Beggzadi Mahmuda Nasir & Masuda Banu Ratna & Nanda Rani Das

Please find below three Women of Bangladesh having been proposed for the 1000 Women Nobel Peace Price 2005, and about whom only some lines are published, one without a photo, both with no other text in the internet. These Peace Women are also named: on adhunika/heroes among us; on NEW AGE Dhaka; and on banglarights.net:

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Name: Beggzadi Mahmuda Nasir

She says: « We wanted to establish a college where girls from all religions would get quality education in a sound atmosphere. »

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She set up the Central Women’s College in 1956 and the Central Women’s University in 1993 for which she works (both no own website, but second’s worry described on wikipedia. My comment: if there is a quality problem, then she has to be helped, not shut down. You cannot ask a group to have elitists performances, when centuries before they were submitted in uneducation. So ones has to help them … ).

When Beggzadi Mahmuda Nasir began her work on women’s education in 1950, women in Bangladeshi society had no space in public life. Coming from a liberal and educated family, Beggzadi had an advantage. Since she believes that education is essential to women’s status, the deplorable condition of women’s education disturbed her. Pursuing a dream with remarkable single-mindedness, Beggzadi set up the Central Women’s College in 1956 and the Central Women’s University in 1993. (1000peacewomen).

Beggzadi Mahmuda Nasir on adhunika/heroes among us.

Linked with  Asia Pacific Disability Forum APDF.

Masuda Banu Ratna

She says: « My son is my university. I have learnt a lot from my son. I had to innovate many things for my child. I want to replicate those things, mainly some treatment devices, among the village people ».

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Sorry, no photo found (see also my comment ‘Brave women without photos‘).

She works for the Sustainable Centre for the Disabled SCD (no website found).

Masuda Banu Ratna has been able to channel her personal anguish toward building a better society where disabled persons such as her son can claim their due as productive, stigma-free members of society. To this end, she established the Sustainable Centre for the Disabled, which trains local people in providing physiotherapy to the disabled, enabling economically deprived children to access treatment. The SCD also has a school and orphanage for girls with disabilities, perhaps society’s most vulnerable section. (1000peacewomen).

She is member of the Conference Committee of the Asia Pacific Disability Forum / (organizing) the 3rd General Assembly and Conference, Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 27-29, 2008.

Name: Nanda Rani Das

Linked with a piece of Nanda Rani’s live.

It is said: Despite barely scraping by, and hounded by death threats and false suits, Nanda’s work with the landless is a symbol of her indefatigability.

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Nanda Rani Das – Bangladesh

She works for the Jharabarsha Women’s Landless Organization.

Nanda Rani Das (born 1960) is much of many things: women’s rights activist, mobilizer of the landless, an ideal of courage and integrity. For more than 24 years, ignoring her own hand-to-mouth existence, she has been organizing landless people to regroup for their rights. Fighting corruption in its every den, she was the first to bring up the issue of land rights for minority community women at the local level. (1000peacewomen).

Sorry, no other texts found.

Ebadon Bibi – Bangladesh

Linked with A Truly Emancipated Woman.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

It is said: Today, Bangladesh’s fundamentalist forces find that they cannot cope with the organized power of the common people united under Ebadon Bibi’s leadership.

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Ebadon Bibi – Bangladesh

She works for the Landless Organization of Hosenpur. I found no website, but as locality Hosenpur is shown: on Google Earth/satellit, and on Google/map (hybrid not possible on this low scale).

Ebadon Bibi (born 1945), once a daily-wage laborer, is now a spirited activist fighting for the rights of landless people like herself. Bold and innovative, Ebadon is a natural motivator. She is credited with popularizing the Rokeya Day celebrations on the birthday of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (renowned educationist and philosopher), which remain a clarion call to defeat fundamentalist and regressive forces. Her work has brought about a sea-change in the lives and attitudes of the landless people in her village and its surrounding areas. (1000peacewomen).

