Aroma Dutta (born 20 July 1950) is a Bangladeshi social and human rights activist. In February 2019, she was nominated by the ruling party, the

Bangladesh Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

, to a seat reserved for women in the 11th parliament of

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

Early life

Dutta's grandfather,

Dhirendranath Datta Dhirendranath Datta (2 November 1886 – disappeared 29 March 1971) was a Bengali lawyer and politician from East Bengal who was a member of the 1st Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. He is best known for proposing Bengali for the national la ...

, was a member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

and the first person to demand that Bengali be made a state language in Pakistan. He was killed during the

Bangladesh Liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

by members of the

Pakistan army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and is considered a martyr in Bangladesh. Aroma's father, Sanjib Datta, was a journalist who worked for the ''

Pakistan Observer ''Pakistan Observer'' is an English-language daily newspaper of Pakistan. It is published from six cities – Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad. The newspaper was founded in 1988 by Zahid Malik. The newspaper wa ...

''. Her ancestral home in Brahmanbaria was taken over by Muslims after the Bangladesh Liberation war through the use of the vested property act. She has tried to reclaim it through the local courts but has been unsuccessful. Dutta served in the

National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) () of Bangladesh is an autonomous public body. History National Human Rights Commission was established on 9 December 2007 by the Caretaker government of Bangladesh. The organization was constituted u ...

. Her uncle was the filmmaker Ritwik Kumar Ghatak. Aroma was a student of Nawab Faizunnesa Govt. Girls' High School, Cumilla.

Career

Dutta is the executive director of the PRIP (Private Rural Initiatives Program) Trust. In 2012, she criticised the draft Hindu Marriage Registration Act for making the registration of Hindu marriages optional and called for it to be made mandatory. She has protested violence against minorities in Bangladesh and has demanded punishment for those involved in attacks against Buddhists in Cox's Bazar. Dutta has spoken against the vested property act, that unfairly targets religious minorities. She has stated that the only way to protect minorities in Bangladesh is through the proper implementation of laws in the country.

Awards and honors

In 2016, Dutta was awarded the

Begum Rokeya Padak Begum Rokeya Padak, named after Begum Rokeya, is a Bangladeshi national honour conferred on individual women for their exceptional achievement. The award is given by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. Firs ...

by the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

. She has called for security forces to be deployed in vulnerable election areas for elections to take place. In May 2017, she received the ''Danbir Ranada Prasad Memorial Honour and Gold Medal'' by the Kumudini Welfare Trust of Bengal, on behalf of her father. She has called on the government to provide social security to Dalits, low caste Hindus, and other marginalised communities at a roundtable discussion in Dhaka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutta, Aroma Living people 1950 births Bangladeshi women activists Bangladeshi women scholars Bangladeshi human rights activists Recipients of Begum Rokeya Padak 11th Jatiya Sangsad members 21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad Bangladeshi Hindus Place of birth missing (living people) Ritwik Ghatak 12th Jatiya Sangsad members