Perween Hasan is a Bangladeshi academic and women's rights activist. She is the chairperson of

Transparency International Bangladesh Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is the Bangladeshi branch of the Berlin-based Transparency International, a civil society organisation dedicated to fighting against corruption. History TIB started its activities in 1997, under found ...

. She is the Vice-Chancellor of the

Central Women's University Central Women's University (CWU) is one of the first private universities in Bangladesh, established in 1993. It was the first university in Bangladesh established exclusively for the purpose of female education. Beggzadi Mahmuda Nasir served ...

. In 2024, she received 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 ...

from the Government of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Early life

Hasan completed her bachelor's degree and master's in English from the University of Dhaka. She did her second master's in Regional Studies and PhD in Islamic Architecture from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1984.

Career

After Hasan completed her PhD she joined the Department of Islamic History and Culture at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. From 1993 to 1994, Hasan was at the Oberlin College as the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence. From 1998 to 2000, Hasan served as a founding executive committee member of American Alumni Association. Hasan was recognized by the American Alumni Association 2005 for her contributions to the association. Hasan wrote and published her book ''Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh'' in 2007. She also published ''Old Churches and Cemeteries of Dhaka''. She presented the key note paper in the 2011 'Cultural Transformations: Development Initiatives and Social Movements conference. In 2013, Hasan wrote in the Allal or Dulal website and accused Dr.

David Nalin David R. Nalin (born April 21, 1941) is an American physiologist, and Pollin Prize for Pediatric Research and Prince Mahidol Award, a.k.a. Mahidol Medal winner. Nalin had the key insight that oral rehydration therapy (ORT) would work if the v ...

of being a smuggler of antiquities from Bangladesh. She presented a paper titled "Situating Rokeya" at the Begum Rokeya Day event of women and gender studies department of the University of Dhaka. Hasan was the guest of honor at the book launch of ''Untold Stories of Migrants: Dreams and Realities'' by

Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit () is a research institute and think tank in Bangladesh that works with migrants and refugees. It is based out of the University of Dhaka. Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui is the founding chairperson of Refuge ...

in January 2017. She was named one of the

Anannya Top Ten Awards Anannya Top Ten Awards () is the prize for women in Bangladesh recognition of contribution to the fields of agriculture, industrial, trade, economics, acting, music, sports, education, liberation war, social welfare and development-work-law, hum ...

(2016) recipient in 2017. She hosted a session of the International Conference: Refugees in the Public Imagination: Discourse on (Dis)location and (Dis)placement at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh in December 2017. In August 2018, Hasan signed a petition asking the government to investigation allegations that

Shahidul Alam Shahidul Alam (born 1955) is a Bangladeshi media institution builder, a photojournalist, public speaker, storyteller, writer, blogger, curator, and educationist. Alam founded Drik Picture Library in 1989, Pathshala in 1998, the Chobi Mela Inter ...

had been tortured in detention by law enforcement officers. Hasan was elected chairperson of the Board of Trustee of the

. She replaced Advocate Sultana Kamal as chairperson 22 February 2020. She inaugurated the 15th Anti-Corruption Cartoon Exhibition in December 2020. Hasan is member of the Trustee Board of Bangladesh Freedom Foundation. She is a subject editor of

Banglapedia ''Banglapedia:'' ''the'' ''National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh'' is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The ...

. She is a member of the advisory board for Bangladesh of the

South Asia Foundation South Asia Foundation (SAF) was founded by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Madanjeet Singh in 2000. The South Asia Foundation (SAF) is a secular, non-profit and non-political international organization, comprising eight autonomous chapters: Afghanis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Perween Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard University alumni University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Bangladeshi activists