Ebadon Bibi is named: on adhunika/heroes among us; on One World South Asia; on Bangla rights.net; on PoemHunter.com/Jayati Chowdhury … and all publications enumerating the names of the 1000 Peace Women nominees.

I have not put all texts naming Ebadon Bibi, being not sure she was meant. Therefore sorry, no more texts.

Shirin Banu – Bangladesh

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « We are all warriors in our own small orbits and these efforts will lead us toward a society free of religious obstacles, bring freedom from hunger, and end all kinds of discrimination ».

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She works for the Prip Trust.

Shirin Banu (born 1951) has blended very effectively her experience in politics and with the women’s movement in her work on the empowerment of grassroots-level women leaders. She has motivated women leaders of the Union Parishad (grassroots legislative unit) to coalesce into an elected women’s forum that can collectively bargain to assert their rights and powers. She has also worked to create local women’s groups to unite women in rural Bangladesh against fundamentalism. (1000peacewonem).

Shirin Banu is named on adhunika/heroes among us;

Shirin Banu on Muktadhara (scroll down);

Speakers at memorial meeting: Collaborators of Kibria’s killers still active;

Shirin Banu on Muktadhara (scroll down).

It seems there exist other persons named Shirin Banu on the web, but I understand they are not ‘our’ peace women.

Rafiza Begum – Bangladesh

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

It is said: From despair to hope, Rafiza has traveled far. She now wants to devote her time to making that journey easier for other women.

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Sorry, no photo found (see also my comment ‘Brave women without photos‘).

She works for the Thana Federation, and for the Narikuli Women’s Group.

From a timid wife whose husband abandoned her to a Union Parishad leader, Rafiza Begum (born around 1965) has traveled a long, bumpy road. When she contacted the NGO Proshika and its women’s microcredit group, she could hardly imagine that one day she would be looking well beyond her own life toward improving the lot of all women in her village. Nor did she think that she would inspire scores of village women to break social, religious, and cultural barriers and move toward empowerment. (1000peacewomen).

Some articles and texts naming her (I have not put all texts naming ‘our’ Peace Woman, being not sure she was meant):

Rafiza Begum is named on adhunika/heroes among us;.

Sheikh Hasina warns govt of dire consequence if killing of opposition activists are not stopped, Febr. 8, 2008;

Maternal Mortality is high in Bangladesh: on news network;;

… and on access library;

Health Care Undelivered;

Untitles Doc, sorry, somewhere mentionned in these 27 pages.

Rokeya Kabir – Bangladesh

Linked with Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha BNPS.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « It is not just in Bangladesh, everywhere in the world inhumanity and fundamentalism are major forces now! If we are to make a good future, more people need to be more proactive ».

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Sorry, no photo found (see also my comment ‘Brave women without photos‘).
She works for the Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha BNPS.

Rokeya Kabir (born 1952) was one of the first activists in Bangladesh to forge the crucial link between grassroots women and the national and international women’s movements. To materialize this global interconnection of grassroots movements, she and other women’s activists set up the Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha in 1986. For 25 years now, she has been working on women’s rights and minorities issues, incurring the wrath of the country’s fundamentalist forces. Undeterred, she wades on-downsizing her operations and functioning with practically no funding. (1000peacewomen).

Some articles and texts naming her (I have not put all texts naming ‘our’ Peace Woman, being not sure she was meant):

Rokeya Kabir is named on adhunika/heroes among us;

Address some crucial issues urgently or they may cast a shadow on election, Discussion in city told, Jan. 19, 2008;

Economic freedom not possible without democratic govt, January 19, 2008;

World Bank IMF Advice Reproduce Poverty: We Must Prepare Our Own Strategy, April 15, 2005;

REPORT OF THE 7TH MEETING OF THE WORLD BANK EXTERNAL GENDER CONSULTATIVE GROUP, 2003;

Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha BNPS;

Institute of Environment and Development;

Rokeya Kabir’sWomen’s Dev Centre launched;

Rokeya Khatun on Muktadhara (scroll down);
find her also on ZoomInfo.

