Sitara Begum
 | This article needs to be updated. (September 2024) |
Sitara Begum | |
|---|---|
 Begum in 2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 September 1946 |
| Citizenship | British subject (1946–1947) Pakistan (1947–1971) Bangladesh (1971–present) |
| Relations | Abu Taher Mohammad Haider (brother) |
Awards | Bir Pratik |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan (1970–1971) Bangladesh (1971–1973) |
| Branch/service | |
Years of service | 1970–1973 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Pakistan Army Medical Corps |
| Battles/wars | |
Dr. Captain Sitara Begum is a Bangladeshi doctor, army officer, and war hero. She is one of two women in Bangladesh who have received the Bir Protik award. She served during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]Begum was born in Kishoreganj in 1946.[3] Her father, Israil Mian, was a lawyer. She graduated from Holy Cross College, Dhaka. She completed her MBBS from Dhaka Medical College. She has two sisters and had a brother, Major Abu Taher Mohammad Haider.[2]
Career
[edit]![[icon]](/restyle/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (January 2023) |
Begum was commissioned in the Medical Corps of the Pakistan Army in 1970 as a lieutenant. She was stationed in Comilla Cantonment along with her brother. During the beginning of the Non-cooperation movement, she was in Kishoreganj for the Eid holidays, away from the cantonment. After the start of the Bangladesh Liberation War, she and her parents moved from Kishorganj to Meghalaya with the aid of Mukti Bahini members.[4]
Captain Dr. Sitara was the commanding officer of the hospital known as the Bangladesh Field Hospital, with almost 400 beds under Sector 2 in 1971. She would have to travel to Agartala to gather the necessary medical supplies[5]. The hospital catered to Bengali patients, wounded freedom fighters, and also members of the Indian army who sought medical aid at the centre.
She returned to Dhaka after the independence of Bangladesh.[2][6]
Begum left Bangladesh after her brother was killed in the 7 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état and settled in the United States.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Debnath, Bipul K. "Tales of Liberation War". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 Amin, Aasha Mehreen; Ahmed, Lavina Ambreen; Ahsan, Shamim (16 December 2016). "The women in our Liberation War". The Daily Star. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ↑ "Sitara's Story". Sitara's Story. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ↑ "Women Fighters in 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War: Sitara Begum". Bangladesh Feminist Archives. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "50 years later, the fight goes on". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "The Forgotten Cogs of the Liberation War Wheel: Women". Ice Today. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- 1945 births
- Living people
- Mukti Bahini personnel
- Women in the Bangladesh Liberation War
- Bangladeshi women medical doctors
- Pakistani military doctors
- Recipients of the Bir Protik
- Holy Cross College, Dhaka alumni
- Dhaka Medical College alumni
- People from Kishoreganj District
- Bangladeshi emigrants to the United States
- Pakistani female military officers