Syeda Amina Khatun,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

( bn, সৈয়দা খানা খাতুন; born 10 January 1969) is a British Labour Party

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for Tipton Green in the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Cabinet Advisor for Education. In 1999, she was the first

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 ...

woman to be elected in the Midlands region.

Early life

Khatun was born in

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

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 ...

) and moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with her parents in October 1975.

Career

In 1986, Khatun started her first job as research/outreach worker for the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

and later became a language support tutor. Since the mid-1980s, Khatun has managed various voluntary organisations. She has particularly helped manage and start up women groups in the Midlands such as the Bangladeshi Women's Association and the Youth Group for Local Young Women as well as mother and toddler groups. She has also engaged in setting up numerous young peoples' groups and even ones for the elderly too. She is also a campaigner for environmental improvements. Since 1995, Khatun has been employed as a youth worker as well as project managing a local advocacy group called the "Asha Project". She is also the non-executive director of Rowley Regis and Tipton Primary Care Trust. Within the Sandwell Metropolitan Council, she is a Cabinet Advisor for Education together with being the alternative member of committee for Europe. She is also serving as chair for Tipton Town Committee. She is the vice-chair of the scrutiny management board and chair of the neighbourhood scrutiny panel for the municipal year 2011–2012. In May 1999, in the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council election, Khatun was elected as councillor for Tipton Green, becoming the first Bangladeshi woman to be elected in the Midlands region and the first

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 ...

woman to win a seat in Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Khatun was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for her services to community development in Sandwell. In February 2008, she received an award for her services to the community by the Birmingham Bangladeshi League.

Personal life

Khatun is a

. At the age of 15, she had an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

and has two sons and two daughters (born between 1985 and 1995).

References

External links

Syeda Khatun
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. ...

''
Syeda Khatun
on councillor.info
Syeda Khatun
on Sandwell Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Khatun, Syeda 1969 births Living people Bangladeshi Muslims British Muslims Bangladeshi emigrants to England British people of Bangladeshi descent Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Bangladeshi social workers British social workers Labour Party (UK) councillors Councillors in the West Midlands (county) Women councillors in England People from Tipton Bangladeshi Members of the Order of the British Empire