Overcoming various challenges of the post-independence era, the country’s female diplomats are now making their marks in the diplomatic front and their position now is undoubtedly better than ever before. At present, no less than five female diplomats, a record number, are serving as ambassadors in different countries of different continents, according to sources of the foreign ministry. Two more female diplomats are expected to become ambassadors soon, to take the tally to seven, they said. Bangladesh has a total of 58 diplomatic missions led by ambassadors or high commissioners. Out of these, about 30 per cent of the ambassadorial positions are filled by people outside the foreign service cadre on contractual basis and political consideration. There is no female ambassador appointed either on contractual basis or political consideration.
Apart from ambassadorial positions, female diplomats are holding important positions in different embassies and high commissions of the country and at the foreign ministry.
Ambassador Ismat Jahan is the senior most female diplomat of the country, who is now the ambassador of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to the European Union. She is in ‘lien’ and heads the OIC's permanent observer mission to the EU. Prior to this assignment, she was the ambassador to EU and Belgium. Had she not taken the OIC job, she would have likely been appointed the high commissioner to the United Kingdom. An officer of 1982 foreign service cadre, Ismat Jahan went to post retirement leave on June 2. Prior to that, she was promoted to the rank of senior secretary, the first from the foreign ministry.
Rabab Fatima is serving the country as the ambassador to Japan, Sultana Laila Hossain is in Morocco, Mashfee Binte Shams in Nepal while Saida Muna Tasneem is the country’s envoy to Thailand. Director General of Americas wing of the Foreign Ministry Abida Islam and deputy high commissioner to Mumbai, India Samina Naz, have been selected to become the ambassadors to South Korea and Vietnam respectively. Once the proposals of the government regarding these two diplomats are approved by the host governments in Seoul and Hanoi, they will be formally appointed as the ambassadors.
It is considered by many as quite a turnaround as the foreign ministry got its first female diplomat from the foreign service cadre, Nasim Firdaus, only in 1979. She later became the first female career diplomat to become the ambassador to Indonesia in 2002. Later, Nasima Haider, Selina Mohsin and Majeda Rafiqun Nessa became ambassadors in different countries.
It may be mentioned that Mahmuda Haque Choudhury was the country’s first female ambassador, who served in Bhutan from 1996-1998. But she was not from the foreign service cadre as she was absorbed by the foreign ministry from the then prime minister’s office in 1972. When Mahmuda Choudhury, whose husband was a freedom fighter, joined the foreign ministry, there was not a single female employee there, let alone any diplomat.
But now, out of about 310 diplomats serving the country, there are 50-60 females, who are performing par excellence alongside their male counterparts.
Since there is a 10 per cent quota for the females, the foreign ministry will continue receiving female diplomats with every batch. While talking to The Independent, some female diplomats said they do not face any institutional discrimination at the workplace due to their gender. However, they pointed out that the female diplomats have to maintain their families in addition to discharging their responsibilities at the office, whereas their male counterparts, in most of the cases, can concentrate primarily on the job.While acknowledging the progress, Nasim Firdaus, the first career diplomat ambassador of the country, told this correspondent, “There’s still a long way to go.”