Rumana Monzur, blinded by husband, graduates from law school in Canada

Rumana Monzur, whose eyes were gouged out by her husband in Bangladesh, has completed her graduation from the law school at the University of British Columbia or UBC.

Md Asiuzzaman Torontobdnews24.com
Published : 25 May 2017, 08:28 AM
Updated : 25 May 2017, 08:28 AM

Rumana, 38, has come a long way since her then-husband savagely attacked her and gouged out her eyes, permanently blinding her in 2011, said Catherine Dauvergne, dean of the school.

It took two years to recover from the brutality, and then she started studying law at UBC in Vancouver, Canada.

On Wednesday, she graduated from the Peter A Allard School of Law.

When Rumana was guided to the podium to give a speech to fellow graduates, a hush fell over the crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered at the Chan Shun Concert Hall, according to the CBC News.

"As a result of this horrendous attack, and life-threatening attack, I became blind. I never saw the world again,” Rumana told the assembly. Her 11-year-old daughter was also present at the graduation ceremony.

Rumana, however, spared the audience the graphic details of her husband's attack which was witnessed by her little daughter six years ago.

"Many people helped me after the attack but UBC gave me direction when I was lost," she said in her speech. "It would not be possible for me to get through law school without the support of my UBC family."

One person, Rumana thanked, in particular, was Catherine Dauvergne, dean of the law school.

"It was exciting this morning. I cried,” the dean said after the ceremony as she praised Rumana.

"She's unique, she's forged her own path forward, and I can't think of another person who could've done it in the same way."

Outside the concert hall, Rumana embraced the students she had come to know over the course of the programme.

Many of her classmates dedicated their time to guide her to class or help her find her professors' offices.

The attack on Rumana came after her husband grew enraged because she had told him she would be returning to Canada to continue her education. At the time, she was taking a master's at the University of British Columbia.

Rumana made international headlines after she spoke about the attack from her hospital bed in Dhaka.

When she returned to Canada with her daughter, she learned her husband Syed Hasan Sumon had been arrested and had died of a 'heart attack' while awaiting trial.