Prothom Alo’s Rozina Islam gets courageous journalism award

The award is being handed over to Rozina IslamProthom Alo

Rozina Islam, special correspondent at Prothom Alo, has received the Shaheed Selina Parvin Courageous Journalism Award-2021. Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra (BNSK) confers the award on a journalist every year for bold journalism.

Besides, Kaberi Maitrya, senior reporter at Ekattor Television, was given the Shaheed Selina Parvin Journalism Award-2020. She was chosen through a competition as no one was found to be conferred with Shaheed Selina Parvin Courageous Journalism Award for that year.

Crests were handed over to the two women journalists at a programme at Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall of National Press Club in the capital city on Thursday afternoon. The two were also given a cheque of Tk 25,000 each.

The discussants at the programme said Selina Parvin was the only woman among the intellectuals who were found dead at Rayer Bazar Badhya Bhumi in 1971.

They further said Al-Badr men picked up Shilalipi editor Selina Parvin and killed her as she worked for the Liberation of Bangladesh. We should not forget her sacrifice.

The state has not given any recognition to Selina Parvin. I don’t know whether her name is mentioned anywhere. It was the duty of the state to present her before the next generation
Mahfuza Khanam, Ex-VP, DUCSU and principal

Al-Badr was a paramilitary force formed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 under the patronage of the then Pakistan government.

Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra president Nasimun Ara Haque presided over the programme. She praised the news reports of Rozina Islam in Prothom Alo on good governance and irregularities.

In her speech, she demanded withdrawal of false cases filed against Rozina Islam and many other journalists across the country. She said the participation of women has to be increased in the media houses. Their ways to take seats at policymaking level have to made smoother. Besides, separate codes of conduct and policies have to be made for the sake of women working at different organisations, she added.

Two award winners with the organisers
Prothom Alo

Former Vice-President (VP) at Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and principal Mahfuza Khanam attended the programme as special guest. She said, “The state has not given any recognition to Selina Parvin. I don’t know whether her name is mentioned anywhere. It was the duty of the state to present her before the next generation. But the government has not done this. In this context, this is a timely decision that the Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra has been giving award in the name of journalist Selina Parvin.”

She further said, “Rozina Islam, who got the ‘courageous award’ for 2021, is a very deserving candidate. I congratulate her for her courage.”

Golam Rahman, editor of Dainik Ajker Patrika, said this is true that women are taking up journalism as profession but the number is still very small. Still the women have no representative in the decision-making level. Males also have to come forward to highlight these matters related to women.

He encouraged women to come forward in the profession with the courage like Selina Parvin.

Liberation War Museum trustee Mofidul Haque thanked the organisers for conferring the Shaheed Selina Parvin Courageous Journalism Award on competent journalists.

Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra introduced the Shaheed Selina Parvin Journalism Award in 2019 in memory of Shaheed journalist Selina Parvin. The award programme could not be organised in the last two years due to the coronavirus situation.

Selina Parvin was born on 31 March 1931. She did journalism at Weekly Begum, Lolona and a few other newspapers before taking up the editorial task at Shilalipi. The local collaborators of occupying Pakistan Army picked her up from her residence on 13 December 1971. Her body was identified at Mirpur Badhya Bhumi on 17 December. On the next day, 18 December, she was buried at Azimpur graveyard.