Mission of Hameeda Hossain:

Dr. Hameeda Hossain  works for human rights. In 1986, along with Salma Sobhan, Khurshid Erfan and six others she founded Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK),  a human rights organization. This institute has played an important role in establishing human rights for the people of this country (Bangladesh). It has promoted human rights through information and education, it has filed many cases in court and has help to resolve disputes through mediation. Resistant to publicity Dr Hameeda Hossain, first became involved with women who were victims of war crimes in 1971.

Childhood in Sindh:

Hameeda Hossain’s mother’s name is Marium Sheikh and father’s name is Abdullah Akhand. She spent her childhood at “Shindhu Pradesh” of Pakistan. In her own words she said, “The Muslims of Shindu were not very educated then.  Most of the families were landlords, we weren’t one of them. I guess that was good.” she smiled after saying that.  

Then she explained the benefit of not being a landlord-“The landlords were very authoritarian and conservative. Their daughters were kept in purdah. They were not allowed to study.”

But Hameeda’s family was fairly liberal. Her father was a district judge and he was transferred to small towns where there were no girl’s schools. Therefore  her family moved to Karachi for educational purposes. Only her father used to move from town to town when he was transferred.

In 1947 the partition of India brought many changes. There wasn’t that much violence in Shindh as in Punjab. “As far as I remember, it was after the refugees started to move in following the riots in East Punjab, I noticed big changes. My school had more Hindu girls, 600 of them and about 50 Muslim girls. But after 16^th August the whole school was empty. Only 50 of us were there, no one else!”. Although she didn’t witness any riots, she sensed it in every bit, especially after watching the refugees who came from India. Many of them came via trucks or train. They had been attacked in their journey. The trains would carry dead bodies in it, and wounded people would cry out for help. “I was still in school then, with all my classmates I could see the suffering. We tried to help with whatever we could.” 

Went Abroad to Study:

“At the age of 16-17, I got a scholarship  to study in  Wellesley College in the US", noted Hameeda Hossain. But this wasn’t her first visit to America. “In 1954 I won an essay competition and the prize was a visit to New York, Washington and Toronto for three months. There I lived with high school students in their homes. I got a chance to visit different high schools in New York and Washington.” That visit made her interested  study in America, she stated. As a result she applied to Wellesley College. She came back with a B.A. degree after three years and started to work first for the Institute of International Affairs and later for the Oxford University Press in Karachi.

Came to Dhaka:

Hameeda Hossain came to visit Dhaka in 1962. Karachi was a big city. There weren’t many chances to mingle with people. Compared to Karachi, Dhaka was a very small city then. It would take two days to know everyone.  In Karachi, people would mind their own business. She didn’t know many  people. In Dhaka she visited her sister Khurshid Erfan Ahmed and met many people.

She came to like Dhaka and found the people very friendly. The environment in Dhaka University was very stimulating then. In a short time she came to know a small group of academics and other professionals. Her main problem was that she didn't know the language! “I didn’t know Bangla at all at the time and it seemed quite tough. But  the people I was mingling with knew both English and Bangla.” The language barrier was broken later with regular academic lessons. “After my marriage (1964) I joined a Bangla class in Bangla Academy.  It was of six months duration. We had six Chinese students with us too; they learned the language with their heart in it. At that time Professor Munir Chowdhury, Professor Anisuzzaman and a few others taught us the language. They taught us very well.  We learned a lot in six months. Moreover I learned a lot by speaking to people everyday. During 1967  a group of us started a weekly political magazine called “Forum”. Rehman Sobhan was the Executive editor of that English Magazine. I was the editor and Kamal Hossain was the publisher. It was printed from the Sangbad press, and I went there regularly and had to talk to the press workers.” In time she became fluent in Bangla.

Family and Friends:

“In 1962 I came to Dhaka to see my sister. I met Kamal there. After that he came to visit in Karachi, I met him again. We got married in 1964 in Oxford.” She didn't feel she had to adjust too much since, “Kamal’s group of friends were very progressive. Kamal’s family background was also not conservative. Therefore it wasn’t a problem for me to adapt to the change. The situation would have been different if his family was conservative.” She laughed as she said this.

Hameeda Hossain’s two daughters are Sara Hossain and Dina Hossain.  Sara finished her studies in London and is now working as a lawyer in the Supreme Court. The youngest daughter Dina is a documentary film producer in  New York. She worked in “Matir Moyna” for 2/3 months, but mainly she produces documentaries in the US.   She made a movie on Bangladeshi poet Aleya as a thesis. How Aleya left Bangladesh and how she established herself in the States- she brought these issues up in the celluloid.

Oxford University Press:

After coming to Dhaka in 1965, she worked for a publishing company called Oxford University Press as an editor. “When I came here, the political front was very tense. But I was there more like a spectator.” mentioned Hameeda Hossain.” But the people I got to know during that time, they were all involved in the political protest movements. People like –Shahidullah Kaiser, Professor Anisuzzaman, Rehman Sobhan, Professor Razzak etc.  Therefore although she wasn’t involved directly, she could sympathise with the movement  Because of her involvement with Forum she got to know the journalists in Sangbad. Shahidullah Kaiser and Bazlur Rahman. As a result she too became more involved with the movement anymore. The permission to publish Forum took two years, and it was started in 1967, after they got permission from the government. The very last issue was supposed to go through the press in 25^th March, 1971.  But it was never published after that night. The next nine months were passed in terror and expectation.

