Prestige : Let’s start with a brief introduction to your academic background and early life.
I grew up in a rather liberal family that provides and ensures the children get access to all the learning available. Being born to a highly educated, well-acclaimed but humble couple means your childhood would be ‘difficult’, you know what I mean, right! As a result, I started my academic education, religious learning, and dance lessons – altogether at the very tender age of three. Thanks to my sister from whom, by that time, I already learned the alphabet and as well the numbers and was almost ready to get to school. That’s how my early childhood started. Despite the super hectic professional life of both my parents, somehow, they never missed raising us – their four children, of whom I am the second. My mother was a professor at the renowned Siddheshwari Girls College, and my father, a journalist by profession, was the Bangladesh Correspondent for Voice of America and served as the founding president of the Overseas Correspondent Association of Bangladesh (OCAB). Both had very active social lives. Both were involved with many charity and cultural organisations. My parents used to contribute regularly to various prestigious magazines and dailies, and my mom also used to anchor radio programs. Our house was always open to all our extended families, friends, and people in need. Growing up, I had seen my parents being the confidante of the families, friends, and so many others irrespective of social status and stigma which influenced me a lot. We learned from our childhood that the most important thing in life is to be a respectful person with strong morals and etiquette.
Spiritual growth was equally considered to be part of our growing up. I practised music and religious lessons while pursuing my academic courses without any skirmish as to say. So, I have learned how each builds on the other! Learning about diversity, empathy, and appreciating differences in early childhood made me understand and accept people ‘as they are’ – this still helps me in my personal, social, and professional life. They ‘trained’ me to rise above all the stereotypes and acquire diverse insights. While I was taught to respect others, I was also made aware of self-respect which I trust is key to maintaining integrity.
On that note, I am proud to say that I grew up with a very strong affinity and love for my own country Bangladesh, the seed of which was sown during my very childhood. My parents were quite involved in 1971 Muktijuddho and my two uncles were out in the frontline. The value of sovereignty and the struggle behind it is something I have learned from my childhood. I have published a book on some reflections of those days as I heard from my family. Despite being in English medium schools, I learned Bangla equally well and I think that was also a strong commitment of my parents to our country and culture.
Cultural activities were part of our everyday routine. Both my parents were avid music lovers which resulted in having music soirees at our home where we happened to meet many reputed musicians of that time at a very early age. On weekends when my mom would be busy experimenting special cuisines for the family, my dad would draw and paint with us, doing origami, or play board games. Those times are some of my precious memories I always cherish. They inspired me to pursue my passion and helped me in expanding my creative horizons. Hence, my little steps in writing, and participating in many extracurricular activities like debate, sports, dancing, singing, painting etc were always encouraged. The accolades I received for those are something that helped me in pursuing my dreams. By the way, I was one of the ‘players’ of the first girl’s football team in the country when it started back in 1978 pioneered by the Viqarunnisa Noon School. I am one of the girls in the photo that pops up in the media, even now after all these years, during the FIFA World Cups. What fun! Such extra-curricular activities always help me in dealing with stress, and sail smoothly in the rollercoaster ride of my life.
I completed SSC from Viqarunnisa Noon School, HSC from Holy Cross College and MBBS from Sir Salimullah Medical College & Mitford Hospital under Dhaka University. Following that, I pursued my post graduation from Harvard University in population & international health, and Humanitarian Studies Initiative jointly offered by Harvard School of Public Health, Tufts University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Besides, I also completed professional diploma and certified courses from Dhaka University, health system management from the University of Leeds and leadership course at the United Nations System Staff College along with several other high-level professional trainings from various esteemed institutions. Even now, I do not miss any opportunity to learn, to update my knowledge. I would like to mention one thing here. As much as I learned from my parents, my teachers throughout my academic journey have had immense contributions in shaping my life. En route, I am fortunate to have met some great teachers/ mentors from home and abroad who left permanent footprints in my life with their awesomeness.
Prestige : Briefly tell us about how you have been drawn to the challenging work of Disaster Management internationally.
