‘We are very naive’: Joty urges new government to prioritise basic needs

Bangladesh women’s cricket team captain Nigar Sultana Joty used her social media platform to deliver a message--not about cricket, but about the state of everyday life in Bangladesh. 

In a Facebook post, she apparently called on the BNP-led government to focus on the basics, reminding leaders that the public’s true needs are far simpler than politics and power struggles.

“Why all this fighting and bickering over positions and power?” Joty wrote. “Isn’t it supposed to be for serving the people and for the welfare of the country? But in reality, how are we?”

The Bangladesh captain painted a vivid picture of daily struggles faced by ordinary citizens. She highlighted overcrowded hospitals with minimal staff, dangerous and poorly maintained roads, and the hardships faced by vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women, and the sick.

“We, the people of this country, are very naive,” she said. “Just ensure our basic needs are met, and we won’t raise any questions. Education, healthcare, road systems, controlling commodity prices -- simple calculations!”

She described hospitals with 1,500 beds serving over 5,000 patients, attended by only a handful of doctors and nurses. “So how can anyone get proper treatment? Headache? Forget it,” she wrote.

Her post also drew attention to the state of infrastructure. “The roads we travel on (except some long-distance highways) seem so unsafe that even a healthy person might get injured. The condition of the elderly, the sick, and pregnant women -- you can only imagine, Allah knows. Nobody talks about this.”

“We, the people of this country, are really very naive. We get happy easily. You don’t need to do much for us! Just fix our everyday essentials, and do whatever else you like -- no one will question it,” Joty concluded.

While Joty is known for her leadership on the cricket field, this post shows her concern for her fellow citizens extends far beyond sports.