Rituparna Chakma to get Begum Rokeya Award

Sports Reporter :

Begum Rokeya is the pioneer of women’s awakening in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs will give the Begum Rokeya Award for the recognition and contribution of women in various fields of society.

This time, Dr. Ruvana Rakib in the field of women’s education, Kalpana Akhtar for her role in the labour rights movement, Dr. Nabila Idris for her contribution to the human rights sector, and Rituparna Chakma for her role in creating women’s awakening in sports have been selected for this award.

Rituparna Chakma is a star female footballer of Bangladesh. Because of her double goal, Bangladesh will play in the main stage of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup for the first time after defeating the powerful Myanmar. Not only the Asia Cup, but also last year’s SAFF final was won by Rituparna’s goal, which helped Bangladesh to defeat Nepal in the final. Rituparna has now become one of the icons not only in the field of sports but also in the entire country.

December 9 is the birth and death anniversary of Begum Rokeya. On that day, the Bangladesh government awarded the Rokeya Padak. In the past, athletes were not awarded on Rokeya Day. Last year, legendary chess queen Rani Hamid was awarded. This time, Rituparna Chakma is receiving this medal. The medal will be handed over at a ceremony today.

The country’s second highest civilian award is the Ekushey Padak. The Bangladesh women’s football team received this medal in 2025. Before the women’s footballers, no one had received the medal for sports. Former player and commentator Abdul Hamid received the Ekushey Padak for journalism. The women’s team was the first to receive the Ekushey Padak as team.