In every country, a common bitter truth is that in a society, among different groups, there are certain groups who are marginalized and who are given more priority. Also, another harsh truth is even though we all claim to love every human, we do not really love and treat people with physical and mental disability equally or normally. People in this category are the most deprived group in a society though they also have the potential to contribute in the society if they get proper opportunities.
Today we will talk about such a lady, named Dr. Sultana Zaman, who was brave and kind enough to come forward to work for those special people at a time when nobody could even think of doing something for them to improve their life. Dr. Sultana had initiated different platforms in Bangladesh to aid the lives of special needs people in our country.
Life of “Sultana Zaman” at a glance:
Real Name: Dr Sultana Sarwat Ara Zaman
Date of Birth: 9 June 1932
Birth Place: Chittagong
Date of Death: 22 March 2020
Place of Death: Dhaka
Cause of Death: Old-age related complications
Age: 87
Education:
➢ Matriculation and HSC
➢ B.A. degree, Psychology, University of Dhaka
➢ M.A. degree, Psychology, University of Dhaka, in 1967
➢ Ph.D. degree, Psychology, Emory University, Georgia, USA, in 1975
Professions:
➢ Assistant Professor, Development Psychology, University of Dhaka, in 1967
➢ Professor, Development Psychology, University of Dhaka, from 1975 to 2000
➢ Visiting Professor, Department of Special Education, University of Manchester, USA, from April 1992 to August 1922
➢ Founder, Shishu Bikash Clinic, Psychiatry Department, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, in 1967
➢ Founder, Society for the Welfare of Children with Intellectual Disability (SWID), Bangladesh, in 1977
➢ Founder, Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation (BPF), in 1984
➢ Founder, Bangladesh Institute for Special Education, in 1984
➢ Founder, Department of Special Education, Institute of Education and Research (IER, University of Dhaka), in 1993
➢ Founder, Samaj Unnayan Sangstha (Deepshikha School), in 1972
Married to: Kazi Nuruzzaman, in 1951
Children: 3
Religion: Islam
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Awards and Achievements:
➢ Professor Emeritus, September 2008
➢ Henry H Kessler Award, in 1996
➢ Begum Rokeya Padak, in 2008
➢ Rotary International Award “Women for Women”
➢ Anannya
➢ Bangladesh Scouts
➢ Autism Welfare Foundation, in 2000
➢ IER Award, in 2003
➢ Agradoot Award, in 2008
Early Life:
Sultana Sarwat Ara Zaman, more commonly known as Sultana Zaman, was born on 9 June 1932 in an eminent family at Chittagong.
Unfortunately, she had a difficult childhood. She had undergone trauma and lack of proper parental and family love as she had to lose her author mother at a young age and as a result her father left her to become a sanyasi. She was then brought up by her neighbors, relatives and siblings. With her passion and natural talent, she displayed her potential by excelling in studies.
Education:
After passing matriculation and HSC examinations with a distinction, she got married in 1951. She then had some years of gap in her studies as she was busy fulfilling the role of a responsible wife and mother. However, she had a determination to continue her studies and with the help and support of her husband, she joined the University of Dhaka. She proved that if you have passion, one can manage both academic and family life.
She completed both BA (Hons.) and MA degree in Psychology in 1967. Soon after, she even started her career at University of Dhaka. 8 years later, in 1975, at the age of 48 years, she went to Emory University, in Georgia, USA and obtained her PhD degree in Psychology.
Dr. Sultana has shown that there is no age limit to attain knowledge. The experience, skills and knowledge that she obtained, she had implemented those in her career life and also for contributing for the nation.
Career:
She started off her career in the teaching profession in 1967 just after passing the MA program. She joined as an assistant professor in the department of Development Psychology at the University of Dhaka and continued to teach there for 33 long years. After the liberation war of Bangladesh started in 1971, she took a break but again after our country’s independence, she joined the university in 1975. Eventually she got promoted to Professor and department chair and served in this position till 2000.
Besides Bangladesh, Dr. Sultana also did the role of a teacher on an international platform. She worked as a visiting professor in the department of Special Education at the University of Manchester, in the USA, though only for four months from April 1992 to August 2000.
Even though teaching, especially in a public university, is one of the most honorable professions in the society, she had a desire to make some significant contributions to society that would have a lifetime impact. That is why she started working with special children and people with disabilities in the society to make their life better.
Contributions:
Dr. Sultana showed her patriotism and thus first contributed for our country by fighting for Bangladesh along with her husband and 3 children. She was a freedom fighter during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. As her husband was a widely respected sector commander during the liberation war of 1971, she also supported her husband by fighting for our country. She mainly established an Advanced Dressing Station (ADS) for the injured freedom fighters and civilians who were in Shona Masjid, Chapai Nawabganj. The area was a subsector within Sector 7 and it was commanded by her husband, the Late Lt Col Quazi Nooruzzaman. She herself treated the wounded. Thus Dr. Sultana earned lots of respect for her courageous act
After the independence of Bangladesh, in 1972, she assisted many Biranganas from Rajshahi Division to find medical assistance and aftercare for their children.
As already mentioned, Dr. Sultana had an intention to improve the lives of such individuals who were having different disabilities, especially by focusing on children with intellectual disabilities.
That’s why in 1972, she founded the organization ‘Dipshikha Vidyalay’ for underprivileged women and children. In there, children living in slums or streets had the opportunity to receive education, and women were given vocational training to help them become financially independent by doing any job. To achieve further knowledge in this field, Dr. Sultana went abroad to attain her PhD program. She could then imply her degree into her work so that she could contribute better for the needs.
