020, at the Bangladesh Air Force's Recruits Training School (RTS) in Shamshernagar, the passing out parade of the 48th Airmen Entry was held. A total of 752 recruits passed out, including 64 women. This was the first time that women were recruited as airwomen into the Bangladesh Air Force.[28]

References

  1. ^ Aasha Mehreen Amin, Lavina Ambreen Ahmed & Shamim Ahsan (December 16, 2016). "The women in our Liberation War". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on April 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Mayabee Arannya, Tasnim Odrika (March 8, 2021). "50 years later, the fight goes on". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on March 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Inam Ahmed (July 8, 2000). "Bangladesh army recruits women". United Press International.
  4. ^ Afrose Jahan Chaity (March 8, 2019). "Beacons of success: The life and challenges of female army officers". Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on August 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "The woman keeping pace with men in the Bangladesh army". BBC News Online. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "Ferdous first female paratrooper". Bdnews24.com. February 7, 2013. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013.
  7. ^ "Capt Zannatul first female paratrooper in country". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). February 8, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Four women promoted to Lt Col". Bangla Tribune. January 24, 2019. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "Bangladesh Army appoints four female officers as battalion chiefs". Bdnews24.com. January 25, 2019. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "Four female Bangladesh Army officers made COs". Dhaka Tribune. January 24, 2019.
  11. ^ "First female officer leads contingent". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). February 29, 2016. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016.
  12. ^ "Army medical core gets first woman brigadier". Prothom Alo. October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Susane Giti becomes first female major general". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). October 1, 2018. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018.
  14. ^ "Bangladesh Army gets its first female Major General". Bangla Tribune. September 30, 2018. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018.
  15. ^ Unb, Tangail (January 30, 2015). "Serve people with professionalism; PM asks female military paramedics". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on June 29, 2015.
  16. ^ "Women now country's proud soldiers: PM". Banglanews24.com. January 29, 2015. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "Women going ahead in challenging professions: PM". Risingbd.com. January 29, 2015. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
  18. ^ "Women troops on the march". The Daily Observer (Bangladesh). January 30, 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023.
  19. ^ "Army gets first female pilots". Prothom Alo. October 28, 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Women pilots of Bangladesh Army 'herald new era' by operating first flights". Bdnews24.com. October 28, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024.
  21. ^ "Nazia, Shahrina become first ever female pilots in army". Dhaka Tribune. October 28, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024.
  22. ^ "Bangladesh Army promotes Kaniz Fatema, the wheelchair-bound officer, to major". Bdnews24.com. June 4, 2022. Archived from the original on July 2, 2024.
  23. ^ "Bangladesh Army's female troops allowed to wear hijab with uniform; The authorities also say a policy is being formulated for hijab-wearing". Bdnews24.com. September 23, 2024. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024.
  24. ^ "Female Officer Training". Bangladesh Navy. Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  25. ^ "Navy gets its first women sailors". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). May 31, 2016. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016.
  26. ^ Gp. Capt. M. Nurul Islam. "Empowerment of Women in Bangladesh Air Force" (PDF). twasp.info.
  27. ^ "BAF's first woman pilot flies chopper". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). November 21, 2014.
  28. ^ "64 female recruits participate in BAF's passing out parade for graduates". Dhaka Tribune. November 25, 2020.
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