Tue 25 Apr 2006
photo: New Age
What a sad end to a promising life!
Prominent social activist and the country director of Action Aid Bangladesh, Nasreen Pervin Huq, died yesterday following an accident yesterday at the car park of her residence in Dhanmondi.Sources said her driver around 9:30 am yesterday lost control of the vehicle and crushed her against a wall as she was waiting for the car at the car park.
This time in Dhaka, I heard a lot of good things about Nasreen Apa and how she was taking on some courageous projects on human rights. This is such a shame that she had to go this way. More on her life
April 25th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
My wife knows something about the Helen Keller project, and she is upset to hear it. A sad loss indeed. May her work in Bangladesh inspire other women to be like her.
April 28th, 2006 at 12:28 am
A patriot passes away- She was the best.
Tuesday April 25 2006 17:52:35 PM BDT
BY Shamim Huq , USA
Nasreen lived simply and never tried to look pretty, just a simple cotton Sari with no Jewelry.Serving the people was her calling and her only adornment.
When she spent a summer with me in 1982, Houston was in a deep recession. She had come to help me through my separation from my first wife and my loss of job during the downturn of early �80�s. She worked at the Baylor College of Medicine as an intern, awaiting her GRE results after she had finished her undergraduate work at State University of New York at Purchase. While here she developed close bond to my children and helped me through.
Later, when her GRE results came out, while she was in Dhaka � I got an eager phone call from UC Berkeley�s famed Nutrition Science Department. They wanted her in their school.
Nasreen or Happy as we all called her wanted to study nutrition. We argued the benefits of her going to Engineering School in the path of my father and me. She politely and firmly said no. Her cause was that of pregnant malnourished women of Bangladesh. Still, I was a skeptic but did not push her. She was firm and determined.
So when some years later, she finished school at UC Berkeley I suggested to her again that through her intern work at Baylor � who were quite fond of her that she could easily, as indicated to me, put her in their nutrition program. This of course would mean a nice cushy life in suburbia, USA. She was quite adamant and would not only not exercise her immigrant status, but would let it expire.
She went to Bangladesh and worked in the villages studying and schooling better nutrition to pregnant mothers. This was her passion and her calling � service to the poor and needy. Following the footsteps of my other sister, Shireen.
Nasreen lived simply and never tried to look pretty, just a simple cotton Sari with no Jewelry. Serving the people was her calling and her only adornment.
When some years back Action Aid of Britain recruited her for the position of Country Director of Bangladesh, they remarked that they wanted Nasreen for a long time. She worked hard with many days and nights of long hours.
Some years ago, I had a friend call me on a weekend that Nasreen appeared with Connie Chung in 20/20, the news show. The attention was brought on by her work to bring justice and treatment to the victims of acid burn. When I asked her what Ms. Chung thought of her work. She remarked Ms. Chung thought of her own work was insignificant in comparison to Nasreen�s contributions. I recall her tour through the US universities on behalf of acid burn victims and Amnesty International. She was consistently articulate and intelligent in her responses. She never sought glory for herself; instead she always shone a bright light with the problems that afflicted our society.
It is with deep sorrow and a very heavy heart that I part with her today. Tomorrow I am heading for Dhaka to lay her remains next to where my brother was laid. My mother had to endure the passing of my father when all of her children were studying abroad and then her son, my elder brother at age 46 the same age as of Nasreen in about the same dates back in 1991.
Ours has been a family that followed and lived their ideals. My sister, Nasreen out did us all. My father a man of great integrity and passion showed us the path and our mother a quiet intellectual allowed us to find our own way.
To all young folks who seek glory � take a page from Happy�s life. And if you find your calling in serving people you will have found the highest � remember this little girl from Bangladesh, who endured so much to show a path that is far brighter than any we lesser humans have traversed.
Dear sister, when my time comes please be there for me when I cross the bar. I will miss you till then.