Multitasking is key to managing disasters or creating one, at times, That’s how I have always been. From a very young age, I was always drawn to challenging tasks. Despite facing the challenges of juggling between studies and caring for my newborn daughter during my fourth year of medical school, I managed to complete my MBBS degree. After that, I opted for training in surgery (a male-dominated field at that time in the country) and subsequently joined the government job through the competitive Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination. In the interim, I worked at Monowara Hospital – an esteemed private hospital and had the opportunity to work with many renowned surgeons of the country. My aspiration for developing a career in surgery was further evoked. Qualifying the BCS I was posted in Panchagarh Sadar Hospital in the surgery department. This was the first place where I was exposed to a completely different aspect of people’s health which is ‘prevention’ – linked to the living condition and socioeconomic status of people, and health system. My thinking pattern and perception about the health of the population started to change. It further evolved when I started working in the Disaster Management program of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). I witnessed ‘prevention’ from a very different perspective. That’s the place I learned, gained experience, and grew my passion for disaster management. I met some of the most fascinating mentors during my stint in that program. Initially, I found myself struggling in the job as it had very little connection to what I learned in medical school. But eventually I found the activities to be incredibly engaging which motivated me further in moving ahead. The devastating floods, including the one in 1998, the cyclones, tornadoes and not to mention the epidemics and outbreaks happening in different parts of the country soon became my day-to-day business which immensely provoked my thoughts of prevention, preparedness, and reduction of disaster risks. Realizing that my work could impact millions of lives, I was inspired to pursue a career in disaster management and never looked back. Eventually, I was appointed as the Coordinator for the Bangladesh Center for Health Emergency Preparedness and Response under the Ministry of Health. During that time, I worked closely with the World Health Organization as a government counterpart. The work I did in my own country ultimately led the way to getting into the international arena of disaster management and humanitarian assistance.
Before joining WHO, I had the opportunity to work as a faculty in my own medical college from where I gained insights from my students on the need for adopting disaster management in the medical curriculum which helped me later in supporting the academic learning of disaster management in many countries. In 2004 I was offered by WHO to join the organisation as the lead to run the response and recovery operations in Iran following the earthquakes in Bam and Zarand. After this, I had several executive leadership assignments with WHO across multiple regions including Southeast Asia for tsunami, regional adviser for the Middle East and North African countries, and finally in WHO Headquarters now. Must I say that all the disasters I have been exposed to, including cyclones, floods, earthquakes, epidemics, pandemics, and conflicts in many countries across the world, I learned a lot. I learned that to manage disasters it is critical to understand people, their needs, and their lives irrespective of geographical, cultural, societal, and economic differences. I learned how the disaster risks are interconnected and how important ‘health diplomacy’ is to manage those by building solidarity at all levels. It was a long journey of hard work, continuous learning, patience, perseverance, and endurance in so many ways and so many different circumstances both professional and personal life.
Prestige : Tell us about your inspiration and notable memories you had through this journey?
My inspiration to pursue and progress in this area of disaster management is people and their lives. This is one area where you can directly impact the life of the mass population in their worst time and learn from them, which I think is very rewarding. I think that disaster management is a creative science as every situation warrants unique solutions completely compatible with the life and lifestyle of the population affected. I wrote my first book on disaster management based on the experiences I have had in Bangladesh. That was the time when we did not have a ‘button’ to click, and the entire world would open in front of us. We had to learn by doing every little thing. Library work, professional reading, research papers, and some publications here and there were generally the resources available. I recall travelling to high-risk areas including coastal belts to connect with communities impacted by cyclones, floods, or other calamities and the experiences of those were fascinating. It taught me how people coped with disasters over the years and how they learn to live with them. That is the resilience of people, of communities at all levels, and that’s the strength of a nation. That’s why, their perspectives on calamities are crucial to learn from and link to governance, policies, and practices institutionally. I was completely devoted to this work and was fortunate enough to be part of several remarkable initiatives back then in Bangladesh. Of which are operational research, publications, training, national policy, and development of SOPs for health emergencies and disasters. I also made a documentary film showing the remarkable flood management of Bangladesh over the years. All that I did in my country introduced me to the international arena.
