# Women in the Bangladesh Armed Forces

In Bangladesh, women has played important roles in the country's armed forces. Women have been members of the Bangladesh Army since the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. On May 30, 2016, the Bangladesh Navy had women sailors for the first time in its history. They are also recruited as airmen in airforce.

## Army

Women have been associated with the Bangladesh Army since the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
In the 1971 War, a Bengali female doctor from the Pakistan Army's medical corps participated, she was Sitara Begum who was commissioned into the Pakistan Army Medical Corps as a lieutenant in 1970. She took part in the 1971 war as the commanding officer of a field hospital, the Bangladesh Field Hospital; she was awarded the Bir Protik medal for her contribution.
Since the early part of the 2000s decade, women are being commissioned in various corps of the Bangladesh Army like men though women can't become officers in the infantry regiment and in the armored corps. Zannatul Ferdous became the first female paratrooper in 2013 who was commissioned on 24 December, 2009 from the Bangladesh Military Academy's 59th long course. In 2019, four female officers were made lieutenant colonels and were appointed commanding officers of units, they were Sanjida Hossain, Syeda Nazia Raihan and Farhana Afreen of the artillery regiment and Sarah Amir of the engineers corps.
Nazma Begum of the Bangladesh Army Medical Corps was the first female contingent commander in United Nations peacekeeping, she went to UNOCI in 2016 with a 56-member contingent; as a lieutenant colonel she was the first female commanding officer of a field ambulance of the Bangladesh Army. Another noted woman from the medical corps Susane Giti was the first woman in the history of the Bangladesh Army who was promoted to major general in 2018.
The first batch of female ordinary soldiers of the Bangladesh Army completed their recruit training on 29 January 2015 in Ghatail Cantonment which is situated in the Tangail district. This was the first time in the history of the Bangladesh Army that women were recruited as ordinary troops, in the batch a total number of 879 women were enlisted as ordinary soldiers into the army's medical corps. In the same year, the army got first female pilots, two women named Nazia Nusrat Hossain and Shahrina Binte Anwar became pilots; Nazia was commissioned in the corps of engineers and Shahrina was commissioned in the corps of ordnance, both were commissioned in December 2009, both of them completed their first solo flying training successfully in June, 2015.
In 2022, a wheelchair-bound female officer named Kaniz Fatema was promoted to Major.
Since September 2024, women in the Bangladesh army have been allowed to wear the hijab head covering to express their Muslim faith.

## Navy

The Bangladesh Navy got women sailors for the first time in its history on 30 May 2016. 44 women were enlisted as sailors on that day in BNS Titumir, Khulna, besides 727 male sailors completed their basic naval training on the same day.

## Air Force

On 25 November 2020, at the Bangladesh Air Force's 'Recruits Training School' (RTS) which is situated in Shamshernagar the passing out parade of the 48th Airmen Entry was held, in this passing out parade a total number of 752 recruits passed out and among them 64 were females, this was the first in the history of the Bangladesh Air Force that women were recruited as airmen.