Mostafa Shabuj, Bogura

It is expected that a student graduating from a reputed university would want a good job in the big city.

A female Dhaka University graduate in Bogura, however, broke the stereotype to become an entrepreneur, finding success in cultivating vermicompost and helping her fellow villagers learn the business.

Twenty-six-year-old Razia Sultana Sumi, of Goriarpara village in Shibganj upazila, completed her honours and master’s degrees in social welfare at DU in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

“Like every student of DU, I also dreamed of being a BCS [Bangladesh Civil Service] cadre or getting a good job in a reputed organisation but the urgency of life returned me to the village.”

While many fellow graduates were preparing for exams and struggling to land government jobs, Sumi said she did not want to waste time.

“After finishing my master’s degree with good results, I came straight back to my village and started helping my father in the fields,” said Sumi.

Her journey was not easy. She was initially shamed and verbally insulted by neighbours and villagers, mostly boys and men, while harvesting paddy in the fields with her father and sister last year.

They said that a girl who graduated from Dhaka University harvesting paddy in the fields was such a shame -- that she had wasted her parents’ money and efforts, Sumi recalled.

“Every profession is great if you take it to heart. Agriculture is my father’s profession. I wanted to find greater success in agriculture,” said Sumi.