Sheikh Hasina, a ray of sunshine and the hope for Bangladesh, Happy Birthday, Sister!

Our Premier Sheikh Hasina turns 77 today, the 28 September 2024.

Happy Birthday, Sheikh Hasina. I am writing for two reasons: one, to thank her for being a thoughtful and wise leader that I respect and admire. And two, to wish her a happy birthday! Let us wish her good health and strength. 

It was a well-prepared, well-planned, lynx-eyed, well-ordered and hawk-eyed – billions of US Dollar blueprint by the dreaded western spy agency CIA conjoined with forces like Prof Dr. Yunus, a close ally of America, Jamaat-e-BNP, Pakistan’s vile spy agency ISI, some extreme right-wingers – so-called Islamists killing rams, Bangladesh army chief, his loyalist cronies which led the ruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina government to step down from power in Bangladesh unlawfully on 5 August 2024. She is now in exile in India.

“Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing, nevertheless they give up their lives to that little or nothing. One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living it, and then it's gone. But to surrender what you are, and live without belief - that's more terrible than dying - more terrible than dying young.” - Joan of Arc and Bangladesh’s ‘Joan of Arc’ is Sheikh Hasina!

When you are sitting with her ... she makes you feel like your ideas and your experience are interesting and valuable. She emboldens lots of young women who are often at the bottom of the totem pole... to feel confident enough about themselves that they have gone on to be on television or to change governments. If she is ever in a position where she could do something which she would not turn away that she would act. She has made general people feel happy and cheerful.

She is a very brave and fearless woman like her great father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She is a politician the country has ever produced! She is loyal to her country and knows exactly what it stands for. To me, a hero or a heroine is someone who is respected and does not care what others think. 

A hero or a heroine is someone who has done things which have made a difference, thinks for themselves, and of course, has a sense of style. The one person who matches every one of these traits is a Bengali of Bangladesh. However, this is not what she has to be remembered for. Sheikh Hasina has to be remembered for being herself. 

“If Rabi Thakur is the poet of reflection and thoughts, if Bangabandhu is the poet of politics, then Sheikh Hasina is the poetess of development.”

She represents her strong-mindedness and her wise decision-making ability. All these reasons encompass why she is my hero. She has no problem doing what she thought was right, no matter how unpopular the decision was. She is also educated, unlike many other women of her time, so she could make a decision and back it up. She is the very definition of the kind of person I want to be, and for this, she is my hero. 

Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: "A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others.” She is a remarkable politician in the annuls of present world history. She has used her position in society to do great good for poor people.

She has demonstrated humanitarian efforts in many ways. She has touched many lives and is a hero to many people. She is a role model in public life. She has gone out of her way to help so many people with their problems and needs, even when she had things of her own to deal with. That is why she is a hero to the world and me. A hero is a word that can take on many meanings, each different with every person. 

Her determination has never died. She is so brave for standing up and fighting for her people’s rights as a woman, especially during a time when women were looked down upon and laughed at for wanting the same rights as men. Her bravery, courage, and determination are inspiring. Without a doubt, Sheikh Hasina is a hero in the present world.

Bangladesh’s people are a resilient people. They have suffered through a lot but they are committed to moving ahead to a future of hope and promise. Across Bangladesh and around the world, we must show that freedom can deliver prosperity and peace. Failure to do so will be more costly than we can contemplate and in our country that failure could be catastrophic. Our children are beginning to smile again with faith in the future. I tell you there is one thing that bores down on us very, very hard and that is a sense of urgency. We have got to deliver fast to be able to keep that hope alive and to have that hope build on a solid foundation for PM Sheikh has been working tirelessly. 

Her leadership is bringing change and hope to the Bangladesh’s community. The desperately needed economic, social and political development of her resource-limited country is underway and the world is watching and hoping, too. It is aptly said, “If Rabi Thakur is the poet of thinking, reflection and thought, if Bangabandhu is the poet of politics, then Sheikh Hasina is the poetess of development.”

She is an exceptional woman, a fighter who has willpower and who has helped the country’s people in many ways. She is a multifaceted woman in every possible sense of the word. Her objectives can best be described in the words of Ms. Farkhonda Hassan, a famed Professor and popular Egyptian television personality and UN Economic Commission for Africa, "The objective now is not to renegotiate our dreams, but to emphasize the accountability of all actors. We are no longer seeking promises, but are demanding action." Tying it all together is her role as a woman political leader, passionately dedicating all her various service endeavours to Bangladesh’s causes.

In everything she does, Hasina is devoted to promoting the advancement of women. She uses her various political pursuits, her political prominence, her Bangladesh’s and international connections, as well as her passionate grass-roots approach -- towards supporting female empowerment in public policies, education, science, technology, public service, culture, and within society as a whole.

Trialing the war criminals…She really is a true hero. Jane Addams is absolutely right when he says, “The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life." To me it seems that to give happiness is a far nobler goal that to attain it: and that what we exist for is much more a matter of relations to others than a matter of individual progress: much more a matter of helping others than of getting ourselves. 

Jane Addams personifies this quote with the way she has dedicated her life completely to helping her fellow men and women regardless of race, gender or social standing. Her independence and drive to be involved in the world around her stems from her close relationship with her successful political leader and philanthropist father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

As a leading reformist, Hasina's open-minded approach to politics, well-earned intelligence, and complete disregard for what others thought about her makes her an important figure in bridging the gap between social classes and races. To stand up for what one believes in - to save the world. These are the goals that we imagine the ideal hero striving for. This is what we see come up from our subconscious minds when the word "hero" is uttered...but perhaps, just perhaps, a hero is something more. 

Someone who would sacrifices all of herself or himself for the good of others for a just cause. Someone who isn't afraid to be right, even if it means being wrong to achieve their ends. Maybe then, this someone is a true hero. And this hero is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

There are few people in life, that when you meet them for the first time, you just know you have been blessed by God. Well, Hasina is one of those people. If you ever get the chance to be graced by her presence, consider yourself lucky. I sure do. She is a great woman whose name will remain an inspiration to the people of Bangladesh, while our history endures.

She is a great persona for admiration because she does not use her political power and clout to enrich herself at the expense of common people of Bangladesh. She will go down in history as a great stateswoman because of her good deeds to her people. 

Finally, it’s such an honor to be able to share and be a part of her birthday celebrations, as she is one of the greatest political minds around. Thank her for being such an inspiration and for her remarkable leadership. May her birthday be a reminder of the importance of perseverance, hard work, and dedication in achieving her goals for Bangladesh’s betterment. Happy birthday to her, once again.

Written by Anwar A. Khan

Anwar A. Khan, a direct witness of cruel birth of Bangladesh from a very close proximity in 1971 and a frontline Freedom Fighter of the 1971 war field to establish Bangladesh. He is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh who writes on politics and international issues.

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