Dhaka Medical College officials plant trees marking Zubaida's birthday

Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) doctors and staffers have planted fruit and medicinal trees on the college premises to celebrate the 55th birthday of Zubaida Rahman, a prominent cardiologist and wife of the prime minister.

Doctors, nurses, officers, and employees of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital organised the programme on Wednesday morning, where BNP Health Affairs Secretary Prof Md Rafiqul Islam attended as the chief guest.

Addressing the event, Prof Md Rafiqul Islam noted that Zubaida Rahman graduated with an MBBS degree from the K-43 batch of Dhaka Medical College and later joined the government health service through the BCS health cadre. He added that she earned an MSc in Cardiology with a gold medal from Imperial College London, which enhanced her skills in managing heart disease.

Prof Md Rafiqul Islam stated that political circumstances forced Zubaida Rahman into a 17-year exile. "Due to the brutal behaviour of the 1/11 government and the following fascist government, Zubaida Rahman lived in exile for 17 years with her family," he said, adding that she has now returned to serve the people after supporting the movement that ousted the fascist regime.

He also highlighted her role in managing the medical care of the late former prime minister and her mother-in-law, Begum Khaleda Zia, coordinating services with institutions like Evercare Hospital.

Reflecting on the party's environmental focus, the BNP Health Affairs Secretary mentioned that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party follows the path of the late President Ziaur Rahman, who once gifted a neem tree to Saudi Arabia that remains known there as the "Zia Tree."

Organisers stated that the plantation drive reflects the social and environmental responsibility of healthcare professionals in building a sustainable society.

Dhaka Medical College Principal Prof Md Mazharul Shaheen, Orthopaedics Department Head Prof Zakir Hossain Biplob, ENT (ear, nose and throat) Department Head Prof Asadur Rahman, and other senior medical officials attended the programme.