We used to live in the house where the Press Institute of Bangladesh is now located. On the ground floor of a two storied house. On the night of 25^th March, Pakistani soldiers forced themselves into the house in search of Kamal. But luckily he wasn’t home then. After the curfew was over, I fled to someone else’s house. But it became difficult to stay at that place too. So, I went to my father’s place with my kids.” 

Women Victims of Military Violence:

After the war, she joined the Oxford University Press again. But it was a sad time, with many women who had been victims of violence by the military. So many women were mourning everywhere around. One couldn’t look at the faces of the many women who had been raped, who had lost their loved ones, who were dispossessed and vulnerable and feel that life could be normal.

Even though she continued her job, she also came to meet many of the women who needed immediate help and sympathy. “They came to meet me, to talk of what had happened. They had no place to go or to live. Many of them couldn’t go back to  their own homes because they had been raped and were made to feel ashamed. They needed money to live and to look after their children.” She and Lila Amirul Islam started the organization “Srijoni” to help the women to find a means of earning a living. 

She had also been involved with artisans and crafts, and was able to work together with a group to organize a handicrafts cooperative which is known as “Karika” opposite  Sheraton Hotel. There artisans were encouraged to become members and to sell their beautiful handmade crafts and arts there.  “As the women started to work with talented artisans they learned to make beautiful objects which they could sell. Therefore part of their financial need was resolved.”

Fretful Days of 1975:

When Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were assassinated in 1975, Dr. Kamal Hossain was the foreign minister. He was visiting Yugoslavia on official work. After hearing about the assassination, he decided not to come back. He went to London.  Hameeda Hossain, with her daughters, joined him in London in late September. They lived in Oxford where Kamal had a fellowship and “During this time I finished my PhD there. Well, there was nothing else to do.” Although she said that, it was of course a very attractive thing to her. This founder member of “Karika” did her thesis on textile production in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. This is worth mentioning that she did her B.A degree on History and literature. Now she did PhD on History again.

It’s not as if she spent her whole time in research. “When we were studying in Oxford, Salma and Rehman Sobhan were also in Oxford. We used to converse about many things. Salma Sobhan used to teach Law in Dhaka University. Since I was involved with women's organizations, I knew about women's economic and social problems. We used to discuss about these issues with each other.”

The Beginning of Ain O Salish Kendra:

Hameeda Hossain returned home in 1982. Around that time Ershad government was in power. She got involved with the women's movements through “Bangladesh Mohila Porishod”. Under Sufia Kamal’s leadership, the women were struggling for their rights. They were also involved in the movement for democracy against Ershad's military government.  Most of Hameeda Hossain’s friends were also among them. ‘Although we fought against the martial rule of the country, we would often say among ourselves, what is democracy! There will be another election, another new government, another martial administration. This is not what democracy is!’

After the Fall of Ershad Government:

ASK realized that it is very important to protect the rights of citizens, particularly  poor women, children and workers who are very vulnerable, and those who are excluded such as the minorities. Many of them don’t even know about their rights. And even if they know, they don’t have access to legal help. “We thought that we have joined democratic processions, done demonstrations/meetings on the street. Our thought was, maybe the military regime will be gone. But citizens do not win rights so easily. The government can never let go their martial shades.  Not only do governments, or powerful people in society  try to suppress the weak and vulnerable, but this happens in the family and community” strongly argued Hameeda Hossain.

Soon they got into work. “First we thought, people who are vulnerable in many regards, we can try to provide them with legal assistance.  Justice K. M. Sobhan, Barrister Amir-Ul-Islam, Taherunnessa Abdullah, Fazle Hassan Abed, Attorney General Aminul Hauqe, Salma Sobhan, Abdul Khaleq, Khurshid Erfan Ahmed were included in our team of nine.  Also there were some young lawyers.”  

Dr. Khan Sarwar Murshed and his wife, a former member of the Parliament Nurjahan Murshed helped. They were located at Shatmasjid Road of Dhanmondi.  Two of the rooms were empty in their garage. We started the first office of “Ain o Salish Kendra(ASK)” in those two rooms. The lawyers used to sit there. After that they transferred the office into two/three rooms of an apartment by the Jonaki Cinema Hall. Barrister Amirul Islam used to pay the rent for up until a year. Then it moved to the present address of Purana Paltan.

