Sultana Kamal is a Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights activist. She serves as the executive director of

Ain o Salish Kendra The Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) ( bn, আইন ও সালিশ কেন্দ্র (আসক); Centre for Law and Mediation) is a non-government, a national legal aid and human rights organisation in Bangladesh. It is one of the leading h ...

, a civil rights organisation. In 2006, she served as adviser in the

Caretaker government of Bangladesh The Caretaker Government of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার) was a form of government in which Bangladesh used to be ruled by a selected government for an interim period du ...

led by President

Iajuddin Ahmed Iajuddin Ahmed (1 February 193110 December 2012) was the President of Bangladesh, serving from 6 September 2002 until 12 February 2009. From late October 2006 to January 2007, he also served as Chief Advisor of the caretaker government. From Oc ...

during the 2006-2008 Bangladeshi political crisis. Kamal, along with three other advisers, resigned from the caretaker government Her mother

Sufia Kamal Begum Sufia Kamal (20 June 1911 – 20 November 1999) was a Bangladeshi poet, feminist leader, and political activist. She took part in the Bengali nationalist movement of the 1950s and civil society leader in independent Bangladesh. She led fe ...

was a participant of the

Bangladesh Liberation War 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 War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

Early life and education

Sultana was born to Kamal Uddin Ahmed and

in 1950. Sufia was a writer and poet. She was enrolled in Leela Nagh's Nari Shikhkha Mondir. She passed SSC from Azimpur Girls' High School and HSC from Holy Cross College. She received her Master's from

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. In 1978 she completed her LLB. She passed BCS Examination. In 1981 she achieved Masters of Development Studies in Women and Development in

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Career

Sultana started her career as a teacher in the Music College. She joined Bangladesh Tobacco Company. In 1976 she entered an international voluntary service in Khadimnagar,

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

. Up to 1990 she worked for Vietnamese boat peoples in Hong Kong as a UN legal consultant. In 1996, she won the

John Humphrey Freedom Award The John Humphrey Freedom Award was presented annually by the Canadians, Canadian human rights group Rights & Democracy, to an organization or individual from any country or region of the world for exceptional achievement in the promotion of human r ...

from the Canadian human rights group Rights & Democracy. In 1971, she also joined the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

and was one of the founders of the Bangladesh Field Hospital in Agartala for the freedom fighters. Sultana and her sister Saeeda were the two out of four women to get the CNC's Special Commendation for their role in the liberation war. She writes in the dailies and periodicals on social, legal and gender issues. She has published a book on women's legal rights titled ''Manobir Nishanka Mon'' translated into English under the title of ''Her Unfearing Mind''. Her latest publications include "Manabidhakar, Rashtra O Samaj" (Human Rights, State and the Society) and Chilam Kothay Jeno Nilimar Niche, compilation of articles written by her over the last twenty five years. She travelled to more than 30 countries in Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific, United Nations and Canada and Europe in professional capacity to address issues related to human and women's rights. At present she is the executive director of Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK). In addition to that she is now the chairperson of the We Can End Violence Against Women Alliance and chairperson for Transparency International Bangladesh. She is also co-chairperson for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission. She is a trustee of Freedom Foundation and Protichi Bangladesh founded by

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...

, The Gandhi Ashram Trust, Rokeya Memorial Foundation, a national council member of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, member of Bangladesh UNESCO National Commission, The National Legal Aid Committee, The Blue Planet Initiative, member of Asia Pacific Forum for Women Law and Development (Regional Network), Women Living Under Muslim Laws (International Network), South Asians For Human Right and South Asian Partnership among many others. She had been appointed as an Advisor to the Caretaker Government in October 2006 from which she resigned with 3 other colleagues in December which helped Lt. Gen. Moeen to take over power. Sheikh Hasina claimed that they failed to discharge their responsibilities including to hold parliamentary elections. Sultana was active in a children's organisation ''Kachi Kanchar Mela'', Cultural group ''Sangskriti Sangsad'', Struggles for Cultural Autonomy and the '69 mass upheavals as well as other social movements. Sultana was a founder member of the famous drama group "Nagorik Natya Samproday" and has acted in leading roles in its earlier productions.

Awards

Anannya Top Ten Awards Anannya Top Ten Awards ( bn, অনন্যা শীর্ষ দশ পুরস্কার) is the prize for women in Bangladesh recognition of contribution to the fields of agriculture, industrial, trade, economics, acting, music, sports, ...

(1995)

Personal life

Sultana is married to Supriya Chakraborty, a lawyer in Sylhet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamal, Sultana Bangladeshi human rights activists Women human rights activists 1950 births Living people Recipients of the Independence Day Award Bangladeshi feminists Proponents of Islamic feminism Bangladeshi women's rights activists Advisors of Caretaker Government of Bangladesh Holy Cross College, Dhaka alumni Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy Mukti Bahini personnel