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Shamim Huq (Elder Brother of Nasreen Haq ) writes from USA, E Mail : shamimmhuq@yahoo.com
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April 29th, 2006 at 10:13 am
Dear Bhaiya,
I have been crying ever since I have heard this news. Alone, lonely…far away from my friends, and colleagues, I am sitting in UK and just looking for ways to console myself. I was an ex ActionAider…but I knew Nasreen long before. I knew Shireen apa during liberation war when we worked all together…collecting clothes for muktijoddha and she came quietly to collect these from our house in Dhanmandi. We all were so deeply involved….Nasreen requested me several times to speak in Shahid minar when December month came each year, but I couldn’t for many reasons.
I came back to Bangladesh after 11 years doing my PhD in Nutrition and post doc in MSU, East Lancing…I met Nasreen again. We bumped each other in airports…and talked all different things, Nutrition, liberation war, women’s development…she requested so many times to join Nari pokkho…I could visit only once…Deepa talked on that day and later she died too due to breast cancer.
We had so many common areas and that brought us together in various meetings…
Actionaid celebrated 20 years some yrs ago while Nasreen just took the CD role from Feisal. She invited all the old Actinaiders and let us participate in such a fun event. We enjoyed so much! She was so open , so friendly to everyone.
I will miss her so much!
Right now, I am just consoling myself checking the emails, web site …for any news of Nasreen…may Allah bless her soul.
I sent a condolence note to Actionaid colleagues …just to share my deep sorrow and try to over come from this deep shock!
Pls take care.
Nazma Kabir
West Sussex, UK
April 30th, 2006 at 3:50 am
Nasreen, or Happy as we all called her, a name she always lived up to, was one of our closest friends from our school days in Holy Cross. I cannot even remember the first day that I noticed her. We knew each other for over 40 years and our friendship was never diminished by the time and distance between us. When I saw her at a party in Dhaka in December 2005, she bounded across the room to wrap me up in her welcoming arms. I live in the States, so we didn’t meet often, but I could always anticipate the most loving greeting from her when I went home to Bangladesh. No matter how busy she was, she would come to see me, even if it meant showing up at my house after midnight.
Happy was all Love. She loved everyone unconditionally. She could hold no malice towards anyone. And she lived by her convictions. She did not worry about what others would think of her ways. Some thought her eccentric because she had such enlightened views on everything. Where we were concerned, she offered us the best visions of ourselves as seen through her eyes. She saw each of her friends as unique unto themselves and she brought out the best in each of us. As we try to come to terms with her passing, we phone each other and offer comfort–but comfort is hard to find–the shock and disbelief persist. We try to make sense of the madness of her dying in such a way. An accident truly, it puts a whole new meaning into that word, it could only have been an accident by which she was taken from us by mistake. Such a mistake should not have happened, but it has.
Happy was a dancer in her younger days and that grace pervaded her body down to her fingertips. But her grace was also in her being, not just in her body. Her demeanor was of a person who was completely at home with herself and at peace with her world.
Happy possessed a great soul, she was no ordinary being. Her very life was a miracle of selflessness where everyone else is selfish, of faith where others are afflicted by doubt, by love where others may choose to hate. Her life was an example of what we may all aspire to, if we can put aside our own petty needs and realize that happiness comes only from giving to others, just as Happy did all of her brief life. She was indeed a candle in the wind, that flickered brightly and gave light to all before being extinguished by an accidental gush of air.
Happuschka, wherever you may be now, remain with us, dear friend. Your love lives on within us and we will never, never forget you.
Charmane Rashid Ahmed
Virgina, USA
May 1st, 2006 at 6:39 pm
we posted a tribute at the main drishtipat page http://drishtipat.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=273&mode=flat&order=0&thold=0
May 2nd, 2006 at 8:56 am
In memory : an open letter.
My dearest Nasreen
The shock waves of your death are reaching distant shores and washed over me last Friday leaving me bereft. Dear friend, dear dear friend, how can this be? How can you who travelled so fearlessly meet such a fate in your front porch, haemorrhaging your life blood there? Your time is not up; your work is not yet done.
