On Monday night, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with Shilpakala Academy, organised a month-long series of events to revive the memory of the July mass uprising.
As part of this, a “July Women’s Day” film screening, recollections by martyrs’ families and July fighters, “Songs of July,” and a drone show were held at Central Shaheed Minar, supported by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and Dhaka University.
Among the attendees were Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S Murshid, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter, and Turkish Ambassador Ramis Şen.
Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Niaz Ahmed Khan, Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Mofidur Rahman, and DU Proctor Associate Professor Saifuddin Ahmed, along with government officials and diplomatic representatives, were also present.
The programme included a “July Women’s Day” film screening and tributes from families of the martyrs and wounded of the uprising. It began with the national anthem, performed collectively by artists from Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, DU’s Music Department, and popular singer-songwriter Shayan.
A documentary by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs was screened, followed by a two-part drone show – the first depicting the events leading to the July movement, and the second illustrating the student-led mass uprising last year.
The drone show, jointly presented by the governments of Bangladesh and China, used 2,000 drones to narrate the story of July, recreating moments from the uprising above Shaheed Minar.