‘Learn to take challenges’

There was a time when women of our country could not imagine being able to cross the threshold of the house and do something for themselves - like take education, fulfill their desire, do work and earn and many more like these. But time has changed now. Women of today have learned to fly like a fearless soldier, from the home boundary to the sky. In every sector of leadership- science, sports, discovery, revolution, rebellion, highway, they are printing their footsteps with pride. Women are not as a household thing anymore to stay at a corner of the house. They are moving through the whole world and telling the story of history, tradition, culture, and the way of life. T

his is the time for the women. Eliza Binte Elahi is one of such brave women who have broken the stereotyped silhouette of typical Bangali women. She travels the whole of Bangladesh and abroad especially in search of heritage, introduces herself as a 'Heritage tourist’.  She is a World traveler, traveled 64 districts of Bangladesh and about 50 countries and 264 cities in the world.  She considers herself a history and heritage lover. She likes to travels through the cities which have rich heritage and culture, whether it is abroad or in Bangladesh. Besides that, she teaches as an adjunct faculty in the School of Business at The University of South Asia.  Eliza never wanted to live life conventionally; wanted to enjoy her life. She considers life as a precious gift, and this thought provoked her to enjoy life in a meaningful way.   According to her, the way of enjoying life is traveling. But the journey was not smooth in the first place. In the beginning, she has faced lots of obstacles as a woman traveler from family and society. She didn’t give up rather she tried to make them understand the focal intention of the trip, and succeed to overcome those problems.

Eliza loves history and tradition. She likes to visit ancient historical places, collect information and, take videos and photographs of those places. By these outcomes, she presents that place to the world. She started her world tour through Nepal in 1999 and continuing. She started her heritage tour in Bangladesh on May 17, 2016, from Baldha Garden and the journey of 64 districts ended on August 28, 2019.  She is touring the whole country again. Since her childhood, she is a fan of history and archaeology. The thoughts, knowledge and skills of the peoples behind the construction of any archeological sites remind her about the enormous power of the human being. She thinks that there is nothing impossible for the human being, just have to dream it.  According to Eliza, each new city is as beautiful as new love. Every city in the world gives her the same feeling. Eliza said, “If you want to walk on the path of your dreams, you have to learn to take challenges. My life is mine; I am not going to be reborn. So life needs to be celebrated, rather than only living it.” She has risen in Dhaka, though born in Islampur of Jamalpur. She completed her Masters in English Literature from Eden Women's College and MBA from AIUB in the Department of Human Resource Management. She also studied International Communication at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. At this university, she researched ‘The Importance of Heritage Tourism in the Development of Tourism Industry in Bangladesh’ and returned to the country in 2016 after completing her studies. Eliza said, “Tourism is an industry where even a helpless illiterate woman in the village can become self-reliant. I have had such experiences while traveling in different countries of the world. The housewives have learned the language of communication and have joined themselves as travel guides. I think it can happen in our country too. We have many historical and traditional sites in different districts and Upazilas of our country which is archeologically important. If these places can be presented to the world and make our young people interested in historical places and tourism, then the door of immense potential will be opened in the economic sector of the country.” “I want people to work in the tourism sector” she added. “There is prosperity in this way. In a village, a structure that is hundreds of years old can be preserved, and when it is presented to the people, people will come to see it. If the number of tourists increases, there will be a system of transportation, there will be a supply of necessary things. And in this way the wheel of the economy will move forward” she explained.

Eliza has several plans for Heritage tourism. She wants to publish a book with a lot of pictures and simple writings which will demonstrate the experiences of our heritage through her traveling in 64 districts. By picking up this book on hand, people will know about those places and will be encouraged to visit. Other than these, she is working on heritage tourism through different activities too. She demands to set a day dedicated to Heritage tourism named ‘Heritage Tourism Day’. She thinks when Heritage Tourism Day will be celebrated nationally all over the country, then people will be able to realize the importance of heritage tourism. She also thinks that if Bangladesh can be brought under heritage tourism, then the country's economy will go a long way.  Eliza also wants to set up a Heritage tourism team in each district of the country. She said with a bit of anger, “Whenever we get a holiday, we go to the Sundarbans, the Chittagong hill tracts, or Cox's Bazar. But the younger members of the family should have been taken to Mainamati in Comilla, Sonargaon Museum, Ahsan Manzil in old Dhaka, Lalon Bari in Kushtia.”  Different archeological and heritage sites are scattered in every country all over the world. The history, tradition, and culture of a country can be learned from there. Abroad, it’s easier to travel because of their travel-friendly laws; they have help centers for tourists; they have trained tourist guides. But Eliza thinks that there is nothing like that in our country. “Hundreds of billboards can be seen all over the country. But there are no pictures or information about the historical or heritage places of our country. If there were billboards on different historical places, heritage sites, famous local foods and drinks at different airports, bus terminals, launch terminals, entrances to different highways or districts - people would be enthusiastic and encouraged to travel there,” said Eliza.