Sigma Huda

{{Short description|Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (1944/1945–2024}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Sigma Huda

|native_name = সিগমা হুদা

|native_name_lang = bn

|birth_name =Sigma Kabir

|occupation = Lawyer

|nationality = Bangladeshi

|father=Akbar Kabir

|relatives = {{ubl|Khushi Kabir (sister)|Selim Kabir (brother)}}

|birth_date = 1944/1945

|birth_place = Bengal Province, British India

|death_date = {{death date and given age|2024|07|17|df=y|79}}

|death_place = Dhaka, Bangladesh

|spouse = Nazmul Huda

}}

Sigma Huda ({{nee|Kabir}}; 1944/1945 – 17 July 2024) was a Bangladeshi lawyer. She was the founding president of Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) and founder and secretary of Institute for Law and Development (ILD).

In 2007, she was awarded Pope John Paul II Wellspring of Freedom Award for dedicating her life to upholding human rights and combating injustice.{{Cite web|date=17 August 2007 |title=Sigma Huda wins 'Pope John Paul II Wellspring of Freedom Award' |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-447 |access-date=18 May 2022 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}} Her late husband, Nazmul Huda, was a former Bangladesh Nationalist Party government minister and barrister.

Career

Huda was the lawyer of Anup Chetia alias Golap Barua, a leader of ULFA who filed for asylum in Bangladesh.{{cite web|last1=Chauhan|first1=Neeraj|title=Ulfa neta back in India on Sheikh Hasina's order|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ulfa-neta-back-in-India-on-Sheikh-Hasinas-order/articleshow/49762830.cms|website=timesofindia.indiatimes.com|publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd|accessdate=1 December 2015}}

Activism

From 2004, Huda served as a United Nations special rapporteur on human trafficking. She was known for her views on prostitution. In her report for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, she said:

{{blockquote|"The act of prostitution, by definition, joins together two forms of social power (sex and money) in one interaction. In both realms (sexuality and economics), men hold substantial and systematic power over women. In prostitution, these power disparities merge in an act which both assigns and re-affirms the dominant social status of men over the subordinated social status of women."Huda, S "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights aspects of the victims of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Sigma Huda" for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, February 2006}}

{{blockquote|"The demand for commercial sex is often further grounded in social power disparities of race, nationality, caste, and colour."}}

Charges and convictions

In 2007, Huda was brought before a Bangladeshi court on bribery charges filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, whereupon she was sentenced to three years imprisonment as an accomplice to a bribe in the amount of Taka 2.40 crore (approximately US$400,000) for which her husband was convicted of abuse of power and corruption.{{cite news | url = http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=1694 | title = Huda gets 7 years, Sigma 3 yrs for graft | date = 28 August 2007 | work = Daily Star | accessdate = 9 October 2010}}

The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of the judges and lawyers issued a statement on 2 September 2007, expressing concern that Huda had not been given a fair trial. He said it received reports indicating that the right to legal representation and the independence of the court had been severely affected during her trial. "Defense lawyers felt pressured, they had no opportunity to visit her in prison, and could only meet with her at the end of the hearings. They also had difficulties accessing the case files and other relevant information, thus compromising their ability to ensure an adequate defence."{{cite web|url=http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/7220/|title=United Nations Human Rights Special Rapporteur expresses concern about Sigma Huda's trial in Bangladesh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205000828/http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/7220/|archive-date=5 February 2018|date=3 September 2007}}

Personal life and death

Huda was married to barrister Nazmul Huda, a former Bangladesh Nationalist Party minister, former leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF), National Alliance (NA), and leader of Bangladesh Manabadhikar Party (BMP) until his death.{{cite web|title=Former BNP stalwart Nazmul Huda floating new alliance|url=http://bdnews24.com/politics/2015/01/02/former-bnp-stalwart-nazmul-huda-floating-new-alliance|website=bdnews24.com|accessdate=11 January 2016}}{{cite web|title=Nazmul Huda acquitted of extortion case|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/country/nazmul-huda-acquitted-extortion-case-141040|website=The Daily Star|accessdate=11 January 2016}} They had two daughters, Antara Selima Huda and Srabanti Amina Huda. They are lawyers in profession. Huda's sister, Khushi Kabir, is a social activist and her brother was Selim Kabir.

Huda died in Dhaka on 17 July 2024, at the age of 79.{{Cite web |date=17 July 2024 |title=Sigma Huda passes away |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/sigma-huda-passes-away-3659306 |access-date=17 July 2024 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}

Sigma Huda

Career

Activism

Charges and convictions

Personal life and death

References

Further reading