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The
Montgomery County Public School has
approved Sharmin Ahmad's Book for its school system's English
Language Arts curriculum .
News:
The Montgomery County Public School of Maryland,ranked among the
nation's top public schools in the United States, (MCPS) has approved
Sharmin Ahmad Reepi's 'Rainbow in a Heart' for its school system's
English Language Arts curriculum up to the Middle School level.
Sharmin Ahmad's book was placed in the highly recommended category.
The comment during the formal approval of the book states in part,
"Well crafted language that is very descriptive. Beautiful
illustrations and there are aspects of each mother and child relationship
that teach lessons about parents as teachers
having compassion for others... and seeing the possibility of good
in all." In comparing the relative worth of the book to other
similar materials The Rainbow in a Heart was described as "very
unique" and a "good asset to an elementary and middle
school collection."
The ISBN of the book is 984 765 002 0. The bilingual colored book
(Bangla and English) was published by Prativas, Dhaka.
Sharmin
Ahmad, a recipient of the Woman of Distinction award and a director
of an Islamic think tank The Minaret of Freedom Institute, has organized
and led numerous workshops on human rights and interfaith bridge
building. She has appeared on television and radio talk shows and
has lectured at various prestigious institutions in both United
States and abroad. She has been featured in the Washington Post
and her editorials letters have been published in various newspapers
including the Wall Street Journal. Her father, Tajuddin Ahmad, is
one of the front ranking leaders who led the Bangladesh independent
movement and was the first Prime Minister of the Bangladesh Government.
The book 'Rainbow in a Heart' has been dedicated to her mother,
Syeda Zohra Tajuddin. To collect the book, please contact reepia@hotmail.com
Sharmin
Ahmad was born and raised in Bangladesh and emigrated to the United
States in 1984. She earned a Master of Arts degree in 1990 in Women’s
Studies from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. --and
won a fellowship and a Women’s Studies Scholar award. She also
completed graduate studies at GWU in Early Childhood Education.
She
is a co-founder and director of Minaret of Freedom Institute, a
progressive Islamic policy research think tank that promotes human
rights. Sharmin represented her organization at the United Nations
and was a part of the NGO Caucus Committee, which drafted a published
statement against violence, promoted by the mass media and against
the proliferation of both nuclear arms and small arms. She has also
served on the steering committee of Women in Development and Samhati,
2 organizations to help destitute women, and has helped found several
organizations for the empowerment of women and children.
Sharmin
has organized and led numerous workshops on human rights and interfaith
bridge building, has appeared on television and radio talk shows,
and has lectured at various prestigious institutions in both the
US and abroad. She has been featured in the Washington Post, and
her editorial letters and articles have been published in various
newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal.
Sharmin
was a consultant for the Department of Health, working at the grassroots
level in order to raise awareness against female genital mutilation
in the United States.
Sharmin has also participated in and been a representative to many
international conferences, including the Fourth World Conference
on Women held in Beijing, China, and the First International Non-Governmental
Organizations Conference in Tehran, Iran. She received a Woman if
Distinction Award for her “outstanding contributions in the
field of international goodwill and understanding” from Soroptimist
International of the Americas Club, one of the largest professional
women’s human development organizations in the world. She has
been involved with children’s education for nearly 2 decades.
The Rainbow in a Heart is her first published book, based on a fiction
to promote female empowerment, universal motherhood and peace building
among children, parents, educators and those who strive for peace
at home and the world. Recently, The Montgomery County Public School
of Maryland, ranked among the nation’s top public schools,
has approved Sharmin’s “The Rainbow in a Heart” for
it’s school system’s English Language Arts curriculum
up to the middle school level. The bilingual (Bangla and English),
colored book was placed in the highly recommended category. In comparing
the relative worth of the book to other similar materials ,it was
described as “very unique” and as a “good asset”
to an elementary and middle school collection.
Her
life and interview are included in the recently published Voices
of American Muslims :Twenty –three profiles by noted author
Linda Brandy Cateura.
Currently, Sharmin travels to many countries promoting human rights,
goodwill and understanding among various religions and cultures.
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