Disability campaigner Putul congratulates Bangladesh team, says they make nation proud

Saima Wazed Hossain Putul, who spearheads national disability campaign, has congratulated the Bangladesh team on the eve of the first-ever international disability cricket tournament, saying “they make us proud as a country”.

“Kudos to our special cricket team and huge congratulations,” the prime minister’s daughter said in an email response to bdnews24.com hours before the Twenty20 tournament’s opening on Wednesday morning.

Bangladesh will face England in the opener of the five-nation tournament following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s inauguration at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur.

Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are the other teams of the nine-day tournament organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

bdnews24.com is the media partner of the event.

A US-licensed school psychologist Putul brought the disability issue to the forefront in Bangladesh in 2011, when she organised first autism meet of South Asia in Dhaka.

She is also a member of the WHO's Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health, and Chairperson of National Advisory Committee on Autism in Bangladesh.

She interacts with the people living with disabilities, listens to their plight, and says “no country could progress if it left the people with disabilities behind”.

In her message on the cricket for the physically challenged, she reiterated her stance: “We need to focus on developing the entire country leaving no one behind.

“Sustainable development and the future of our country depend not on separation of abilities but greater cooperation and collaboration and planning for everyone.”

She sought to inspire the players by saying that having a disability made a person no lesser a being than others.

“It means that they can do more than those of us who have all our faculties intact,” she said.

“We should hope for a future where we do not need separate team and can proudly claim to the world that we have an inclusive team.”

She said the cricketers’ skills and achievements should be celebrated.

“Cricket is already a challenging game requiring skill, dexterity, intelligence and the ability to work as a team.

“Doing all of that with a significant challenge such as the loss of any one of our senses is something that should be celebrated.

“They should be very proud of their achievements. It shows what excellent sportsmen they all are. They train hard and show themselves to be the hard working athletes that they truly are.

“They make us proud as a country.”

Putul continued: “It is time to take pride in their achievements and help them to gain independence and access to all that our country has to offer, rather than treat them to feel ashamed.”

Bangladesh team skipper Md Alam Khan on Tuesday at a press briefing also hoped that those who were “looking at us in a different way will start to think again on seeing us on the field”.