Habibun Nessa

Habibun Nessa

Representative: Naripokkho

U.M. Habibun Nessa is an independent legal practitioner and freelance consultant. She is a human rights lawyer started her career with a child rights oraganisation to assist children in Prison. Ms. Nessa has worked with human rights (HR) organisation of the country that are Ain- O Shalish Kendra, BNWLA, Naripokkho, Save the Children UK (SCUK) for protection and promotion of HR for last 27 years that include implementing large scale legal aid programme, research, fact finding on gross HR violation, and advocacy for policy reform and formulation, capacity building training of judges, police, government officials, development workers, lawyers etc. She has worked closely with office of the Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for rights of children in Jail/confinement/risk. Government adopted and gazetted the plan to set up Taskforce (local to national level) to implement High Court Judgement in relation to children at risk proposed by SCUK and she was a member of National Taskforce. As a member of Naripokkho, she was part of numerous research and consultancies on HR, gender and social development, this include involvement with formulation of Multi-sectoral project on VAW of Government, movement of stop Acid violence, reporting on CWDAW regarding VAW etc. She is also coordinated action six years long action research project “Monitoring State Intervention to Combat Violence against Women in Bangladesh” to identify procedural loopholes and gender disparity in the justice system for policy advocacy. The major trainings that she has received are on HR, gender, conflict transformation, appreciative inquiry etc in home abroad. Her publications include Yearbooks on state of children in Bangladesh, Critique on VAW Law, and Muslim women’s personal law in Bangladesh etc. Adv. Habibun Nessa is board member of several national and international Human Rights organisations. She is also board member of the Ethical Review Committee of ICDDR,B and Centre for Women and Children Health, Acid Survivor Foundation, Naripokkho etc. She is an alumni of the Columbia University, New York. Ms. Nessa obtained Masters Degree on Human Rights from the department of Law of the University of Hong Kong.

Her current involvement includes pro bono legal counselling; advisor, Unite for Body Rights, (UBR) a project of Naripokkho on sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people; member, prevention of sexual harassment committee of TIB and Notre Dame University Bangladesh etc.