Hena Das – Bangladesh

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « I have been fighting all my life. This society is not the society I dreamt of. We have won some battles. But there is much we have yet to achieve ».

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Hena Das – Bangladesh

She works for the Bangla Mohila Parishad, named on saprin.org; on Southern Illinois University; on UNESCAP; on pipl.com; on NewsVoa.

When Hena Das (born 1924) was barely 13, she joined the struggle for independence against then-undivided India’s British rulers. That was the beginning of a lifelong struggle against every form of injustice. Although best known for her pioneering work in the field of gender justice, she has also been deeply involved with the communist party, farmers’ rights, teachers’ rights, and labor rights. At a time when stepping out of the home was virtually prohibited to women, Hena was enunciating women’s empowerment and the rights of women. (1000peacewomen).

Some articles and texts naming her (I have not put all texts naming ‘our’ Peace Woman, being not sure she was meant):

Hena Das is named on adhunika/heroes among us;

Women dev policy soon to ensure gender equality: CA, Jan. 19, 2008;

Tales of Endurance and Courage;

Eminent citizens worried over AL deal with bigots;

Democratic forces of Bangladesh express deep concern on continued house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi;

We, the Citizens of Bangladesh Demand Security;

Birth anniv of Sufia Kamal observed.

Keepu Tsering Lepcha -India

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Keepu Tsering Lepcha (born 1942) has devoted her life to the uplift of her Lepcha community, indigenous to the Himalayan region of Sikkim. A teacher and retired civil servant, she helps educate members, especially the girls, of this diminishing tribe, which today numbers around 30,000. With the help of European donors, she has founded an NGO, the Human Development Foundation of Sikkim (HDFS), which has been working since 1997 with underprivileged families.

It is said: Keepu Tsering Lepcha, teacher and retired civil servant, has devoted herself to the survival of her rapidly diminishing Lepcha community, particularly educating the girls of this tiny tribe.

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Sorry, I can not find any photo (see also my comment ‘Brave women without photos‘).

She works for the Human Development Foundation of Sikkim HDFS.

Keepu Tsering Lepcha (born 1942), a native of Sikkim, was driven by the need to help members of her Lepcha community, an indigenous Sikkimese tribe whose numbers have dwindled to 30,000-odd today, and whose members have found it hard to keep pace with an increasingly competitive society.

Keepu’s father was a government official whose job took him to the remote areas of Sikkim, so she grew up hearing her father talk about the need to do something for the community. She fulfilled her father’s desire through her careers as teacher, government official, and eventually, social activist.

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Sister Cecilia – Indonesia

Linked with A re-compilation of texts and blogs for indigenous peoples,

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Sister Cecilia (born 1958) is a courageous nun who hails from Bali. Since conflict broke out on Timor Island in 1999, she has been working tirelessly to help women refugees in West Timor. She offers free counselling for women seeking shelter in refugee camps, which can be hostile to women. She founded the Forum Peduli Perempuan Atambua FPPA, a Women’s Concern Forum in the refugee town Atambua. Sister Cecilia is also a critical commentator on local policies concerning refugees. She says: « I felt very touched by the survivors I counseled everyday. They suffered very complicated lives and were traumatized and unhappy. I could feel their fever under my skin ».

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Sister Cecilia – Indonesia

She works for the Forum Peduli Perempuan Atambua FPPA (contact: you have to register first), and for the Sisters of the Holy Spirit SSPS (see also on wikipedia).

Sister Cecilia (born 1958) was brought up in a Balinese Hindu family but was educated in a Catholic boarding school, where she made friends with Christian students and came to appreciate Catholicism.

She became a Catholic in 1976. In 1980, she decided to enter the convent and become a nun. Her first assignment was to East Java, where she handled issues of children and youth in matters related to religion. She was sent to West Timor in 1990. She now lives in Atambua, near the border of East Timor.

