Bangladesh: Begum Matia Chowdhury
( July 7, 2017, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) Throughout her politics of student life, Matia Chowdhury was a fiery orator against the oppressive rule of the Pakistani regime and so, she was fondly canonized as “Ogni Konnya or the Girl of Fire.” That would make her the sole woman commander in chief in the eastern hemisphere and the first to rise to that lofty position strictly on her own merits. Given Bangladesh’s well-deserved reputation for machismo, the rise of the leader like her might seem like an extraordinary power shift. But when you look beyond sheer numbers, feminists will find less to celebrate. Political parties have been their gateways to power, and partly driven by a desire to preserve their relationships with powerful party patrons, they have done little to disturb the status quo. In effect, their gender has not had much impact on how they govern. But Matia stands on the principles what Warren G. Bennis says : “Leadership is the capacity to transform vision into reality.” Women were not simply spectators throughout the Independence struggles of Bangladesh. Many women took sides on political issues and joined independence movements in order to participate on many different levels. They played very important roles to fight back the tyrannous Pakistani regime. Amena Begum and Matia Chowdhury took the leading roles in all movements of the Bengali causes side by side with our male political stalwarts. Women took part in the revolution, including in leadership roles.
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