Rohingya Lawyer Razia Sultana – an Inspiration
Montasir Anjum writes for DOT :
Razia Sultana is a Myanmar born Bangladeshi citizen who is a practicing lawyer, human rights advocate and teacher. She is universally known as Rohingya lawyer who has been named as one of the 10 winners of International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award for this year. This award is also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award and one of the most prestigious award as well. The United States Department of State present this award annually to extraordinary women who work for promoting women’s rights around the world.
Razia Sultana was born in 1973 in Maungdaw, Myanmar, to ethnic Rohingya parents, and has devoted her career to advancing human rights for her own community. She believes on the right and justice for all Rohingya people and practices law advocating for the establishment of human rights of the Rohingya people and conducts research work and educational programs specializing in trauma, mass rape, and the trafficking of Rohingya women and girls. She has interviewed hundreds of Rohingyas in Bangladesh since 2016 and already published reports “Witness to Horror” and “Rape by Command”. She has referred the sexual violence by Myanmar security forces against the Rohingya in both of these reports. She also contributed to a recent report by the Kaladan press- “The Killing Fields of Alethankyaw”.
This achievement of Razia Sultana is a symbol of inspiration for women all over the world. As a citizen of a disadvantaged country like Myanmar, despite the many adversities, the way she has done her work, undoubtedly demands praise and appreciation. Beyond being a lawyer and an educator, Razia is also a coordinator of the Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC) and a director of the Arakan Rohingya National Organization’s (ARNO) women’s section.
Since the inception in 2007, the US Secretary of State’s IWOC Award has recognized women around the globe who has recognized more than 120 women from more than 65 different countries.
Montasir Anjum is an Associate at FM Associates Bangladesh