In 1977 she established the Society for Children with Intellectual Disability. She was also the founder of the SWID Bangladesh, which is a well-known school for children with intellectual disabilities. Then in 1984, with the goal to improve lives of mentally disabled people by including them in employment and in the society, and to give such children basic education, she launched a non-profit organization, Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation (BPF), and a school, Kalyan. The BPF is still continuing its function and over the years it has gained popularity for introducing the state of the art testing, screening and procedures for early diagnosis and prevention of mental disabilities in children.
When Dr. Sultana understood there needs to be a regular flow of trained professionals in this sector so that the work can be maintained, in 1993, she initiated the Department of Special Education at the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka. From this new department, different high quality human resources for the special education sectors, training of hundreds of young women and men to join the profession and generating new knowledge through path breaking research and publications occur regularly. IER is the first of its kind to offer B.S.Ed. and M.S.Ed. degrees in special education.This was one of the biggest contributions done by Dr. Sultana for our country.
Moreover, she had built an orphanage, Khela Ghor, to care for abandoned children found in refugee camps in Kalyani, West Bengal, India, which is located close to the border with Jashore.
In the international platforms, Dr. Sultana presented more than 35 key notes in different conferences, and authored several books and journal articles which are published online. She had thus represented Bangladesh to the western world.
Despite contributing too much, in her personal life, she expected nothing in return from the society. Instead she just led a simple life by remaining grounded in family values.
Personal Life:
Dr. Sultana was a family person, she loved her family (husband, children, relatives) by building and keeping her home with warmth and hospitality. This was still apparent later in her life when she used to spend time with her four grandkids. She used to cook by herself for her family every Friday’s lunch. She had taken singing as a form of joy and comfort in her later life.
Whenever she had gone, she tried to spread love and positivity. She would install a deep respect and love for our nation and its customs. Dr. Sultana was thus a role model for us young generations. She has earned love, respect and admiration through her works. The way she mentored her Phd students, with elegance, class, and dignity, the students still say ‘I wish I could be like her’. Dr. Sultana would often think out of the box and as a philanthropist, would work for those who are not usually given much attention. Thus she had a great leadership quality. She was a role model and an inspiration for us. She had lived a full life, and also helped others to live a full life. This legacy of hers should be carried by us.
In her marital life, she got married in 1951, to Lieutenant Colonel Quazi Nuruzzaman, who was a political activist, and noted columnist. He is mainly known as a respected sector commander of sector 7 during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. Due to his bravery and contribution, he got entitled with ‘Bir Uttom’ by the government of Bangladesh.
The couple together showed love and support towards each other. They had 3 children; 2 daughters and 1 son. Unfortunately, their youngest son, Nadeem, died at an early age in 1978. The other 2 children are: elder daughter, Professor Naila Z Khan, who is a professor of child neurology and development as we all as director of Clinical Neurosciences Centre, Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation, and younger one, Lubna Miriam,who is a noted dancer and researcher, and artistic director of ‘Shadhona’.
All these characteristics of hers, along with her actual contributions for the country, had earned well deserved recognition, and acknowledgement.
Awards and Achievements:
Due to her bold and iconic contributions for our country, Professor Dr. Sultana had earned not only respect, and love from people of all sectors, but also some official awards and recognitions too, both internationally and locally.
She was honored with the ‘Henry H. Kessler Award’ in 1996 by the Kessler Foundation because of her efforts for improving the lives of those who are disabled. The foundation is a New Jersey, USA based non profit organization which works for the betterment of disabled people’s conditions in terms of employment, education, etc.
As already stated, because she initiated a full department for training and working with special needs people, in 2008, after she retired from University of Dhaka, she was awarded with the title ‘Professor Emeritus’. This is the highest honor of the university.
In 2008, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of Government of Bangladesh had awarded Dr. Sultana with Begum Rokeya Padak. It is one of our national honors given to individual women for their exceptional achievements especially in terms of empowering women and raising women’s issues in our society.
Many other national organizations had honored her with different awards like Rotary International Award “Women for Women”, Anannya, Bangladesh Scouts, Autism Welfare Foundation (2000), IER Award (2003), and Agradoot Award (2008).
Despite having these awards, Dr. Sultana has left a special place in our hearts because of her intelligence, devotion to academic achievement, courage to stand up for what she believed in, support for the rights of children with disabilities, and kindness to others.
Death:
On 23 March 2020, at the age of 87 years old, such an activist, well balanced and a fascinating lady, Dr. Sultana Zaman passed away. She was suffering from old-age related complications for a while. She was at her daughter’s residence at Dhaka when she breathed her last.
The news of her demise brought profound shock in the country. Her alma mater and workplace, University of Dhaka, observed mourning. The VC of University of Dhaka, and other people related to her organizations expressed sadness and gave condolence messages to her family. Everyone prayed for her departed soul. Still now, on her death anniversary, her beloved organizations which she set up in her own hands, arrange for Dua Mahfils and memorial functions, visit her in the graveyard, etc.
The legacy that she had started and left, are still continuing even after her death.
Conclusion:
Dr. Sultana is an inspiration for us the young generations as she has shown us how women can contribute to society despite facing different odds. Seeing her works, we can learn and aspire to be strong, courageous and passionate to do something for our country. Her legacy teaches us to be kind, humble and treat people of all kinds equally in the society. It is now our responsibility to carry her legacy and also further improve this sector in Bangladesh so that we can get a beautiful, and peaceful nation.