Shaheen Anam, MBE, is a Bangladeshi human rights activist and the Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation.

Early life

Anam was 19 at the start of 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 ...

, her mother feed

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

personnel at their home. Her brother was a member of the Mukti Bahini. Anam completed her master's in psychology 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 ...

. She has a master's in social work from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

Career

From 1999 to 2002, Anam worked at CARE Bangladesh as the Coordinator for a flood assistance project funded by the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

. She signed a letter with other women researchers protesting the removal of

Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, and civil society leader who has been serving as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Chief Adviser of the Interim government of Muhammad Yunus, interim Yunus ministry, g ...

from

Grameen Bank Grameen Bank () is a microfinance, specialized community development bank founded in Bangladesh. It provides small loans (known as microcredit or "grameencredit") to the impoverished without requiring collateral. Grameen Bank is a statutory ...

. Anam has worked for the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

and the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

in Bangladesh. She is associated with the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development. She is a coordinator of the South Asian Women’s Network on Skills, Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Development. In 2021, a case was filed against Anam and Angela Gomes, Executive Director of Banchte Shekha, in the Brahmanbaria Senior Judicial Magistrate Court, alleging that they attempted to amend Hindu law against the interest of the Hindu community. This was preceded by a similar case at the Narayanganj Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, where the Police Bureau of Investigation was instructed to investigate and submit a report. Anam received an Honorary Member of the

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

from the

government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

in February 2025. She was critical of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali for asking the media not to use the term Rape. She had also asked the government of Bangladesh to take action against increasing incidents of rape.

Bibliography

* NGOs in the City

Personal life

Anam is married to Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star. Their daughter, Tahmima Anam, is a novelist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anam, Shaheen Living people Bangladeshi human rights activists Hunter College alumni University of Dhaka alumni 21st-century Bangladeshi people