Shireen Huq, also known as Shireen Pervin Huq, is a women's rights activist, and founder of Naripokkho, a woman's rights organization. She is a trustee board member of

Gono Bishwabidyalay Gono Bishwabidyalay ( , abbreviated as ''GB'') is a private university in Savar, Bangladesh which was established on 14 July 1994 as the People's University. It is now operating their academic and administrating activity on their permanent camp ...

. She is the co-convener of Bangladesh Civil Society Platform on Justice and Accountability for the Rohingyas.

Career

Huq was one of the founding member of ''Naripokkho'' in 1983. She worked for

Danish International Development Agency Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no disti ...

from 1987 to 2006. Huq signed a letter with 57 other women leaders calling on the government to not interfere with

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 ...

in August 2012. In August 2013, Huq called for the government to release

Adilur Rahman Khan Adilur Rahman Khan (born 2 July 1961 in Munshiganj or Bikrampur) is a human rights activist and the founder of Odhikar, a human rights organisation. He is a lawyer and former Deputy Attorney General for Bangladesh. Since October 2022, Adilur Rah ...

. Huq spoked against the short imprisonment of David Bergman for contempt of court in 2015. She is a founding member of the Committee for the Protection of Fundamental Rights. She called

Rezaul Karim Bablu Rezaul Karim Bablu (born 13 November 1962) is a Bangladeshi politician and former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Bogra-7 constituency. Early life and career Bablu earned his H.S.C. degree. Bablu was elected to the parliament from Bog ...

, member of parliament, a Neanderthal for his comments blaming feminist of rape. In 2023, Huq signed a letter criticizing the government treatment of former prime minister

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

, warning it could lead to a political crises, and asking the government to send her abroad for treatment. Other signatories included

Ali Imam Majumder Ali Imam Majumder is an advisor to the Interim government of Bangladesh. He is a former Bangladeshi government official who served as the cabinet secretary. He is the secretary general of Transparency International Bangladesh and an executive com ...

Asif Nazrul Mohammad Nazrul Islam, better known as Asif Nazrul (; born 12 January 1966), is a Bangladeshi writer, novelist, columnist, political commentator and a professor of law at the University of Dhaka. He was appointed an adviser to the interim govern ...

CR Abrar Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, also known as C. R. Abrar, is a retired professor of International relations of the University of Dhaka, human rights activist, and executive director of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit. He is the president ...

Farida Akhtar Farida Akhtar Poppy, known by her stage name Babita, (born 30 July 1953) is a Bangladeshi film actress. She is best known for her performance in Satyajit Ray's '' Distant Thunder'', a novel adaptation about the Bengal famine of 1943, which won ...

, Hafizuddin Khan,

Naila Z Khan Naila Zaman Khan is a Bangladeshi neurologist. She was the founder head of the Department of Pediatric Neuroscience, Dhaka Shishu(Children's) Hospital, Bangladesh Institute of Child Health in 1992, till 2018. She is the founder chairperson o ...

Nur Khan Nur Khan (22 February 192315 December 2011) was a Pakistan Air Force officer, politician and statesman who served as sixth commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Air Force from 1965 to 1969. He later served as the sixth governor of West Pakistan ...

, Rahnuma Ahmed,

Shahdeen Malik Shahdeen Malik () is a Bangladeshi lawyer, eminent jurist, constitutional expert, and legal activist. Early life and education Dr. Shahdeen Malik was born in Saruala village of Bishwanath Upazila, Biswanath Upazila under Sylhet district of Ban ...

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 ...

Sharmeen Murshid Sharmeen Soneya Murshid is a member of the advisory council of the 2024 Bangladesh interim government, Bangladesh interim government. She was chief executive officer of human rights organization ''Brotee'' which has been working for the rights of ...

, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and

Tofail Ahmed Tofail Ahmed (; 22 February 1919 – 28 March 2002) was a well-known Bangladeshi researcher of Folk Art. He was also a collector of Folk artifacts and has authored several books on Bangladeshi Folk arts and Crafts. He was awarded the ''Shilu Abe ...

. In February 2024, Huq met with Rear Adm. Eileen Laubacher, special assistant to the president and senior director for South Asia - national security, Afreen Akhter, state department deputy assistant secretary, and Michael Schiffer, assistant administrator of the bureau for Asia, at the United States embassy to discuss democracy and human rights. The meeting was attended by

Debapriya Bhattacharya Debapriya Bhattacharya is an economist and public policy analyst from Bangladesh. He was the first executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka. He also worked as a senior research fellow at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studi ...

, and

Zillur Rahman Mohammed Zillur Rahman (9 March 1929 – 20 March 2013) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the President from 2009 until his death in 2013. He was also a senior presidium member of the Awami League. He is the third president of Banglade ...

, host of ''

Tritiyo Matra Tritiyo Matra is a Bangladeshi talk show aired on Channel I. On July 17, 2003 the program first aired on TV. Known as the first talk show in Bangladesh. At present, the show broadcasts on Channel I in Bangladesh at 1:00 am and at 9:45 am. The prog ...

''. After the fall of the

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

led

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 ...

government, Huq visited the headquarters of

Directorate General of Forces Intelligence The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (), commonly known by its acronym DGFI, is the defense intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tasked with collection, collation and evaluation of strategic and topographic informatio ...

to inspect the secret detention facility Aynaghor. She was appointed the chair of the Women Affairs Reform Commission formed by the

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 ...

led Interim government.

Personal life

Huq married

Zafrullah Chowdhury Zafrullah Chowdhury (27 December 1941 – 11 April 2023) was a Bangladeshi public health activist. He was the founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra, a rural healthcare organisation. He was known more for his work in formulating the Bangladesh Natio ...

(died 2023), founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra. They have a son, Bareesh Chowdhury, and a daughter, Bristi Chowdhury. Her sister Nasreen Pervin Huq died in a car accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huq, Shireen Living people Bangladeshi activists Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)