We were devastated to hear of the death of our friend and fellow abolitionist activist Sigma Huda. We decided to publish this letter written by Dorchen A. Leidholdt, whose sentiments we share entirely. Sigma will be sadly missed.
Dear sisters, Sigma Huda’s death is a major loss for our movement. Sigma was an unparalleled feminist abolitionist leader. For many decades she was a major leader in the women’s rights movement in Bangladesh. Founder of the Bangladeshi Women’s Lawyers Association, Sigma took on many significant cases involving issues of violence and discrimination against women, including one in which the homes of prostituted women in a “red light” district in Dhaka were razed by the government. In 2004 Sigma was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons and shortly thereafter issued a groundbreaking report on demand. For more about Sigma’s contributions as Special Rapporteur see the PowerPoint slides attached. Sigma was very much the precursor of the extraordinary Reem Alsalem.
After she stepped down as Special Rapporteur, Sigma resumed her feminist advocacy in Bangladesh and remained an important contributor to the work of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. She and her very supportive husband Nazmul were partners in a highly respected law firm in Dhaka known for its human rights work. Nazmul was also a very successful politician. When his party lost power in 2007, both Sigma and he were arrested and imprisoned on charges that were clearly politically motivated and called into question by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of the Judiciary. Jan Raymond and I traveled to Dhaka in 2008 to visit Sigma in prison and advocate for her release.
Sigma and Nazmul, who died in 2023, had two wonderful feminist daughters, Antara and Srabanti, who will undoubtedly carry on their pioneering work, as will her sister Khushi Kabir, also a feminist social justice advocate. We extend to them our deepest condolences.
Dorchen
Dorchen A. Leidholdt, Esq.
Theresa A. Havell Senior Director
Sanctuary for Families
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