The Top Ten Bangladeshis

I came across this article in the Dhaka Tribune today (click on the link and it will pop up on another tab):

‘Top 10 globally inspiring Bangladeshis’

Although it is just a short summary list, I found it an eye-opener.

Muhammad Yunus, Copyright by World Economic Forum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I knew, of course, about the incredible work of Muhammad Yunus. Despite the current Government’s attempts to discredit him, I find him a remarkable man who has done more to help Bangladeshis than any other single figure in recent history.

I had never heard of Jawed Karim however.

I love YouTube and when teaching in Bangladesh I found downloading educational and fun material from the site essential to my lesson-planning. I had no idea a Bangladeshi co-founded the site.

I do wonder, however, what he’s doing with his$65 million since selling it? Can anyone tell me? I hope he’s using some of it for the country of his origin…

The contribution of Nishat Mazumder could easily be overlooked but I think she has the potential to be the next ‘Begum Rokeya‘ for the women an young girls of Bangladesh. For those of you who don’t know, Begum Rokeya was a well-respected woman who did much for the education and emancipation of women in Bengal as it was when she died in 1932.

 

Roquia Sakhawat Hussain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nishat hasn’t done anything, to my knowledge, to further education but with being the first woman to conquer Everest she is a fantastic role model for millions of girls who are still taught by their (largely rural) society that they are second-class and have no value in themselves – at least until they give birth to sons. I hope we’ll see this remarkable accountant featuring in the educational books in schools all over Bangladesh in the years to come. If she is, what an impact that could have for the future!

 

 

As a side note, I notice – with a degree of irony considering my view above – that my WordPress help functions found Wikipedia articles for ALL the above names, except one. Being the first woman to climb Everest, it seems, isn’t good enough.

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