Today is the 73rd birthday of PM Sheikh Hasina
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PM Sheikh Hasina, Photo: Collected
Today is the 73rd birthday of Awami League president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She was born on this day (Sept.28) of 1947 in the small hamlet of Tungipara washed off by river Madhumati. She was the first child of the Father of the Nation Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnessa Mujib.
The daughter of Bangabandhu is the builder of a new Bangladesh which was cherished by the Father of the Nation.
Like previous years, Awami League and its affiliated organizations will celebrate the day through various programs on the life and achievements of Sheikh Hasina, who is driving the nation towards prosperity following the footsteps of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
On the occasion, Milad and Doa mahfils will be offered in the capital city and different parts of the country.
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 shifted 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 Eden Girls’College (now Badrunnessa Government Girls’College).
During her bachelor course, she was elected as the vice-president of the students’ union of Eden Girls’ College. Later, she enrolled on her Masters’ program in the Bengali Department of Dhaka University.
As a student leader, Sheikh Hasina actively took part in the 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 got married to nuclear scientist Dr 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 Sajib Wazed Joy was born. Her second child Saima Wazed Hossain was born on December 9, 1972.
At the time of Bangabandhu assassination Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana Dr. Wazed Mia, Joy and Putul were in abroad. After the assassination of her parents in 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 that extended from the Airport to Farm Gate and Manik Miah Avenue and she addressed a public rally.
In the 1986 parliamentary election, she 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, 21 years after her father was assassinated, Sheikh Hasina led the Awami League and helped the party assume power and became the Prime Minister for the first time.
During this tenure two historical deeds were done by her. Thirty Years water sharing pact with India called the Farakkha pact and another ending the Hill tract peace pact with the armed rebels ending the long standing strife with the people of Chattogram Hill tract.
On August 21, 2004, Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader, barely escaped an attempt on her life as grenades were lobbed at an AL rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. Although she survived the attack, at least 24 people were killed and over 200 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 now took shelters in Cox’s Bazar, drew accolade from global leaders, institutions and eminent
personalities.
Sheikh Hasina received the prestigious ‘Vaccine Hero’ award given in recognition of Bangladesh’s outstanding success in vaccination. Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunizations (GAVI) handed over the award to
the premier at a ceremony recently at the Conference Room of the UN Headquarters in New York during the ongoing 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
She also received an award titled ‘Champion of Skill Development for Youth’ for Bangladesh’s great success in youth skill development. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) conferred the award on the premier at a ceremony at Labouisse Hall of UNICEF House in the UN Plaza on September 26.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore handed over the award to the prime minister amid thunderous clapping of the audience.
Happy birthday to you Sheikh Hasina on behalf of Barta24.com, Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the undisputed leader of South Asia.
