Syeda Rizwana Hasan (born 15 January 1968) is a Bangladeshi attorney and environmentalist. She has particularly focused on regulations for the

shipbreaking Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

industry in Bangladesh, and was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 2009. She was also awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2012 for her "uncompromising courage and impassioned leadership in a campaign of judicial activism in Bangladesh that affirms the people's right to a good environment as nothing less than their right to dignity and life."

Early life and education

Syeda Rizwana Hasan was born on 15 January 1968, into a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family of Syeds in

Habiganj District Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succ ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

). She attended

Viqarunnisa Noon School and College Viqarunnisa Noon School and College ( bn, ভিকারুননিসা নূন স্কুল এন্ড কলেজ), also known as VNSC, is an all-girls higher secondary school and college in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It has 25,000 students ...

for her secondary education and Holy Cross College for her higher secondary education, before attending Dhaka University for her bachelor's and master's degree in law.

Career

Hasan got involved in the

industry, first suing the breaking yards in Chittagong in 2003 for, among other reasons, bringing health hazards to the workers, poor working conditions, and improper waste disposal. In response, in March 2003 the court declared shipbreaking without an environmental clearance from the appropriate department illegal. Hasan continues to strive for more labour rights and a safer working environment in the industry. She has also successfully sued organizations involved in filling lakes to build real estate, the improper use of

polythene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...

, hill cutting,

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

, shrimp farming, and building illegal establishments on

St. Martin's Island Saint Martin Island ( bn, সেন্টমার্টিন দ্বীপ) is a small island (area only 3 km2) in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and fo ...

Awards

Under Hasan's leadership, BELA won the

Global 500 Roll of Honor The Global 500 Roll of Honour was an award given from 1987 to 2003 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The award recognized the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world. A successor system of UNEP ...

in 2003 by the United Nations Environment Program. She herself won: *The Inaugural ''Environment Award'' in 2007, by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment,

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...

, for raising environmental awareness. *''Celebrating Womenhood Award'' in 2008 by the

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

-based ''Creative Statements and South Asia Partnership'' *The ''

'' in 2009. *The '' Ramon Magsaysay Award'' in 2012 She has also been dubbed as a Hero of Environment by the American news magazine ''TIME''. In 2022, Hasan received the

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

from the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

Personal life

Hasan was born in

Habiganj Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ) is a major town and district headquarters of Habiganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Population: Total population of Habiganj is about 95,000 Railroad * Habiganj Bazar–Shaistaganj–B ...

to the parents Syed Mahibul Hasan and Suraiya Hasan. She married her classmate lawyer-entrepreneur Abu Bakar Siddique, and has a daughter, Nehla Siddique and two sons, Ahmed Zarir Siddique and Ahmed Zeedan Siddique. In April 2014, her husband Siddique, Managing Director of a garment factory owned by Nasrul Hamid Bipu, was briefly abducted by unknown individuals.

Selected works

* ''Laws & decision on compensation in Bangladesh'', 2001 * ''Judicial decisions on environment in South Asia : up to 2000'', 2005 * ''Judicial decisions on environment in South Asia, 2001-2004'', 2006 * ''Supreme Court on wetland conservation'', 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Rizvana 1968 births Living people People from Dhaka People from Habiganj District Bangladeshi environmentalists Bangladeshi non-fiction writers Bangladeshi women writers Non-fiction environmental writers University of Dhaka alumni 20th-century Bangladeshi lawyers 21st-century Bangladeshi lawyers Holy Cross College, Dhaka alumni Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Bangladeshi people of Arab descent Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award Bangladeshi women lawyers