Tamanna fights her disabilities to top school tests with flying colours

Tamanna Nura has a disarming skill – she aces examinations; she has secured top scores in both her PEC and JSC tests.

But the young girl from Alipur village in Jashore’s Jhikargachha Upazila was born without both her arms and one of her legs.

Determined to not let her wheelchair define her capabilities, Tamanna has been using her only limb to write, draw and paint.

Having inspired many around her with her test achievements, she is now looking to pass her Secondary School Certificate examination with flying colours.

Tamanna has trained her leg to draw pictures as well as graphs for geometry and science. She won several prizes in the Upazila for her creative drawings.

She is taking this year’s SSC exams from Azmain Adas School, a private institution in Bakra, says her mother Khadiza Parvin Shilpi.

‘She was born without two arms and a leg. But she is able to do almost all works due to her will power,” she tells bdnews24.com.

“She used to eat using her leg. She learned to turn the pages of her books, draw pictures and margins on her class notes. Now all these have become part of her daily routine.”

Tamanna has always been drawn to learning. Shilpi says she taught her daughter the basics of writing and witnessed her become a natural within a short time.

“I thought she reads well. So why won’t she be able to write? I pressed a pen between her toes and taught her to write. In a few days, she had it within her grasp.

“But back then schools did not want to take her in as a student.” Now her teachers at the Azmain Adas School are looking forward to Tamanna’s SSC exam.

Rubina Akter, a teacher of the school, had arranged for her admission when her father pleaded with her for help.

‘Tamanna is a very talented girl. Her memory is sharp. After she got in, the other students found it difficult to keep up with her. She came first while moving up from class two to three,” Rubina remembers.

Tamanna told bdnews24.com she wants to be an independent person in future.

“I want to be a doctor. I want to work to prove that people with disabilities are not a burden on this society.”

“We faced many insults because of my daughter’s disabilities. But when I returned home from Malaysia, I decided that we’ll give her the education she deserves,” her father Raushan Ali, a local trader, says, speaking to bdnews24.com.

Using her wheelchair, Tamanna attended classes with the support of her family. She used to sit on a separate table during the classes. 

Tamanna’s younger sister Momtahena Roshmi is a student of class three and their brother  ‘Mohibullah’ is 4 years old.