Palestine Embassy hosts dinner in honour of girls who rejected US Award

The Embassy of Palestine in Bangladesh hosted a dinner reception in Dhaka on Thursday night to honour three Bangladeshi youth icons — Umama Fatema, Anika Tahsina, and Aysha Siddiqua Tithi — who recently made headlines by rejecting a US award in protest against Washington’s continued support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

At the event, Palestine’s Ambassador to Bangladesh, Yousef Ramadan, praised their principled stance, stating: “We will always remember this gesture. It gives us strength and sends a powerful message not just to Palestinians, but to the world. Yes, we are fighting, struggling, and suffering, but we are not alone. There are human beings, 5,000 kilometres away, standing behind us, supporting us in every possible way.”

Speaking at the gathering, Umama Fatema remarked: “We must always feel the struggle from within. What the people of Palestine are enduring is unimaginable. Compared to that, my act of rejecting an award is nothing. I simply acted from a place of moral responsibility as a human being. As students of Bangladesh, we have inherited a legacy of resistance, and we have to live up to that. Across the world, people are suffering. Bombs are being dropped day after day, children are dying — not just in Palestine, but in Yemen and many other places. As Bangladeshis, we have a duty to stand in solidarity, always.”

The ambassador also presented a special token of appreciation to Umama Fatema for her courageous decision.

Earlier, Umama, Anika, and Aysha collectively turned down the International Women of Courage Award 2025, an honour from the US State Department recognizing women activists globally, in protest against US policy over the Gaza crisis.