Atambua is a small town of approximately 70,000 people where some 24,000 East Timor refugees live in the 41 refugee camps in Atambua (Source: Center of IDP Service and Oxfam Great Britain, West Timor Program, 2004). A nearby district, Betun, is also accommodating a large number of refugees in 75 refugee camps.

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Ana Montenegro – Brazil (1915 – 2006)

Ana Montenegro has passed away.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Ana Montenegro (1915) has been a communist militant since her youth. She was part of the creation of many women organizations. With the military coup of 1964, she went into exile with her two small children. After 15 years, she came back to her country to continue her battle. As a lawyer, she helped, for free, women suffering with domestic violence. Journalist, writer and a poet, she was an unmistakable reference in the recent history of Brazilian social struggles.

She said: « Respecting the people is to see to their needs ».

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Ana Montenegro – Brazil (1915 – 2006)

1945 was not just any year. It celebrated the end of the Second World War and of one more Brazilian dictatorship, of Getúlio Vargas government. It was an interesting year: against fascisms and massacres, in favor of freedom and human rights. It was also the year when Ana Montenegro affiliated herself to the Brazilian Communist Party.

Ana wrote for the party’s newspapers and magazines. She also wrote for the radio and for diaries of the great press, about health, salaries, education. She was part of the foundation and the daily life of women and social organizations. She was a lawyer convinced that the people are the great master. So much so that, (2005) at the age of 90, she advised young lawyers “to be sensitive to popular needs”.

In 1964, with the tanks on the streets and the military truculence on its way, Ana left for a long exile. But she did not stop. Ana walked around Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Palestine, Eastern Germany. The distance allowed her to improve her thoughts on Brazil. The fight against racism and for women became primary to her.

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Pauline Tangiora – New Zealand

Pauline Tangiora is a Maori elder from the Rongomaiwahine Tribe on the East Coast of the North Island of Aotearoa (New Zealand). She is the former president and currently vice president of Womens International League for Peace & Freedom WILPF Aotearoa, (their Homepage), former representative for the World Council for Indigenous Peoples, a member of the Earth Council and an Earth Charter commissioner. (She is also) life member of the Maori Women’s Welfare League, and a committee member of Rigoberta Menchu Tum Nobel Laureate Indigenous Initiative for Peace. Pauline Tangiora has represented Aotearoa (see also on wikipedia) at many international meetings for peace, the environment, spiritual well-being and indigenous rights. In 2005 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as part of the 1000 Women for Peace project. Pauline Tangiora is one of the 50 Council Members of the World Future Council (see also on wikipedia), an international organization created by Right Livelihood Award founder, Jakob von Uexkull, which works for a sustainable future in the fields of environment, governance, human development and human rights and peace. (see on betterworld heroes)

Listen her video on brightcove, 5.13 min, added Jul 27, 2007.

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Pauline Tangiora – New Zealand

She works also for the World Forum for Fisher Peoples WFFP, (see also on nyeleni), for the Indigenous Initiative for Peace, as an ‘outreach workers’ for the Peace Foundation, for the Mahia Office of the peace.net. She has represented Aotearoa at many international peace, indigenous and human rights conferences, and was a Consultant to the International Steering Committee of the World Court Project (see them on the Disarmament & Security Centre, and on the world court project). She has written papers on health, the environment, indigenous issues, spiritual well-being and peace.

Find her publications on Disarmament & Security Centre;

She says: « People who recognise that others have something to share must make themselves available too. I’m humbled to be able to offer our basket of the spirit for others to draw from, as well as to learn from other participants to increase my own awareness of what is happening in the world”. (dropping knowledge.org).

Charity (is) not the answer, says fisher-folk.

She says also: “My idea of government is that you run a country not with a party stick but with what you really have to offer. People come together with all their skills from whatever background and work for the benefit of the whole community. »

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