Syeda Rizwana Hasan (born 15 January 1968) is a Bangladeshi lawyer and environmentalist. She is currently an adviser to the

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolut ...

of Bangladesh and as

Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The ministry is responsi ...

. As an environmentalist, her work is focused on regulations for the

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

industry in Bangladesh, and was awarded the

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

in 2009. She was also awarded the

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

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 (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

family called Narapati Haveli in

Habiganj District Habiganj District (; ), formerly known as Habibganj District (), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a successor to its ''subdivision'' status since 1867. It is na ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

. She studied in

Viqarunnisa Noon School and College Viqarunnisa Noon School & College (), also known as VNSC, is an all-girls secondary school and college in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It has about 25,000 students at four campuses in the city. It is named after Viqar un Nisa Noon. History The school be ...

for her secondary education and Holy Cross College for her higher secondary education, before attending 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 ...

for her bachelor's and master's degree in law.

Career

Hasan got involved in the

industry, first suing the breaking yards in

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

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 bott ...

, hill cutting,

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction 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. Ab ...

, shrimp farming, and building illegal establishments on

St. Martin's Island Saint Martin's Island () is a small coral island in the north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forms the southernmost part of Bangladesh. It has an area of only 3 ...

Awards

Under Hasan's leadership, BELA won the Global 500 Roll of Honor 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 () 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 ...

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

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

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

'' in 2009. *The ''

'' 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 simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

Personal life

Hasan was born in

Habiganj Habiganj (), is a major town and district headquarters of Habiganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Total population of Habiganj is about 86,000. Railroad * Habiganj Bazar–Shaistaganj–Balla line Shaistaganj-Habiganj rai ...

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Rizvana 1968 births Living people 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 Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award 20th-century Bangladeshi women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers Yunus interim government advisors Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Viqarunnisa Noon School and College alumni