Every year, women’s day gives birth to several women empowerment initiatives. This year was no different.

Shevolution is the first ever all-women Olympiad in Bangladesh. The event was organized by an all-female organizing committee with the help of Bangladesh Debating Council. Sponsored by Runner Group and co-sponsored by Akij Group, the event was held at the Independent University of Bangladesh.

The Olympiad consisted of 4 segments: art, wall magazine, poetry and debate. The two day event also featured appearances by Major General Susane Giti (MBBS, MCPS, FCPS, MMAD), Dr. Shaheen Afroze (Research Director of BIISS), Hafizur RAhman Khan (Chairman of Runner Group) and Major General A K M Abdur Rahman (NDC, BSC). The debate tournament featured an adjudication core consisting of Wasifa Noshin (IBA), Mastura Tasnim (IBA), Noshin Saiyara (IUB), Deepan Kumar (Taylors University, Malaysia) and Banun Sabri (IIUM, Malaysia).

The Art and Wall Magazine competitions were judged by Farhana Islam (Head of OTT Communication at Grameenphone Ltd), Sayma Rahman (Head of Retail Partnership at Grameenphone Ltd), Subrina Farheen Eusa (Management Trainee at IPDC) and  Tasnima Haque Orin (HR Business Partner at British American Tobacco Bangladesh). The judges for the poetry competition comprised of Sabrina Fatma Ahmed (Features Editor at Dhaka Tribune) and Selima Sara Kabir (Research Associate at James Grant School of Public Health BRAC).

Breaking All Stereotypes

The theme for Shevolution was built around breaking stereotypes against women, by showcasing the image of bold, strong and independent women all around the world.  The venue was decorated with posters and cutouts of female characters like Malala Yusuf, Wonder Woman, and Brave. All the decorations were also designed, made and placed all throughout the venue by the organizing team.

The initial idea behind the event rooted from a lack of female representation in the national and international level when it comes to debating. For the past few years, the debating community has seen a disproportionate male to female ratio for its national debate team for World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC).

The Bangladesh Debating Council, under the leadership of the current President, Fardeen Ameen, came up with the idea to provide an exclusive platform for women in the circuit, and months later, that idea led to the birth of Shevolution. Although initially the event was only a debate tournament, it eventually became a platform for women from other creative interests, such as art and poetry.

If you look at all the hard work that went into making this dream come true, you find a multitude of women from all backgrounds coming together in an unprecedented fashion. One of the most impressive aspects of the tournament was the outreach program that was conducted all over Dhaka and schools outside Dhaka by female debaters.

One of the main goals for the tournament was to break domestic stereotypes about women. We wanted to show that women can take care of both the kitchen and the workplace.

The goal of the tournament was to show the society that women can do all the logistical work like staying at Nilkhet till 2 AM to get banners printed, or going to buy the essential materials or even hanging banners and carrying the food cartoons from one place to another. 

“It felt amazing working with the wonderful women from different institutions,” said Tabassum Khan Prithi to the Daily Star. “The reaction we received from our participants is incredible. The goal of Shevolution was to create an encouraging platform for young girls.”

Empowerment Through Challenges

In the debate segment, there were two categories. The champions from the open category was a team from Academia 1 comprising of (Nawal Naz Tareque, Manal Khan, and Antara Farnaz. The other team in the finals was Viqarunnisa 1 comprising of Adhara Ayndrila, Maisha Tasneem and Tanjreen Nushba.  The best Speaker in the open category was a tie between Adhara Ayndrila and Tanjreen Nushba.

The champion in the novice category was Scholastica 1 consisting of Sarah Tasneem, Zahra Anwar, and Sanila Moeen, and the runner-up was Manarat 2, consisting of Sarah Binte Hossen, Nujhat Mihika, and Tashfiah Hasan. The best speaker in the Novice Category was Smiti Modhu.

The champions of the wall magazine competition were Tahiya Karim, Sanjana Fawziyah, Sumaita Zayan, Zaima Nuha Rahman Chowdhury, and Syka Subha from Shaheed Anwar Girls’ School and College. First, runners-up were Afra Haque Lazna, Morium Choudhury, Aspiya Hoque, Madri Paromi Chakma, and Shah Nister Jahan from Feni Girls’ Cadet College. Rehnuma Kabir, Afreen Ehsan, and Sadia Ibnat Zahin from Shaheed Anwar Girls’ School and College became second runners-up.

Faiza Fairooz from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College became champion of the art competition. First, runner-up was Alfee Rubayat from St Francis Xavier’s Green Herald International School and second runner-up Mahira Rashid, an O-level candidate.The champion of the poetry competition was Mir Reenaz Nawar from the Aga Khan School, Dhaka. Tazrian Rahman from South Breeze School and Farina Afrin Malik from Independent University, Bangladesh became first and second runner-up respectively.

If we look closely, every single person who participated in the tournament in any capacity can be called winners. The reason I say this is because, never before have so many women from different age groups, institutions and geographic areas come together to participate in an event.

“Shevolution is the acknowledgement that today’s girls are ready to excel in any field,” said Fardeen Ameen. “It is a celebration of their expertise in communication and the shattering of many stereotypes all at once.

I truly believe this movement is here to stay and I truly believe that men need to step up and support women and girls in all their battles as well.”