The women were awarded for their extraordinary work in fields of education, sports, humanitarian and courageous activities in Bangladesh. AK Abdul Maiman, Minister of Foreign Affairs said handed over check worth Tk 2 lakh and crest in the hands of the nine winners at the award ceremony. Mominul Islam, MD, and CEO of IPDC Finance Limited and Mahfuz Anam, Editor of the Daily Star, were also present on the occasion.

The women who were honored at the ‘Unsung Woman Nation Builders Award 2020’ are Tepari Rani, who has been honored with the title of ‘Birangana’ for her self sacrificing nature, Riva Rani, who applied for a title and failed;  Laila Begum, a fisher with license;  Kamrun Nahar Munni, an assistant teacher at a government primary school working tirelessly to tackle poverty and end child marriage; Marija Rabbani Shashi,  a hard-working lawyer who dedicated her life to academic studies despite her blindness;  Sonu Rani Das, a member of the Dalit community; Kohinoor Begum, who worked tirelessly works to provide food to the underprivileged;  Mamtaz Mahal Baby, who provided books to quench the thirst for knowledge in the country’s remote areas, and Jaya Chakma, who became the first woman FIFA referee in Bangladesh overcoming many barriers.

IPDC Finance Limited and Daily Star have been organizing the award program from 2017 highlighting grassroots women in these sectors for the last four years consecutively.