I came across many legendary experts both in the country and internationally who significantly influenced my thinking process, inspired me, and at times challenged me to excel every day. I felt the need to know more and grow my network. Let me share another inspirational moment here. I was offered a job at that very early stage of my career by an international expert of WHO. It was an honour, it was a recognition of my hard work in my own country, some twenty four years back. I thought it over and discussed this matter with my mother who advised me to join once I would be geared up with public health knowledge well enough as I did not have any institutional public health degree that time. Hearing my decision, that WHO expert advised me to pursue higher education in public health and suggested Harvard University from where she graduated. So, I opted for my higher education in public health and worked hard to qualify for that university.
I had my second child at that time. Instead of a challenge, the birth of my second daughter became an inspiration for me to pursue my post graduation in a foreign country. With two daughters – my power house, I went to pursue my dream. I came back to Bangladesh after successfully completing my studies there. I joined back to my government job. My academic knowledge and as well as my international networking profusely helped me in serving my own country. There’s an interesting story about my coming back to Bangladesh. After completion of my post graduation, I was asked by my professor to stay back as a faculty in Harvard which I humbly declined. My curious professor asked my husband that despite the potential of earning more in the USA, why I was not accepting the offer! To which my husband explained that it’s because my priority wasn’t really earning more but serving my country more. That was the level of motivation I have always had. In 2003, the devastating earthquake in Iran shook the world and that was the time I was again offered to join WHO as a lead of earthquake response and recovery operations in Iran. With the immense moral support from my family, I joined the organization and became part of a fascinating team to serve the earthquake affected people. My international journey towards global health as a Bangladeshi started there.
My inspiration came from every little thing I could do to contribute to humanity. Seeing the result of my contribution to serve the most vulnerable people during the Iran assignment further motivated me in moving forward. That little child in Bam who lost her mother in the earthquake, the woman in Banda Aceh who lost her entire family during the tsunami, that doctor who worked in a field hospital of a warzone while his house was shattered from the bombing killing his family are a few of many. And not to mention the people who did everything to survive the Ebola outbreak in Africa, and the people all over the world lived through COVID-19 pandemic. I take lessons from people’s resilience, from their survival mode, and the people who risk their lives every single day to save lives and reduce sufferings of people. All these inspire me always.
However, I would like to mention here that the inspiration firstly and largely came from my family. At one point in time, I was just a ‘virtual mom’ to my children. They endured the situation. My extensive travels and engagement in the humanitarian world deprived my children the most. But I must say there was teamwork there too. Where I dropped, my husband picked up. My family always accepted, and accommodated with the demanding career path I chose. My job is full of uncertainty and challenges, and I cannot imagine the extent of sacrifices and compromises of my family to accomplish that. I was motivated to see my children develop the insight of serving humanity and being eager to contribute in making the world a better place. Despite such challenges on professional and personal fronts, watching my children grow up to be two wonderful human beings with awareness and compassion has always been central as an inspiration throughout my journey in global health. My mother always told me – charity begins at home.
Prestige : What’s your perception in the field of Disaster Management regarding decision making and leadership and how it’s impacting the lives of billions?
