Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury
| The Honourable Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury | |
|---|---|
| শিরীন শারমিন চৌধুরী | |
 Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury | |
| Speaker of the Jatiyo Sangsad | |
|
Assumed office 30 April 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
| Deputy | Fazle Rabbi Miah |
| Preceded by | Abdul Hamid |
| State minister of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (Bangladesh) | |
|
In office 6 January 2009 – 30 April 2013 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 6, 1966 |
| Political party | Bangladesh Awami League |
| Spouse(s) | Syed Ishtiaque Hossain |
| Residence | Home District = Noakhali, Bangladesh |
| Alma mater | |
| Religion | Islam |
Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury (born 6 October 1966) is the current and the first woman Speaker of Jatiyo Sangshad since April 2013.[1] At 46 years of age, she is the youngest to assume the office.[1] She is also the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. She previously served as the State Minister of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of Bangladesh.[2]
Early life
Shirin was born on 6 October 1966. Her father, Rafiqullah Chaudhury, was a Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) officer and Secretary to the Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972.[2] Her mother, Naiyar Sultana, was a member of Bangladesh Public Service Commission and the principal of Dhaka College.[1]
Education
Shirin completed her SSC and HSC exams respectively in 1983 and 1985 from Holy Cross Girls' School and College. To study law she joined University of Dhaka and earned her LLB and LLM degrees in 1989 and 1990. She received Commonwealth scholarship to study in University of Essex in UK. In 2000 she earned her PhD degree in constitutional law and human rights.[2]
On July 16, 2014, Dr Shirin received an Honorary Ph.D. (Doctor of the University) from University of Essex.[3]
Career
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Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the International Affairs Secretary of the Awami League, was elected MP from one of the parliamentary seats reserved for women on March 24, 2009 and was State Minister of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (Bangladesh) until her nomination for Speaker of Jatiyo Sangshad in April 2013.
Dr. Shirin was awarded Asia Society’s Humanitarian service Award on 9 June 2010 in recognition of her role as a leader in advocating the elimination of violence against women and mainstreaming women’s empowerment and employment in Bangladesh. Dr. Chaudhury received this award from Ambassador Melanne Verveer,then US Ambassador-at-Large, Global Women Issues in a gala award ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington DC.[4]
On January 28, 2014 Shirin was elected MP from the Rangpur-6 constituency that had been vacated by the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina after the January 5 elections. Shirin was uncontested in the by-elections and was nominated for Speaker by Awami League the very same day. She took oath as the Speaker of the 10th Parliament on January 29, 2014, becoming the first person to remain Speaker across two consecutive tenures.[5]
Dr Chaudhury was elected Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) for the next three years in the CPA elections held in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde on Thursday, October 9, 2014. She is the first Bangladeshi to hold this position, as well as any position in an international forum of this level. Bangladesh has been a member of the CPA Asia region, the biggest parliamentary forum of the world, since 1973. It competed for the post of CPA chairperson for the first time in 2014.[6]
In her role as Chairperson, Dr Shirin has both attended and presided over a number of landmark events. On Monday, March 9, 2015, she addressed an audience including Her Majesty, the Queen of England, members of the royal family and British and Commonwealth dignitaries at an Observance for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey in London, UK.[7] She also opened the 46th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Africa Region Conference held in Nairobi, Africa between August 10 and 13, 2015. Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury participated as a panel speaker in the "Tackling inequality, empowering women and girls and leaving no one behind" Interactive Dialogue Session at the Sustainable Development Goals Summit held in New York yesterday, September 25, 2015. As Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament, she has participated in a number of successful bilaterals, most notably with Indian and Chinese officials, including the Indian Prime Minister, President and Speaker, the Chinese President, Vice President and Chairman of the National People's Congress.
Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has also been honoured with Women Leadership Achievement Award at the 2nd World Women Leadership Congress and Award (WWLCA) 2015. Addressing a seminar ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, Dr Chaudhury called for integrating women in the mainstream of development. She said the women community and all others would have to work together to face the challenges on the way of establishing women leadership across the world. Along with the government, all non-government and corporate agencies would have to work together to establish gender parity in society.
She was a practising advocate of the Bangladesh Supreme Court and was one of the members of the lawyers’ panel to conduct the cases filed against Sheikh Hasina during the army-backed caretaker government in 2007-08. Her key areas of work include human rights, constitutional law, gender issues and judicial reviews by way of writs. She is a Resource Person for several institutions including University of Dhaka, BRAC University, Dhaka International University and Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs.[4]
Personal life
Shirin is married to Syed Ishtiaque Hossain, a pharmaceutical consultant.[1] She has a daughter, Lamisa (22) and a son, Ibtesham (13).
Publications
Dr Shirin served as editor of Bangladesh Legal Decisions (BLD), Law Report Series published every month by Bangladesh Bar Council from 2003 to 2008. She developed several dialogue and concept papers with various relevant NGO's and Human Rights organizations on human rights issues. Her published articles include:
- Role of the Judiciary in the Development of Human Rights, published in 1999, published by Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK)
- The Least Dangerous Branch and the Power of Judicial Review: Impact on the Development of Fundamental Human Rights, published in 2000, published by Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK)
- Right to Life and Its Dimensions, published in 2000, published by Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK)
- Practice of Democracy: Importance of Free and Fair Election in Bangladesh presented as Key Note paper in a Seminar organized by Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA), Bangladesh Heritage Foundation
- Electoral Rights: Bangladesh Perspective, Conference Report on Human Rights and Governance, Local and Global Perspective, January 16–18, 2005, Manusher Jonno and Partners
- Regional Position Paper on Status of Women in South Asia written for SAAPE as Regional Thematic Focal Person from Bangladesh.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Shirin to become first woman Speaker". bdnews24.com. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- 1 2 3 "State Minister's Biography". Ministry of Women and Children Affairs - MoWCA. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYu_ARs0Zy4
- 1 2 3 Speaker, Bio. "Speaker's Biography". Bangladesh Parliament.
- ↑ "Shirin reelected as speaker". Shirin reelected as speaker. January 29, 2014.
- ↑ Sujan, Augustin (October 9, 2014). "Shirin Sharmin elected CPA chairperson". risingbd.com.
- ↑ "Her Majesty The Queen attends Commonwealth Day Observance". Westminster Abbey.
External links
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Shawkat Ali (acting) |
Speaker of Jatiyo Sangshad 2013-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |