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 Bir Protik (, ) is the fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Recipients This award was declared on 15 December 1973. A total of 426 people have received the award so far, all for their actions during the Bangladesh Liberation War, liber ...

award. She played a magnificent role in Sector 2 during

Liberation War of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971.

Early life

Begum was born in

Kishoreganj Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. The city is divided two sides by the Narasundha River. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangladesh census In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau o ...

in 1946. Her father, Israil Mian, was a lawyer. She graduated from the

Holy Cross College, Dhaka Holy Cross College (HCC) () is a Catholic higher-secondary school for girls, located at Tejgaon in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It serves students of class 11 and class 12. It was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Notable alumni * Shi ...

. She completed her MBBS from

Dhaka Medical College Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1946, the college houses a medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on its campus. History Site during ...

. Her brother was Major Abu Taher Mohammad Haider.

Career

Begum was commissioned in the Medical Corps of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

in 1970 as a lieutenant. She was stationed in

Comilla Cantonment Cumilla Cantonment () is a military station of the Bangladesh Army, located near Comilla, Bangladesh. History During the Second World War, a jungle warfare school was set up at Comilla by the 14th Indian Infantry Division, after the mid-1942 A ...

. Her brother was stationed in Comila Cantonment as well. After the start of

Bangladesh Liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

, she and her parents with the aid of

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

members moved from Kishorganj to

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

. Captain Dr. Sitara was the Commanding Officer of the hospital known as the Bangladesh Field Hospital, with almost 400 beds under Sector 2 in 1971. The hospital not only catered to Bengali patients and wounded freedom fighters, members of the Indian army also sought medical aid at that medical centre. She returned to Dhaka after the

independence of Bangladesh The independence of Bangladesh was Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, which is now celebrated as Independence Day (Bangladesh), Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March ...

. Begum left Bangladesh after her brother was killed in the

7 November 1975 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 symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

and settled in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Sitara 1945 births Living people Mukti Bahini personnel Women in the Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladeshi women physicians Pakistani military doctors Recipients of the Bir Protik Holy Cross College, Dhaka alumni Dhaka Medical College alumni People from Kishoreganj District Bangladeshi emigrants to the United States Pakistani female military officers

Early life

Career

See also

References