Understanding the demography of the affected population and having in-depth knowledge about the culture and practice of the communities are some of the essential elements of disaster management as these are the factors that expose a community to various risks of disasters. Understanding the risks and the vulnerabilities of the population is hence crucial. The importance of ‘inclusivity’ is paramount in managing disasters by preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from any form of catastrophe. Throughout the process of disaster management, we need to focus on risk management in the communities. The first action and reaction both come from the communities to deal with the disasters. As you know, there are many stakeholders in a community who get involved in that process where coordination remains fundamental in organizing and strengthening actions of all. This is where leadership plays a pivotal role – from formulating policies to implement actions. I have seen in many such situations how the presence and absence of leadership make a difference. Decision-making is central in every step here. The countries, communities, humanitarian and development actors – all need to have a common understanding and complementary approach. Command control is key in that approach in saving lives by reducing avoidable ‘mortality and morbidity’. It requires a significantly robust system which is a product of informed leadership. Policies and actions should complement each other, and both must be effective in addressing the needs of the community. Because the practice is for the communities, the policies need to evolve from there too. Proper prevention and preparedness are necessary to combat any type of disaster, be it a cyclone, earthquake, flood, epidemic, outbreak or any other societal issues and not to mention the impacts of climate change. For any country, particularly in Bangladesh, the list of such risks could be long warranting a lot of actions and resources to deal with that. That’s why leadership is critical to prioritize based on analytical information. Just by asking a simple question – which one is affecting the country more? The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how even the most developed communities could be vulnerable to managing the situation, and as well highlighted the importance of effective governance. And look at Bangladesh. It was remarkable how strong leadership could incredibly manage and contain such a catastrophe with limited resources and in such a large group of population. The timely decision-making and implementation were key. This significantly contributed to preventing the spread and resulting fewer deaths than it was anticipated. It’s been a prime example of how global learning/information was applied to the local context through apt decision-making. That’s informed leadership which is fundamental to good governance.
Every disaster costs development gain of a country and that’s why we need to look at it from an economic angle too. As the economy of a country is for every citizen, it’s important to engage everyone, every sector in protecting it. Only robust and informed governance can make it happen by ‘crafting’ disaster management as everyone’s business. This is how the development would be sustainable. Facilitating ‘sustainable development’ is often a success indicator of any leadership.
Disaster management is a ‘creative science’ and what works in one situation may not be effective in another. Disasters are inevitable and managing them is a choice. Building resilience for disasters is not an option for any country or community anymore. That’s why it is important to look for simple solutions aligned with community perception. It is better to focus on exploring local solutions rather than imposing actions that are ’foreign’ to any community. These are policy decisions; these are high level actions to decide at the top. It needs to be a top priority of governments everywhere independent of financial availability. We need to focus on human needs irrespective of financial boundaries. And if there is a need, we rather change the priorities to address it, to save people and to protect development. Again, such a shift may only happen through effective, informed and ‘people sensitive’ leadership. That would be some inclusive leadership towards equity.
We are living in a rapidly evolving world where technology is driving our life enormously. We need to use that momentum to reduce disaster risks in our communities. We need to use innovation and knowledge to look for those simple solutions and as well to make that ‘right decision’. Technology, being used widely, judicially and meaningfully could be a big support to leadership in reducing disaster risks.
Prestige : You have visited many countries, experienced cultural diversities, and interacted with leaders in different roles. Share with us your perception of leadership throughout this journey.
In my view, leadership is context specific. The type of leadership that works in one community or country may not be effective in another. It always depends on the existing context which builds on the history, culture, practice, norms, and priorities of a society and of course on the existing national systems – governance should I say! I just gave an example of our own country. I think informed leadership is always robust and effective. While it is important to be informed of the challenges, equally important is to be informed of the available opportunities. Leadership needs to be responsive too. Effective leadership may not necessarily be an innate quality but could be one that is developed through continuous learning and perseverance taking note of the changes: changes in the society, changes in the development, changes in knowledge and aptitude too. Being exposed to various contexts in countries across the world, I have learned that staying informed and factual is a critical component of successful leadership in managing disasters, be it in a community, country, or in any organisation – everywhere and every level.
On that note, I believe it is rather critical to develop future leaders as well. Youths in every society need to be trained, motivated, and guided to emerge as leaders. In doing so, we also need to ‘create’ role models to whom our younger generation will look upto. This is our collective responsibility and accountability to our country and to the world. We ought to ask ourselves, are we doing it? Are we making it easy for our younger generation? Are we motivating them enough? What can we do differently to inspire our younger generation and also to loop them in the accountability towards making this planet a safer place? All those answers are embedded in one thing: our sincere commitment to the cause – making our future leaders effective.
