Khatun Sapnara ( bn, খাতুন সাপনারা; born 29 April 1967) is a

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

i-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. In 2006, she was appointed a

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

, becoming the first person of

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

origin in a senior judicial position. In 2014, she was appointed as a Circuit Judge to hear cases in the Crown and

Family Court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

Early life

Sapnara was born in

Sylhet District Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division. History Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

(now

) and moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as a child. Her father, the late Mimbor Ali, was honoured by the Bangladeshi government for his significant contribution to the

liberation of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

. Sapnara attended Chadwell Heath School (now

Chadwell Heath Academy Chadwell Heath Academy is a co-educational, independent of local authority school with academy status, located in Chadwell Heath in the London Borough of Redbridge, England. The school has approximately 1200 pupils on roll, including 300 in th ...

). In 1988, she graduated with LLB (Hons) from the

London School of Economics and Political Science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Career

In 1990, Sapnara was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

. She practises from Coram Barristers Chambers in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and specialises in

Family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

. In 2003, Sapnara became the first

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

minority person to be elected to the Family Law Bar Association Committee. In 2004, she was appointed by the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

Baron Charles Falconer of Thoroton to the

Family Justice Council The Family Justice Council, established in 2004, is an advisory, non-statutory, non-departmental public body sponsored by the Judicial Office of England and Wales. It provides independent expert advice, from an inter-disciplinary perspective, on ...

, a body of experts which advises the government on all aspects of the family justice system. She is an expert in "honour-based" violence, and assisted in formulating and drafting the

Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (c 20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It seeks to assist victims of forced marriage, or those threatened with forced marriage, by providing civil remedies. It extends to England ...

. In 2006, she was appointed as a

of the Crown. In 2012, she was involved in proposals to criminalise forced marriage, arguing against criminalisation, contending that it was surplus to requirements and that the move could deter victims from seeking help. She wrote in a joint newspaper article that it was a "quick-fix solution to a complex and long-standing problem." In June 2012, she appeared on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'', debating against criminalisation of forced marriage with

Aneeta Prem Aneeta Prem is a British author, human rights campaigner, magistrate and the founder and president of Freedom. Background Prem was born in London, England. Her father, Chandra Shekhar Prem, was an author, poet and principal of a girls' colleg ...

Freedom Charity Freedom or Freedom Charity is a UK-based charity which supports victims of forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and family dishonor. The charity was founded in 2009 by Aneeta Prem and the chair of trustees is Toby Harris. Awaren ...

. In March 2014, she was appointed as a Circuit Judge sitting at both the East London Family Court and at

Kingston upon Thames Crown Court Kingston upon Thames Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at 6–8 Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, London. History Until the late 1990s, Crown Court hearings were held at the Sessions House in Surbiton. Howev ...

. Between 2003 and 2014, Sapnara was Chair of the Ashiana Network, a refuge and support agency for female victims of domestic violence and forced marriage. She has served as director/chair of a number of charities and voluntary sector organisations and lectures widely on issues relating to family law including to the

Judicial College The Judicial College, formerly the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), established in 1979, is the organisation responsible for training judges in county, the Crown, and higher courts in England and Wales and tribunals judges in England & Wales, Scotlan ...

(formerly the Judicial Studies Board).

Recognition

In January 2015, Sapnara was named the "Person of the Year" in the ''

British Bangladeshi Power & Inspiration 100 ''British Bangladeshi Power & Inspiration 100'' (previously known as ''British Bangladeshi Power 100'' and often abbreviated as ''BBPower100'') is an annual publication listing the 100 leading British Bangladeshi figures. It was established in 20 ...

''. She was recognised for her "outstanding achievement" as the first person of British Bangladeshi origin to acquire a senior judicial position.

Personal life

Sapnara is a practising

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. She is married with two children.

References

External links

Khatun Sapnara
on ''

theguardian.com TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

''
Khatun Sapnara
on The Legal 500
Khatun Sapnara
on Black Letter Law
Khatun Sapnara
on Coram Chambers
Khatun Sapnara
on Legal Experts Directory
Khatun Sapnara
on Trusted Lawyers
Khatun Sapnara
on JustCite
Khatun Sapnara
on ''

British Bangladeshi Who's Who ''British Bangladeshi Who's Who'' is an annual publication highlighting the accomplishments, contributions and achievements of successful British Bangladeshis. It was established in 2008 and also holds an annual award ceremony in London, England. ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapnara, Khatun 1967 births Living people Bangladeshi Muslims British Muslims Bangladeshi emigrants to England British people of Bangladeshi descent British barristers Bangladeshi judges Circuit judges (England and Wales) Muslim writers British Asian writers 21st-century British women writers The Guardian journalists Writers from London People from Sylhet District People from Chadwell Heath Alumni of the London School of Economics