Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the President of ruling Awami League, today (Tuesday) steps into 75 years of age.
The 75th birthday of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the elder daughter of Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is being celebrated across the country and elsewhere in the world through elaborated programmes organised by the Awami League, its different associate bodies and different organisation of the government as well.
Sheikh Hasina, the eldest among the five children of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, was born at Tungipara in Gopalganj on September 28 in 1947.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now staying in the USA as she went there to join the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Following the footprint of Bangabandhu, she also delivered speech in Bangla at the UNGA like the previous years.
This year the UN-sponsored Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has conferred Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with "SDG Progress Award" for Bangladesh's steady course in responding to the universal call to take action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all.
The event's moderator introduced Sheikh Hasina as the "jewel in the crown of the day" while appreciating her leadership in spearheading the SDG campaign even during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Like the previous years, Awami League (AL) and its affiliated and likeminded bodies are celebrating the day through various programmes highlighting the life and achievements of Sheikh Hasina, who is driving the nation towards prosperity following the footstep of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
On the occasion, discussions, milad and dua mahfils and special prayers are being held across the country and elsewhere in the world in compliance with health guidelines prescribed by the government due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Sheikh Hasina spent much of her childhood in the small hamlet where she was born. She started her schooling there. When Bangabandhu was elected a legislator, his family moved to Dhaka in 1954.
She was admitted to what is now Sher-e-Bangla Girls' School and College and later to Azimpur Girls' High School from where she completed her secondary education in 1965. She was then admitted to Badrunnessa Government Girls' College.
During her bachelor course, she was elected as the vice-president of the students' union of Eden Girls' College (Badrunnessa and Eden Girls' College was a single entity during the period). Later, she enrolled in her Masters' programme at Bengali Department of Dhaka University.
As a student leader, Sheikh Hasina actively took part in the 6-point movement of 1966 and the student movement of 1969 which saw the abdication of General Ayub Khan.
In 1968, with the blessings of her imprisoned father, Sheikh Hasina who is leading the country as the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, got married to nuclear scientist Dr Wazed Miah.
During the Liberation War, Sheikh Hasina and her family were interned in a house in Dhaka. On July 27 in 1971, her first child Sajeeb Wazed Joy was born. Her second child Saima Wazed Hossain was born on December 9, 1972.
After the assassination of her parents in 1975, Sheikh Hasina and her family were offered political asylum in India, where she stayed till 1981 when she was elected as the president of the Awami League in her absence.
Sheikh Hasina returned home on May 17, 1981 when she was greeted by a mammoth crowd that extended from the Airport to Farm Gate and Manik Miah Avenue and she addressed a public rally.
In the 1986 parliamentary election, Sheikh Hasina was elected as parliament member from three different constituencies. After the overthrow of autocracy in 1990, she was elected as the Leader of the Opposition in the House.
In 1996, 21 years after her father was assassinated, Sheikh Hasina led the Awami League and helped the party assume power and became the Prime Minister for the first time.
On August 21, 2004, Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader, barely escaped an attempt on her life as grenades were lobbed at an AL rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital.
Although she survived the attack, at least 24 people were killed and over 200 others injured. Most of them were Awami League leaders and supporters.
In 2008, she led the Grand Alliance to an overwhelming victory acquiring 90 percent of parliament seats in the general elections. She was elected the Prime Minister on January 5, 2014 for the second time in a row.
Sheikh Hasina assumed office of the Prime Minister for third consecutive term with a thumping victory in general elections in December 2018.
Under her leadership, Bangladesh has become a role model for development, attaining steady economic growth, becoming self-sufficient in food and attaining a marked progress in the fields of women empowerment, agriculture, education, health, infrastructure, communication, energy and power, trade and commerce, ICT and the SME sectors.
Her most recent role in extending humanitarian support to over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, who have taken shelter in Cox's Bazar, drew accolade from global leaders, institutions and eminent personalities.
Sheikh Hasina was also conferred with various honourary degrees, accolades and awards in recognition of her leadership excellence and intellectual flair.