Prestige : Speaking of cultures, due to the technological transformation and emergence of social media, we are gradually moving away from the community living concept. Does it emerge as a challenge when it comes to disaster management for the coming generations?
I think I have addressed part of this topic in one of my previous responses. Technology has always played a pivotal role in our advancement as a human race, or should I say, civilization! But, we need to ‘sanely’ determine how to use it. When this could be extremely beneficial to save lives and reduce sufferings of the population, it might equally create more chaos and confusion in such situations by providing and propagating misinformation. We have seen this during the recent pandemic too. Social media could be hugely beneficial to reduce disaster risks everywhere by providing risk information, sharing good practices, and exchanging knowledge and expertise if only this is used pragmatically, supported by some policies/strategies/enactments to avoid misuse. We are living in an era of the information superhighway where artificial intelligence is just a click away. This is a challenge and an opportunity both. It warrants further accountability to use some yardsticks in generating, providing, and disseminating information that is factual and authentic. It’s a difficult job. But, I am confident that as we evolve in the coming days we will find a way to handle this difficult task too. And we must.
I would just allude to one side of the issue here. As you can see that an entire generation, I mean the younger citizens of the world are quite engaged in social media across the world these days. Their lives revolve around social media. We can create educational content and games regarding disaster management instead of developing content that does not add any value to their mental and intellectual growth. I have a conviction that reaching out to the younger generation – the potential cohort of the future world, would be much easier online than in person. That’s the trend now, that’s where we are today. However, that doesn’t address our problem fully. There is still a significant group of people who do not have access to smartphones or computers or any other means to access the ‘online world’. This will be very important to find out ways how their access to technology can be ensured or how they can be included in managing disaster risks. We need to figure out how the limited resources available can still be used to ensure all our efforts are inclusive and no one is left behind. It’s not only about using technology but also to ensure equitable access.
Prestige : Despite being involved in such a challenging job that requires your significant involvement, how do you maintain a proper work-life balance and give time to your family?
I don’t know if that’s proper, but what I did surely worked for me. I wasn’t with my children on many important occasions like birthdays, baseball or volleyball matches, academic recognitions, blackbelt ceremonies, and not to mention their special personal moments. However, I ensured that I have always been with them in spirit. My physical presence with my family has always been extraordinary and engaging. My family is my powerhouse which provides me energy to perform my work and to ‘deal’ with the outside world and I strongly maintain that. My priority has always been my family. Whatever I do, I make sure that my children are well taken care of, and I am maintaining my responsibility as a daughter, as a sister, as any other relation and not to mention as a wife. Each of us is where we are because there is a family behind from where we come.
Support from my husband has always been instrumental in my career, I would say everything I have done so far. My husband being a practising architect in Bangladesh couldn’t be with me all the time physically, but always with me in spirit. Several times it happened during my study or even my professional life, I got anxious from the challenges I was facing and told my husband that I would just drop everything and come home. He would listen to me quietly and once I was done sharing my frustration, he would calmly say something like ‘I understand what you are going through, and I know it’s hard and I am so proud of you. However, let’s see a couple of more days how it goes and then decide if you would leave all that you are doing. Not a problem.’ Just so you know, I am still in those ‘couples of days’ mode. And with that ‘couple of days’ space, we happily raised our two daughters as two strong and capable women. As much as we are proud of their professional achievements, we are proud of the human beings they both have become. They are now my ‘friend, philosopher, and guide’. ‘Time’ has been the most important challenge in raising my children and maintaining my family. I have always been very careful to use every moment prudently to make it a quality time with them. In my view, it is not just the things you do for your children that matter, but also the emotional connection you build with them. I became a mother when I was a medical student. I had been a student in a foreign country with two children. I learned to manage time better, and I learned the value of it. My work involved a lot of travelling and uncertainty of communications which often made it difficult to stay in touch with the family. In the early days of my career there were no WhatsApp, facetime, Viber, or all sorts of video communication, yet I tried my best to stay in touch with my family. And I did. I now cherish every opportunity I had to stay connected with them. That time it was mostly through a webcam on Yahoo messenger and you need to find a place to be connected online to reach out to people. See, how blessed we are to have the technology and how this can help in making our life better!
