A Voice for the Animals

Photo: Courtesy

Kashtanka, a local breed, was Rubaiya's dog. Upon her return from America in 2006, after graduating from The University of Texas majoring in IT, Rubaiya Ahmad had to face an unthinkable trauma. She had witnessed Kashtanka's body being pulled out of Dhaka City Corporation's office after he was brutally murdered during one of their 'dog culling projects'. Kashtanka's death had sparked a fire inside Rubaiya that led her to establish Bangladesh's first animal welfare organization, Obhoyaronno (O-BAWS).
Obhoyaronno is working to end animal cruelty through advocacy, education and humane programme implementation. Obhoyaronno was established in 2009 and registered as a non-profit charity with the Joint Stock Companies and Firms in 2011. Through Obhoyaronno, Rubaiya has sent vets and paravets to Jaipur, India, to get proper training in sterlisation and other procedures.

Photo: Courtesy

To eliminate the rising risk of Rabies, the local authorities killed thousands of dogs every year all over Bangladesh. "I have been working non-stop to save animals and thankfully, we have finally stopped dog culling, an act that has been going on for almost 60-70 years now, on the 1st of January, 2012,” says Rubaiya. “We have also opened our own Clinic with modern surgery procedures and have lots of street animal rescue projects," she elaborates. Since then, Obhoyaronno has been running the country's first CNVR (Catch-neuter-vaccinate-release) programme in Dhaka with support from Dhaka City Corporation, Humane Society International and FAO. The success of the programme has won Rubaiya and her organisation several local and international awards including the “Humane Society International Animal Advocate of the Year” award in 2012.
Obhoyaronno has been working tirelessly over the past four years to eradicated rabies, vaccinate and sterilise dogs all over Bangladesh. Rubaiya continues to work closely with this organisation while also holding and conducting workshops in schools where she teaches children the importance of kindness towards animals and proper pet-care.