Nations also invited her in 1976 to be a delegate to the Economic and Social Council of Asia and the Pacific committee meeting on population in Bangkok, and to a U.N. Expert Group Meeting in New York on the "Establishment of an International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women." In 1977 she was invited by the director general of FAO to attend a meeting of experts on "Integration of Rural Women in Development" in Rome, and the following year she attended a consultancy meeting of the U.N. International Labor Organization in Geneva on "Women and Rural Development." That same year she also attended the seminar on Action Research on Women in Rural Development at the University of Sussex, England. For the last three years she has worked as short term consultant to the U.N. Development Program and the U.N. Fund for Population Activities in Lanka, helping the Sri Lanka Mahila Samiti (women's institutes introduced by Dr. Mary H. Rutnam, 1958 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service for "her gift of service to the Ceylonese people and example she has set by her full life of dedication as a private citizen the needs of others") develop a production-oriented women's program similar to the one she has developed in Bangladesh. Throughout the years Abdullah has written more than 15 papers and articles on her work, and co-authored one book, Village Women of Bangladesh' Prospect for Change, written with Sondra Zeidenstein. One observer has remarked that Abdullah is unusual, not only overcoming her society's traditional suspicion of women who "presume to provide community leadership," but in winning the respect of the male segment of that society. He noted that "she not only is a charismatic person, some of that charisma rubs off on her village staff." A final accolade he adds that in Bangladesh Tahrunnesa Ahmed Abdullah "virtually is unique among both male and female sexes in her community dedication." Awards As a recognition of her role in "leading rural Bangladeshi Muslim women from the constraints of purdah toward an equal citizenship and fuller family responsibility" Tahrunnesa Ahmed was awarded Ramon Magsaysay award for community leadership in 1978. References General references Abdullah, Tahrunnesa A. Village Women as I Saw Them. Dacca: Ford Foundation. May 1974. (Mimeographed.) "Women's Programs in Bangladesh and their Impact on Development." Presentation to Group Discussion. Transcript. Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. Manila. 2 September 1978. (Typewritten.) Abdullah,