On a personal level, my hobbies help me in balancing my work life too. Like, cooking and writing are therapeutic for me. During my stressed time, I take refuge in cooking, writing, painting, gardening, and jewellery making. I am often asked ‘where do you get time for all this?’. I do not get time, I make time for what I love to do. I still write stories and poems apart from my professional publications. In fact, I write quite regularly. I release my stress in all those I ‘create’ – be it a write up, a jewellery or an exquisite dish for the family. For the last 12 years almost in every Ekushey Boimela there has been some publication of mine in some form. I love music, there is not a single day I do not listen to any music, even at work. One of my favorite pastimes is to sit with a cup of strong tea listening to music – no thoughts, no words. My children live in different countries, and our life often is dispersed in different continents; that’s why time together, wherever that may be, always is very precious to me.
The geographical distance at times could be painful but we have been enduring this with our mutual trust, respect, love and communications.
Prestige : What are your upcoming plans for your personal and professional endeavours?
Despite all the hurdles and the odds, what motivates me and keeps me moving is a thought that -I have not done ‘one thing’ yet. The ‘one thing’ that will give me a feeling of having finally done ‘something’ that would inspire the future generation to achieve their dreams; which would be my legacy. I have sketched my future endeavour based on the challenges I have faced over time. I have seen the challenges of women at different levels. People often see a woman as a vulnerable counterpart before they see her strength. It’s a preconceived mindset of many people. I maintain a major focus in my work around gender, diversity, human rights, equity; of which I am a staunch advocate.
The world has started to change only recently by creating space for women without any reservation, despite women’s remarkable contributions since many years. I would like to continue working on that issue. It’s a daunting task but much needed. This is my commitment to my children and all the young women out there. I want to create that legacy to inspire the women of this generation that they can achieve everything they dream of and proudly live a life as a human being without any worries, without any boundaries. I dream of a world without any glass ceilings for the girls!
Prestige : Such a journey that you have had I am sure wasn’t easy. What are some of the challenges you faced and what’s the learning you would like to share with the future generation?
Well, indeed that was not as smooth as it seems. It was quite difficult. In life, everything comes in a package – success and failures together. My life is no exception. It was enormously dedicated time and hard work coupled with learning at every single step. I encountered challenges in both personal and professional life. One of the biggest challenges I encountered was when my father passed away at a very early age. My life literally halted. Being close to him, this impacted me. It still hurts as he had been my most trusted confidante.
So many times, I had to face the raised eyebrows of people for the career path I chose and as well for the move I made to study abroad. I remember when I was going to go for my higher studies, my little daughter was not even a year old. With two children of eleven-years and a less-than-a-year old, embarking on a journey in a foreign land wasn’t something easy to endure. I was warned by many that this would be difficult. Even some of my friends at Harvard thought I was ‘silly’ enough to dare that. Indeed it was difficult with the kids, but would have been simply impossible without them. So, I chose the difficult path and not the ‘mission impossible’. Choosing a nonconventional career that requires staying away from home often was another challenge. I think I rocked the boat a bit too much!
At the workplace in different critical situations, I have seen scepticism in people only because of my gender: Ah! Can ‘she’ do that! And that gave me conviction to get things done. From the hurdles I had to cross, I learned that the world is beautiful and there are so many interesting people around! When you have friends all around you also need to count the foes who are eager to stop you, block you. Every such challenge inspired me to go further, and every success made me humble. Considering all that I had to go through, I learned that people are awesome with immense potential. I learned regardless of what happens around, it’s important to keep focusing on what you dream of, AND, I learned to ‘let go’ things I can’t change.
