Girls have achieved incredible success in football. Bangladesh won their maiden Saff Women's Football Championship by beating hosts Nepal 3-1 in the final in Kathmandu on September 19, 2022.
After winning the title, the Saff winners are now at the centre of discussion. However, to come to this point, they had to sacrifice many things.
On the second day of the 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest on Friday, Shamsunnahar Jr talked about her hard-earned life to achieve success.
“The feeling cannot be explained in words. After winning Saff Championship, I came back home and realized how much people in this country love football. They love us too. Everyone welcomed us when we came back. It was one of the most memorable days of my life,” she said.
The audience applauded while she was talking on the stage.
Shamsunnahar, who hails from Kalsindur in Mymensingh, went back telling her story. “We used to hear harsh words from home and surrounding people. They used to tell us if you play football no one will marry you. But we did not care about it,” she said.
“We were scolded back then for wearing shorts during games,” Shamsunnahar said.
“However, the situation changed when we came back as champions. All of them came to see me and wanted to take pictures with me,” she added.
The Saff winners participated in the Dhaka Lit Fest in the event titled “We are the Champions” on the premises of the Bangla Academy.
Book lovers from across Bangladesh started gathering on the Bangla Academy premises braving the cold on Friday morning as the second day of the Dhaka Lit Fest went underway.
The day's programs kicked off with spiritual songs by Sardar Afsar Uddin.