The government has nominated 14 distinguished individuals and the Bangladesh National Women’s Football Team for the 2025 Ekushey Padak in recognition of their significant contributions in various fields.
On Thursday (February 6), the Ministry of Cultural Affairs announced this decision. Mustafa Sarwar Farooki, cultural affairs advisor, revealed the names of the nominees at a press conference held at the Secretariat.
This year, five individuals were nominated in the arts category, one in journalism, one in journalism and human rights, one in culture and education, one in education, one in science and technology, one in social welfare, two in language and literature, one in research, and the Bangladesh National Women’s Football Team in the sports category.
The five nominees in the various branches of the arts are:
- Film: Azizur Rahman (posthumously)
- Music: Ustad Nirod Baran Barua and Ferdous Ara
- Photography: Nasir Ali Mamun
- Painting: Rokeya Sultana
In journalism, the Ekushey Padak will be awarded to Mahfuz Ullah (posthumously), while Mahmudur Rahman will receive the award for journalism and human rights.
In the culture and education category, Dr. Shahidul Alam has been nominated, while Dr. Niaz Zaman has been selected in the education category. Mehedi Hasan Khan has been nominated in science and technology, and Mohammad Yusuf Chowdhury (posthumously) in social welfare.
In the language and literature category, poet Helal Hafiz (posthumously) and Shahidul Zahir (Md. Shahidul Haque) (posthumously) have been nominated.
For research, Moeidul Hasan has been selected for the Ekushey Padak. In the sports category, the Bangladesh National Women’s Football Team will be receiving the award.
According to the policy, each awardee will receive a one-time cash reward of BDT 400,000, a 35-gram gold medal, a replica of the medal, and a certificate of honor.
The Ekushey Padak is the second-highest civilian honor in Bangladesh. It was introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement. Each year, the government awards this honor in recognition of special contributions in various fields.
Since 1976, the Ekushey Padak has been awarded to distinguished writers, artists, educators, language veterans, linguists, researchers, journalists, economists, poverty alleviation contributors, social personalities, and institutions for their exceptional contributions at the national level.