In the beginning the whole process was voluntary. Lawyers would give two hours of their time everyday. “Then we decided to run the office with young attorneys; gradually increasing our parameters of work. We started to visit the slums, so that another 10 people would learn about the association. Then other people started to contact us for help. ”

The Beginning:

It is always very difficult to start this kind of work. Ain o Salish Kendra(ASK) wasn’t any different, “In the beginning people wouldn’t visit us. We ourselves were getting disappointed thinking,    those people that we wanted to work for aren’t coming forward. No one was seeking help from us”. They started to think about what to do. Just to sit there wearing a black coat won’t do it.  They started to try to make people realize on how they could use the law to protect people’s right.

Their next mission was to go from slum to slum and explain-  about their rights, how they can get legal help, who to go to etc. those association that were already working with the slum people, they went there with them. Because they feared that if they go there directly, those people might not accept them.

This worked a little. They started to tell women about the importance of registering a “Kabin”. In the beginning they faced problems with the slum’s mastans. "We received  news that at Tejgaon Slum, a man had abandoned his wife. We went to give legal assistance to the wife. But the husband got a mastan gang to attack us. They did not want us to interfere in their personal matters? The lawyers who went there literally had to run away from the slum.” Although they came back that day, they contacted the local people later and went their again,-“ we supported the woman in her fight to protect her rights. With the help of the local people , she was given legal help. We had to go through many more small problems like this. If any such incident happened, we would discuss among ourselves. We had to seek police help at times too.’

"While we continued to work we also worried because solving two or three cases wouldn’t change the community. The government, which is like a big /strong stone. That you can move or break! Therefore, we tried to activate citizens. If we are not active ourselves, then the people who are in power, won’t notice much. So we decided to create awareness among people. "

“When we talk about legal help, it doesn’t mean that we are just taking people to the court or just settling disputes between two people. We started to expand our work.  For instance we would carry out our own independent investigation." After about two years, they started to publish a quarterly “Bulletin” and did regular research; to document human rights situation. This way they would get a whole picture of the country. By this their legal aid  work expanded in many ways.

Let’s Come to International Front: 

Today one and a half decades later Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)  is recognized internationally. “We have consultative status with UNECOSOC.  ASK has participated in many international conferences. And is part of different networks such as  Women Living under Muslim Law, Asia Pacific Women Law and Development, etc.” stated Hameeda Hossain. “Many people are cautious and don't want to challenge the government, some relate to one government more than to the other.   But with Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) has been concerned with the state of human rights, no matter which party was in power. When people come to us, we work for them. We don’t care about which political team she is from or what she does.

About the work environment of Ain o Salish Kendra(ASK) she mentioned, “Majority of the staff are women. The work environment is quite friendly and open.  In Bangladesh people tend not to speak out, or to voice their opinions in front of seniors. At Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) the atmosphere is more informal. It is very different from many organizations. The staff are encouraged to show initiative.”

To Protect Human Rights:

During and after the last election there was much violence, particularly against  minorities. In Dhaka many people were saying - No! Nothing has happened.  Newspapers are  making up these stories. Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) then directly went to those places. Their investigators went to Bhola, Bagerhaat  and Chittagong. ASK filed  a  writ in the High Court as to why the law enforcement agencies had not acted effectively. The High Court issued a notice upon the government to explain why it had failed to  protect the minorities. Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) also filed writ petitions in the High Court against slum eviction.

Did these litigations help to improve the situation? When faced with this question, Hameeda Hossain sounded frustrated. “Actually one can’t save everything through legal action. Many a times the case just hangs in there. If the court gives a rule against the government, it often goes on without acting upon the court order. There is little concern with  enforcement of high court rules.  So what else can be done regarding this! After elections when a party comes into power, it is not concerned with implementing what it had promised. It’s true! In 1998 the court ruled “no slum eviction could be done without rehabilitating them”. But even after this, eviction is going on. Or for instance, take women's rights, How many promises were made about United Nation’s Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which was ratified by Bangladesh in 1984 and how many of the articles  were enforced by 2004?

My Own World: Hameeda Hossain

My own family is  small. We have only two daughters, and now a grand daughter. But everyone is  independent, although we have many common interests.  When we meet each other, we discuss common concerns. We share many values.  Kamal, Sara and I are involved in different kinds of human rights work.  We work independently. But we also share other interests. For example, - Kamal is involved in politics, practices in High court.  Sara is practicing too and is also a member of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). I don’t know much about law, but after working for ASK, I have become interested in the subject.

We never force anyone to do anything. I have never even pressured my daughters. They work as they wish. They belong to a different generation, and they have to decide for themselves what they should do as well as the direction of their lives. I don’t think its right to force anyone. We do not have different values and in fact share common opinions. I don’t know what I would have done if there were serious  differences.

I don’t get much spare time. When I do, I write. I like to listen to music.  And I also like to watch movies. German Cultural Center sometimes shows movies, I go there at times”.  Folk art is a subject that interest me. I have been involved in research on folk designs and crafts. Even now I am a member of the Craft Council of Bangladesh.

I am not a member of any political party and I don’t really want to get into any political party. I don’t think they allow individual  freedom.

Translation: Afrin Anwar
Picture: A field trip to Nilphamari - Hameeda Hossain  with Professor Anisur Rahman
Courtesy Dr. Hameeda Hossain, ASK

Source: Prothom Alo