Transgender Manisha gets IVD Bangladesh Volunteer Award
It is her 5th award in 2021 for her contribution to transgender community
Manisha Meem Nipun, a transgender woman from Chattogram, has been awarded the IVD Bangladesh Volunteer Award in the Gender Equality category.
She has been endowed with the award for standing by the Gender and Sexual Diverse communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was presented with a prize of Tk25,000 and a crest at the award giving ceremony organised jointly by the local government, rural development and cooperatives ministry, United Nations Volunteers Bangladesh, UNFPA Bangladesh, VSO Bangladesh and Water Aid Bangladesh on Sunday, says a press release.
Manisha Meem Nipun, chief executive officer of Pathchola Foundation, said, "Every honour is a joy. However, I think it is a little more joy to receive this award as a transformed woman. I am grateful to those who chose me for this honour."
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tajul Islam was present as the chief guest at the award giving ceremony.
Nipun has been awarded five consecutive honours in 2021. These are XMM Award of Diversity, Human Rights Defender Award 2021, BYLC Volunteer Award 2021, Grameen Nari Sammanna 2021 and most recently IVD Bangladesh Volunteer Award 2021.
Manisha Meem Nipun, 25, also known as Mohammad Jahidul Islam Al-Azad, is a youth trainer and a transgender rights activist in Bangladesh. During the Corona pandemic, she has stood by the hungry and unemployed sex workers of Gender and Sexual Diverse Community backgrounds.