Paralysed graduate fights for survival as job promises remain unfulfilled
Photo Collected
Eight years after a devastating train accident claimed both her legs, Rubina Khatun remains trapped in a cycle of poverty and uncertainty in the Shantinagar area of Debiganj, Panchagarh. A former student of social work at Jagannath University, Rubina’s life was irrevocably altered on January 28, 2018, when she fell onto the tracks at Dhaka’s Kamalapur Railway Station while suffering from an illness. The accident occurred as a train engine was maneuvering, severing her legs and ending her aspirations of a stable professional career.
Despite completing her undergraduate studies while recovering in a hospital bed, Rubina has been unable to secure employment despite numerous promises of assistance from various government and private entities. Her academic journey, once marked by exceptional promise—including perfect GPA-5 scores in her secondary and higher secondary examinations—was sidelined by the tragedy. Following her graduation, she was unable to pursue a master’s degree as the burden of medical costs and family survival took precedence.
Rubina’s struggle has been compounded by significant personal and financial hardship. After the death of her father, a day laborer, during her university years, she relied on scholarships and private tutoring to support her family. Following the accident, her family attempted to establish a small cattle farm to achieve self-sufficiency. However, those resources were depleted after a brief, tumultuous marriage to a man from Parbatipur, whom Rubina alleges misappropriated approximately 1.1 million taka from the family’s farm before subjecting her to abuse. The couple eventually divorced in mid-2024.
The situation reached a breaking point earlier this year with the death of her mother, Rahima Khatun, who succumbed to cancer on September 29, 2024. The family’s primary support system effectively collapsed, leaving the responsibility of caring for Rubina and her intellectually disabled elder sister to their younger brother, Rubel Haque. A post-graduate student at Begum Rokeya University, Rubel is currently struggling to find employment while simultaneously managing the household and the demands of his sisters’ care.
Living on a small homestead and cultivating a modest plot of ancestral land, the siblings face a precarious future. With the expiration of the government age limit for civil service applications approaching, Rubina continues to sit for examinations, clutching onto the hope that a stable job could finally provide the financial security her family desperately needs to survive. For now, the once-promising student remains confined to a wheelchair, waiting for an opportunity that has remained elusive for nearly a decade.
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