Debating to break the glass ceiling

Bangladesh Debate Council (BDC) arranged ‘BDC Fempowerment 2021,’ the second edition of the debating tournament on September 03 and 04, with an all-female organising committee, all-female adjudication core, and all-female participants. The top 10 speakers of the event will get access to an exclusive training programme consisting of specialised training sessions. They will also get access to National Camp, a debate boot camp, which is a multi-step selection process to determine the five individuals who will participate in the global debating event- The World School Debating Championship.

Aliya Fairuz and Nayara Noor from BRAC University and Parinda Rahman from North South University were the conveners of the event. There was also an extended organising committee consisting of Adhara Ayndrila from Sunnydale, Aonkita Dey- an alumnus of Greenherald, Lamia Nur Rahman from European Standard School, Nahian Rashha- an alumnus of Viqarunnissa, and Sarah Tasneem from Scholastica.

As many as 36 school teams participated in the tournament from all over the country. There were two categories-- open and novice. Novice was designed for the new debaters of the circuit who have competed in less than five tournaments. Maple Leaf International School clinched the title of Open Champions, with Maliha Rahman becoming the best speaker, while Rajuk Uttara Model College became the open runners up. Bir Sreshtha Noor Mohammad College became the Novice Champions with Muzna Sabiha becoming the best speaker, while Presidency International School became the novice runners-up.

Tamkeen Nawab from Cambridge University, UK, Julia Ocoma from Ateneo De Manila University, Philippines, JumanaTanuja from BUET, were in the Core Adjudication Panel along with fellow organisers and conveners Aliya Fairuz, Parinda Rahman, and Nahian Rashha.

This year, BDC has initiated a new programme named ‘Fempowerment Development Academy’ which will give the top speakers of the tournament special access to coaching by some of the best female debaters of the country across multiple months. BDC has been operating since 2005 to spread English debating in the country. Every year BDC takes initiatives to help break barriers for female debaters.