Once left on the street as a newborn and later sheltered as an “abandoned” child in a state-run home, a little girl now called Imera Sarar is growing up surrounded by love and care in a family in Mirpur, where she is cherished like a princess.
The child, now estimated to be around one and a half years old, was first taken to a government shelter and named Maliha. Her life changed through a legal guardianship process under Bangladesh’s family court framework, after which pharmacist Shamshad Sultana Khanam became her lawful guardian on May 21, 2025 and renamed her Imera Sarar. Her date of birth was officially recorded as November 14, 2024, on an estimated basis.
Shamshad, who works as a manager in the international marketing division of Square Pharmaceuticals, said she never wanted to hide the child’s story. Describing herself as both mother and father to the girl, she said she had carried the child “not in the womb, but in the brain,” underscoring the emotional bond that shaped her decision. The family says Imera now calls Shamshad “Baba” and her grandmother “Dada,” and has become the emotional center of a household that had been devastated by the deaths of Shamshad’s father and brother in recent years.
Family members said the child was frail and suffering from several health problems when she first came home, but recovered gradually through treatment and close care. Shamshad’s younger sister, who had recently become a mother herself, even breastfed the baby during the early months, helping her survive a vulnerable period.
Officials at the Azimpur Chhotomoni Nibash said Shamshad is the first unmarried woman to receive legal guardianship of a child from the shelter. They described the case as an encouraging example of how abandoned children can find a stable family environment through lawful means. Shamshad, however, said major legal gaps remain, especially because Bangladesh still lacks a full adoption law, leaving children like Imera vulnerable in matters such as inheritance, identity, and long-term security.
Now settled into her new life, Imera’s journey from an unnamed abandoned infant to a wanted, protected, and deeply loved child has become, for her guardian, both a personal healing story and a public call for stronger legal protection for abandoned children in Bangladesh.