Women in the Bangladesh Army

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Bangladesh Army female soldiers parade in 2015
A Bangladeshi woman soldier at Comilla Cantonment (2018)

Bangladesh Army has women since its inception in 1971 though women could join as doctors only. For the first time in the army, women were recruited as ordinary soldiers in 2015. In 2013, it was announced that women would be recruited as soldiers in the Army Medical Corps. However, women can join as officer cadets in various corps and regiments since the early 2000s decade.[1][2][3]

Today women can join the army in every arms and services except the East Bengal Regiment, the Bangladesh Infantry Regiment and the armored corps.

History[]

Bangladesh Army was created in 1971 in the Bangladesh liberation war, and there female officers from the army medical corps participated, among them Captain Sitara Begum was a noted officer who was awarded the Bir Protik medal.

Suraiya Rahman was the first female officer to get the rank of brigadier, she was from the medical corps.[4] Susane Giti was promoted to major-general in 2018, she was also from the medical corps.[5]

Women were only allowed to join the medical corps till the early 2000s decade, from this decade women are allowed to join every corps and regiments as officers like men though infantry and armored corps didn't take women.[6] In 2019, four female officers were made lieutenant colonels and made commanding officers of artillery regiments and engineers battalion.[7]

Women were not allowed to join as ordinary soldiers, but from 2013 women in the ordinary soldiers corps were being recruited, primarily they were taken in the medical corps, and the first batch of medical corps soldier recruits completed their basic military training in 2015's 29 January, their training period was 1 year.[8]

Bangladesh liberation war[]

Sitara Begum joined the Pakistan Army Medical Corps as lieutenant in 1970. She joined the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971, she was in Comilla Cantonment before war started. She was the commanding officer of a field hospital after the war started.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ "Serve with professionalism: PM to female army paramedics". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  2. ^ "Women now country's proud soldiers: PM". banglanews24.com. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2021-07-08.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Beacons of success: The life and challenges of female army officers". Dhaka Tribune. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  4. ^ "Top 10 women honoured". The Daily Star. 9 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Susane Giti becomes first female major general". The Daily Star. 1 October 2018.
  6. ^ "The woman keeping pace with men in the Bangladesh army". BBC News. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  7. ^ "Four female Bangladesh Army officers made COs". Dhaka Tribune. 24 January 2019.
  8. ^ Aminul (29 January 2015). "Women going ahead in challenging professions: PM". risingbd.com.
  9. ^ Aasha Mehreen Amin, Lavina Ambreen Ahmed and Shamim Ahsan (16 December 2016). "The women in our Liberation War, Tales of Endurance and Courage". The Daily Star.


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