Syeda Rizwana Hasan (born 15 January 1968) is a Bangladeshi attorney and environmentalist. She has particularly focused on regulations for the
shipbreaking
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...
industry in Bangladesh, and was awarded the
Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...
in 2009.
She was also awarded the
Ramon Magsaysay Award 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 ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
family of
Syeds in
Habiganj District
Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succ ...
,
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the 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 and Myanmar, wi ...
(now
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 ...
). She attended
Viqarunnisa Noon School and College
Viqarunnisa Noon School and College ( bn, ভিকারুননিসা নূন স্কুল এন্ড কলেজ), also known as VNSC, is an all-girls higher secondary school and college in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It has 25,000 students ...
for her secondary education and
Holy Cross College for her higher secondary education, before attending
Dhaka University for her bachelor's and master's degree in law.
Career
Hasan got involved in the
shipbreaking
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...
industry, first suing the breaking yards in
Chittagong 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 bo ...
, hill cutting,
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal 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. The most concentrated ...
, shrimp farming, and building illegal establishments on
St. Martin's Island
Saint Martin Island ( bn, সেন্টমার্টিন দ্বীপ) is a small island (area only 3 km2) in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and fo ...
.
Awards
Under Hasan's leadership, BELA won the
Global 500 Roll of Honor The Global 500 Roll of Honour was an award given from 1987 to 2003 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The award recognized the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world. A successor system of UNEP ...
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 ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...
, for raising environmental awareness.
*''Celebrating Womenhood Award'' in 2008 by the
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
-based ''Creative Statements and South Asia Partnership''
*The ''
Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...
'' in 2009.
*The ''
Ramon Magsaysay Award'' 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 State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
.
Personal life
Hasan was born in
Habiganj
Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ) is a major town and district headquarters of Habiganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Population: Total population of Habiganj is about 95,000
Railroad
* Habiganj Bazar–Shaistaganj–B ...
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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Rizvana
1968 births
Living people
People from Dhaka
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
Bangladeshi people of Arab descent
Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award
Bangladeshi women lawyers