Dr. Captain Sitara Begum is a Bangladeshi doctor, Army officer, and War hero. She is one of two women in Bangladesh who has received Bir Protik award. She played a magnificent role in Sector 2 during Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.

Early life

Begum was born in

Kishoreganj Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District Kishoreganj ( bn, কিশোরগঞ্জ) is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a Mohkuma (মহকুমা) under the Mymensingh district. It ...

in 1946. Her father, Israil Mian, was a lawyer. She graduated from the Holy Cross College, Dhaka. She completed her MBBS from Dhaka Medical College. Her brother was Major

Abu Taher Mohammad Haider Abu Taher Mohammad Haider, Bir Uttom (12 January 1942 – 7 November 1975) was a Bangladesh Army officer and recipient of Bir Uttom, the second highest military award in Bangladesh. He fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War as the second-in-c ...

Career

Begum was commission in the Medical Corps of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

in 1970 as a lieutenant. She was stationed in Comilla Cantonment. Her brother was stationed in Comila Cantonment as well. After the start of

Bangladesh Liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

, she and her parents with the aid of Mukti Bahini members moved from Kishorganj to Meghalaya. She then was appointed the commanding officer of

Bangladesh Hospital Bangladesh Field Hospital (Popularly known as ''Bangladesh Hospital'') was a temporary medical centre under the Sector-2 during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The hospital was an initiative of Captain Akhtar Ahmed, who was a physician ...

, a Mukti Bahini hospital located inside India that operated during the war. She returned to Dhaka after the

independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

. Begum left Bangladesh after her brother was killed in the

7 November 1976 Bangladesh coup d'état 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

and settled in the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Sitara 1945 births People from Kolkata Women in war in Bangladesh Recipients of the Bir Protik Women in warfare post-1945 Bangladeshi women activists Mukti Bahini personnel Living people

Early life

Career

See also

References