Today, software development is an increasingly common career choice for women in Bangladesh. Thousands study computer science and related subjects and go on to work in the technology sector. But when Shaheda Mustafiz entered the field five decades ago, the situation was very different. The local software industry was still in its early stages, computer education was limited, and the sector was largely male-dominated. Shaheda became the first woman to work as a programmer in Bangladesh.
At the time, computer science was not taught widely in local institutions, while only a handful of organisations were involved in software development. Shaheda therefore majored in Economics at the University of Dhaka. She later travelled to the United States for a year of training in software architecture at NCR Corporation. In 1976, she began her professional career in the technology sector as a systems manager at the Bangladesh branch of the organisation.
A significant part of her career was spent at LEADS Corporation Limited, which took over NCR Corporation’s Bangladesh operations. Working as a systems manager and technical leader, Shaheda was involved in the early development of banking automation in the country. She worked on some of Bangladesh’s first banking software and automation systems at a time when the local IT industry was still taking shape and formal academic training in the field was limited.
After leaving LEADS, she served as managing director of Prabti Systems Limited, where she worked on initiatives to export locally developed software to international markets. She later served as managing director of Canada-based Twenty-Two Technologies Inc. and as executive vice president of US-based E-Techlocks Incorporated’s Bangladesh branch.
Her work outside the corporate sector also focused on expanding access to technology. She established and operated a computer training centre for children, while placing particular emphasis on training women. She also mentored female developers and advocated greater support for women trying to balance professional careers in technology with family responsibilities.
Throughout her career, Shaheda has also argued for a stronger product-based software industry in Bangladesh rather than one focused mainly on providing services. One issue she has repeatedly raised is how locally developed software is valued. She has criticised the tendency of organisations to spend heavily on imported software while being reluctant to pay comparable prices for software developed locally.
Her career spans a period in which Bangladesh’s technology sector moved from a largely undeveloped field to an expanding industry. As one of the country’s earliest female professionals in software, Shaheda’s work also coincided with the gradual entry of more women into technology.
Her story, therefore, is not only about being the country’s first female programmer. It also reflects the challenges faced by early technology professionals working in a sector that had few established institutions, limited infrastructure and little formal training. Through her work in software development, banking automation, technology education and advocacy for local products, she became part of the early history of Bangladesh’s IT industry.
