Kurigram’s Rina Akter Banu in BBC’s 100 women list

On Tyesday, the BBC published a list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2024.

The women have been selected in five categories- Climate Pioneers, Culture and Education, Entertainment and Sport, Politics and Advocacy and Science, Health and Tech.

Kurigram’s nurse Rina Akter Banu has been included in the list of 100 inspiring and influential women for her role in creating a positive impact on the community’s views around disability.

Rina Akter Banu has been selected under the Science, Health and Tech category.

Stranded astronaut Sunita Williams, rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot, actress Sharon Stone, Olympic athletes Rebeca Andrade and Allyson Felix, singer Raye, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, visual artist Tracey Emin, climate campaigner Adenike Oladosu and writer Cristina Rivera Garza are among the 100 women in the list.

Rikta lives in a remote area of northern Bangladesh where having an autistic or disabled child is seen as a curse, according to BBC.

When her own daughter, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, was refused admission to their local primary school, she sold her land and built her own school instead.

The Rikta Akhter Banu Learning Disability School now enrolls 300 students which made a positive impact on the community’s views about disability.

While the school was initially built for children who are autistic or have a learning disability, it now caters for young students with a variety of intellectual and physical disabilities.

From facing deadly conflicts and humanitarian crises in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan, to witnessing the polarisation in societies that followed a record number of elections around the world, women have had to dig deep and find new levels of resilience.