Sarah Islam should get state honour posthumously: Hanif

Ruling Awami League MP, Mahbub ul Alam Hanif, on Thursday demanded that authorities give state honour to Sarah Islam Aishwarya for her posthumous kidney and cornea donation, reports news agency UNB.

He made this appeal while participating in the discussion of the thanksgiving motion on the president’s speech in the Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament).

Hanif also said that for the first time in the country, a kidney donated by a deceased person was transplanted on 18 January.

A 20-year-old teenager, Sarah, donated a kidney. Before her death, Sarah set another example.

She also donated his cornea.

“Thanks to her family. We think Sara should be given state honour. She set a precedent.”

Hanif said that many people will come forward to donate their bodies if they show respect and gratitude to Sarah.

He recommended reforming the process of human organ harvesting and creating opportunities for voluntary organ donation through strict monitoring.

The MP from Kushtia also said that neither the religion, Islam, nor the existing laws of the country prohibit organ donation. “But only close relatives can donate it now.”

He urged the Ministry of Health to take measures in this regard.

Hanif said that there has been a lot of development during the tenure of this government in the last 15 years.

Roads have been developed, but accidents on the roads are widespread. The reason for this is the driver. Many of them do not know rules, policies and traffic laws, he added.

He demanded a change in the licensing system.

Taking part in the same discussion, food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar told parliament that over 1.99 million tonnes of rice were stored in the government warehouses till 1 February.

The food minister also said that during the BNP period, coarse rice was sold at Tk 50 to Tk 55.

At that time, he claimed, a female worker would get a salary of 40 to 45 taka. Men used to get 60 to 70 taka as wages.

“If you buy one kg of rice, you don’t have money to buy oil and salt. Now if coarse rice is charged 48 or 50 taka. Now a worker gets Tk 400-500 per day. In that case, they earn five times, six times, seven times or eight times more,” he claimed.