Breaking chains and borders

We've come a long way from the days of fighting for the right of women to vote. At a time when women are breaking new grounds in a male-dominated world little by little every day, there are those who are striding forwards and excelling beyond borders, bringing fame to our little corner of the map. Who are these inspiring women? 

Nishat Majumdar & Wasfia Nazreen

Nishat Majumder has climbed to the peak of the Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain, as the first Bangladeshi woman. She dedicated her climb to Plan International's 'Because I am a Girl' campaign.
Wasfia Nazreen is the first person from Bangladesh to have taken up the mission of the Seven Summits. Wasfia is also the first and only Bangladeshi to have conquered Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalayan range. A social worker by profession, her writings have drawn much attention to the plight of sex-workers, indigenous peoples and other minority groups. In 2012, she was selected to work as the Goodwill Ambassador for BRAC.

Paromita Mitra

A Bangladeshi American actress, model, and pageant titleholder. She was crowned Miss Mississippi USA, becoming the first Bangladeshi woman to win that title. She grew up in Hattiesburg and is a student of Mississippi State University studying Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.

Zobera Rahman Linu

She is the icon in Bangladeshi Table Tennis. She is the only Bangladeshi sportswoman to have her name listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Linu has won the national table tennis championships in the individual category 16 times, which is the most by any sportsperson in any country of the world. From 1977 to 2001 (24 years in a row, excluding 1981, 1998 and 1999), she won 16 national women's singles titles in Bangladesh as a table tennis player. This feat was recognized by the Guinness World Records in 2002. Also, Linu stood 5th in the 1980 Asian Table Tennis Championships held in Japan. Linu is a national Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in Bangladesh.

Kanak Chapa Chakma

An acclaimed Bangladeshi artist who won has national and international awards. She attended the School of Art, University of Dhaka in Bangladesh and received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1986. Later, she studied art at Pennsylvania State University in the United States.
Her paintings have been featured in over 100 exhibitions both at home and abroad. She uses the accepted language of mainstream art to represent traditional subjects. The different activities of women are the prime focus of her work.

Tasmin Lucia Khan

A Bangladeshi-English journalist and television presenter. She is a former news presenter for BBC Three's hourly news bulletin, 60 Seconds, and hosted E24 on the rolling news channel BBC News. She covered the deaths of both Osama Bin Laden and Colonel Gaddafi and the UK Riots in 2011.  Khan left the morning show in 2012 to explore opportunities in America, after 10 years on British TV. Khan is an ambassador for the Prince of Wales charity, The British Asian Trust. Tasmia Lucia Khan graduated from the University of Oxford with an Honors degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.