The Begum Rokeya Padak, named after Begum Rokeya, is a Bangladeshi national honour conferred on individual women for their exceptional achievement. The award is given by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. First awarded in 1995, the Rokeya Padak recognises the pioneering contribution of an individual in empowering women and raising women's issues.
Each recipient receives a gold medal weighing 25 grams of 18-karat gold, a certificate of honour, and a cash reward.5 awarded Begum Rokeya Padak 2018, Prothom Alo, 9 December 2018 The cash reward was tk 2,00,000 from May 2017. It was increased to tk 4,00,000 from November 2019.National awards money doubled, amount for Independence Award raised to Tk 500,000, bdnews twenty four dot com, 21 November 2019
Award winners
As of December 2020, 61 awards had been presented: 1995 – Shamsunnahar Mahmud 1996 – Sufia Kamal and Nilima Ibrahim 1997 – Nurjahan Begum 1999 – Angela Gomes, Setara Begum (Rahman), and Quazi Anwara Monsur 2001 – Hena Das, Maliha Khatun and Beggzadi Mahmuda Nasir 2002 – Akhtar Imam and Zohra Begum Kazi 2003 – Taiyaba Majumder and Maleka Ashraf 2004 – Begum Husna Banu Khanam and Dilara Chowdhury 2005 – Rokeya Mannan and Srimati Shaha 2007 – Latifa Akand and Hosne Ara Begum 2008 – Sultana Sarwat Ara Zaman and Nasrin Parvin Huq (posthumous) 2009 – Razia Hossain and Mamtaz Hossen 2010 – Meher Kabir and Ayesha Zafar 2011 – Begum Meherunnesa Khatun and Hamida Khanam 2012 – Mahfuza Khanam and Syeda Jebunnesa Haque 2013 – Hamida Banu and Jharna Dhara Chowdhury 2014 – Mamtaz Begum and Golap Banu 2015 – Bibi Russell and Taibun Nahar Rashid (posthumous) 2016 – Aroma Dutta and Begum Noorjahan 2017 – Mazeda Shawkat Ali, Baby Maudud (posthumous), Suraiya Rahman, Shobha Rani Tripura and Masuda Faruk Ratna 2018 – Zinnatunnessa Talukdar, Zohra Anis, Shila Roy, Rama Chowdhury (posthumous) and Rokeya Begum (posthumous) 2019 – Begum Selina Khalek, Shamsun Nahar, Papri Basu, Begum Akhtar Jahan and Nurun Nahar Faizannesa (posthumously). 2020 – Shireen Akhter, Brig Gen Nazma Begum, Monjulika Chakma, Begum Mushtari Shafi, and Farida Akter 2021 – Hasina Zakaria Bela, Archana Biswas, Shamsunnahar Rahman Paran (posthumous), Zinat Huda and Saria Sultana 2022 – Rahima Khatun, Kamrun Nahar Begum, Farida Yasmin, Afroza Parveen, and Nasima Begum. 2023 – Khaleda Ekram (posthumous), Halida Hanum Akhter, Kamrunnesa Ashraf Dina (posthumous), Ronita Bala, and Nishat Majumdar. 2024 – Rani Hamid, Perween Hasan, Shireen Huq, and Taslima Akhter. 2025 – Rubhana Rakib, Kalpona Akter, Nabila Idris, and Ritu Porna Chakma.
See also
List of awards for contributions to society List of awards honoring women
References