Shirin Akter, the 'pumpkin queen' of Bogura's Mahasthan vegetable market

Shirin Akter has made her name as a wholesale trader in sweet pumpkin at Mahasthanhat, in Shibganj upazila of Bogura. Jagonews24 profiled her on 10 July 2026, reporting that in wholesale vegetable markets across the country she is known as the 'pumpkin queen'. The pumpkins she collects travel on vegetable trucks to Thakurgaon, Chuadanga, Kushtia, Sirajganj, Mymensingh, Khulna and other districts. Wholesalers call them "Shirin Apa's pumpkins".

Shirin Akter was born in the Nagarkandi area of Mahasthan village in Shibganj. Her father was a sawmill worker, and in a family of five children there were often days without two meals. At 13 she was married to a truck driver who already had a wife. The marriage broke down, and in 2003 she returned to her father's home with a baby in her arms and another child on the way.

With two children to support, she opened a small paan shop, and grew interested in trade. She moved on to buying and selling yard-long beans and flat beans, then began going regularly to the Mahasthan vegetable market, buying from farmers at dawn and selling herself, and later sending vegetables to markets in Dhaka, Sylhet and Chattogram.

Two decades ago, the report said, a woman doing wholesale vegetable trade at Mahasthanhat was a rare sight, and she faced taunts and insults. "I didn't listen to anyone," Shirin Akter said. "I heard the insults, but I didn't move a hair's breadth from my goal." The report also said that early on she lost about Tk 6 lakh to Tk 7 lakh to a few traders.

Mahasthan lies about 13 km north of Bogura town. According to Banglapedia it is the earliest and largest archaeological site in Bangladesh, the ruins of the ancient city of Pundranagara, with the Karatoya river on its eastern side. Mahasthan Hat is one of the 55 markets in Shibganj upazila, and vegetables are among the upazila's main exports.

Prothom Alo described Mahasthan Hat in August 2023 as one of the largest wholesale vegetable markets in the northern region. In November 2023 The Business Standard reported, citing the Mahasthan Haat traders' association, that at least 35 trucks carrying 300 maunds of vegetables each left the market every day for other parts of the country.

After her loss, Shirin Akter turned to sweet pumpkin alone. At first she bought each pumpkin for Tk 25 to Tk 30 and sold it for Tk 35 to Tk 38, selling 80 to 100 a day. She then began making advance agreements with farmers at the start of each season to book the pumpkins in their fields, and sending truckloads to other districts. According to the report, she buys pumpkins at Tk 300 to Tk 400 a maund and sells them to wholesalers at a profit of Tk 300 to Tk 400 a maund, and in the season 5 to 8 tonnes a day pass through her hands.

Beside her home she has built a well-ventilated store, where over-ripe pumpkins are kept apart and the rest are stored in a shaded, dry place to prevent rot. Banglapedia describes the pumpkin as a popular summer and rainy-season vegetable and a good source of carbohydrate, vitamins A and C and minerals, and notes that ripe whole fruits can be kept dry for several months.

From the business she has bought land, built a brick house and set her son up in trade. After two operations on her back and legs she can no longer go to the fields as before, so she has built a team of 15 workers; they work in the field while she handles planning, buying, selling and management. "I want no woman to have to hold out her hand to anyone," she said. "Let everyone stand on their own feet."

Traders at the market speak of her hard work. Commission agent Anwar Hossain Babu said many wholesalers now wait for her produce in advance, and market committee member Kuddus Ali called her a model for newcomers to the trade.

Photo: Salim_Khandoker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, The Business Standard, Prothom Alo, Banglapedia