Five meritorious and energetic women are now holding top administrative position in five upazilas out of six in Jhenidah. The female Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) are now dominating the upazilas will full confidence. They have been discharging their duties efficiently.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post, the female UNOs said that they feel proud for holding such important position of an upazila. It will play an important role in women empowerment. They also said that they are lucky as they are serving for the people to attain SDGs.
The UNOs are Shammi Islam of Jhenidah Sadar, Nazneen Sultana of Kotchandpur, Saswati Seal of Moheshpur, Subarna Rani Saha of Kaliganj and Syeda Nafiz Sultana of Harinakundu. Of them Nafiz Sultana joined recently.
Shammi Islam, a 28th BCS cadre, said that the authorities concerned have selected the women on the basis of merit and quality. Earlier the role of the women were not recognized and evaluated equally as men. But the government of Sheikh Hasina has shown the way and means to make the country at global state, she said.
She also said that the female officers in the country have been running the administration with their innovative thinking. They have also been managing their families with responsibility as the traditional activities in the society. Deputy Commissioner Saroj Kumar Nath has been guiding them in right truck, he added.
In her reaction, Nazneen Sultana who joined Kotchandpur on September 28 last year, said that she does not see any barrier to perform her duty as they are capable enough to make decision as per the rules. The women can play more significant roles in nation building activities as they are more patience. Education, hard labour, devotion, confident and some other qualities make a person perfect. The women in the society in every family have to play dual role, she added.
Moheshpur UNO Saswati Seal has been working against drug, child marriage, polygamy and dowry in the bordering area since last year. She has been working to combat trafficking in the larger bordering belt, conducting mobile courts and managing local hat-bazers, water-bodies like beel-baors. In her reaction, she said that establishing women rights is a major challenge in remote villages at the upazila.
Subarna Rani Saha joined Kaliganj on September last year. She has been fighting against drug in the drug-prone upazila. Talking to the Bangladesh Post, said that she is determined to furnish her duty punctually as she was selected as one of the competent candidates for her job through some process conducted without any cast, creed and gender. She considers herself as a human being, not woman.
Sayeda Nafiz Sultana joined Harinakundu in the first week of August. She said that gender is not any issue during recruitment of any administrative official. The woman officials proved that they are not least efficient than their male colleagues in the country.
Deputy Commissioner of Jhenidah Saroj Kumar Nath said that the five female UNOs have been discharging duties efficiently, while remaining Shailkupa upazila should be run by another woman. Parity between men and women will help attain the SDG as desired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he added.
