Buet teacher wins international accolade
In a story we published last week which contested the notion that women and girls in Bangladesh are inherently not good at science subjects, the Professor of Physics and Dean of Faculty of Sciences at DU said, "In the PhD and MPhil programmes we prefer women students as they are more serious about their studies. In Physics, Chemistry and Math women secure top positions in the merit list on a regular basis. They also do very well as faculty members."
Proving our conviction right about women's role and achievements in science right, Tanzima Hashem, a computer science researcher from Buet, won the 2017 Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for her work in developed computational approaches to protect the privacy of people accessing location-based services. It is not only a laudable achievement which highlights the hidden talents that our country has to offer, but a reminder of the need to foster opportunities so that women are inspired to enroll in science subjects.
Tanzina, an associate professor of Buet, is among five women honoured with the award this year. Her work stands among innovations which the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) has said are bound to be beneficial for developing countries and the world at large.
We heartily congratulate Tanzina for her brilliant achievement. But we should also see this as an opportunity to remind ourselves of the need to break the existing cultural and social barriers that bar too many women from pursuing science subjects. Only through fostering their talent and encouraging equal participation of women in higher education can we truly enable the brilliant minds of the country to make their mark.
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