Your friends from Holy Cross, specially the expatriates stand frozen in grief. We call each other, email, try to get on with our daily lives and then stop as yet another memory floods our mind and transports us back to the high school years, thirty years ago . How young, how passionate, how confident we were Happy, do you remember? We could and would make a difference we said. One by one we left, to acquire the necessary skills abroad. Some of us got distracted stayed on in foreign shores, picking up different causes. But you were steadfast and returned, and made the difference. But you never judged us, because that was not you – you only had unconditional love for your friends.
Do you remember Marylebone Station? 20 years ago. You were telling me about some of the issues you wanted to address – the rights of women of course – silent abuse at the home front. The right to be beautiful and independent, without fear of unwanted attention and reprisals. Only some one as fearless as you could think this was a fight you could pick up and win. Which you did. My train home came and went and we still sat in the platform talking, until the last train arrived and the station was being shut?
Another memory, even further back, I came to see you, States or Dhaka (I can’t remember). You read me a poem: The snow has fallen, my friend is coming, we will stay up all night and talk… We did. I didn’t realise how lucky I was to have taken so much of your time.
Last summer when we met, we laughed at our younger selves. We are such non conformists you said, always were. “I am so proud of you”, you said to me. I was astonished, other way round?? Isn’t that typical of you? You let me hold your daughter, so proud of her, you hugged mine. I am glad you had the pleasure of being a mother, however brief. Then we talked about your work again, Action Aid. Which social issues needed more lobbying? The rights of women, how much further we had to go. The fire in your speech, the clarity of your thoughts, the single-mindedness of your approach entranced me. You were encouraging me to start up some research links with Dhaka. So optimistic, allaying my fears; anything is possible given the will. You never seem to entertain any doubts – what has to be done must be done. That my friend may be your final gift to us – never to doubt ourselves and the differences we can make.
Happy, tributes and eulogies are pouring in. Did you realise how many peoples heart you had touched? All this is far too early though? I was looking forward to breaking rules as an octogenarian with you.
I talked to two other school friends of ours, of 30 years ago. You are bringing us together – another gift my healing friend. I feel ungrateful, I would rather have you alive and doing your amazing work, and meeting me once in a blue moon when we talk as if we still were the idealistic girls of yesteryear and the world is our oyster, and we will live forever and time is a commodity that never ends…….
Farewell.
Lopa
Nottingham, UK
May 2nd, 2006 at 10:12 am
From her memorial: pic by Shahidul Alam
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:56 am
In Memoriam
Nasreen, my heroine
Fahmeeda Wahab
This morning, twelve thousand miles away from where Nasreen, our friends, and I grew up together, I heard of her accident and passing away. Where can I begin to speak about a friend of thirty-one years? What can I say about someone whom I have always seen as a heroine amongst us?
My first memories of Nasreen are from class nine in Holy Cross School, when she had her unruly hair tied, under Sister Joanne’s admonition, into two reluctant pigtails. My last memory of her was waving me goodbye from the verandah of my parent’s house, where she had come to visit me, wearing a white cotton jamdani sari, her long hair flowing freely down her back, on January 8, 2006.
She died seven months short of hitting 48. Maybe because she was destined to leave us so soon, she achieved so much. Nasreen befriended those who had no one beside them. Acid burn victims, for whom we indulge in the luxury of sympathy, were treated by her as friends.
Who among us will be so big hearted as to share with total strangers our homes, our lives and our friendship? It was Nasreen, in whose house these women and girls found a welcome abode. Nasreen treated them the same way as she treated us: with sincere friendship, warm humour and an indulgent tolerance.
Nasreen was among the first people who championed the cause of acid burn victims, arranged for their reconstructive surgery in Italy and other parts of Europe, and organized advocacy campaigns against acid violence. Nasreen was vocal about women’s reproductive health and rights. She was passionate and true in her thoughts and work. She was her own self, unpretentious and original.
Nasreen had time for everybody, her father and elder brother when they were alive, her mother, her siblings, her nephew, her many friends, her husband and, above all, in recent times, her daughter. Despite being the busiest among us, she was the one who would make time to visit us when we visited home. Despite her big achievements, she always remained our Nasreen.
I have never seen Nasreen lose her temper or be abusive or malicious about anyone. She had a ready chuckle which followed remarks made in her deep distinctive voice. In this day, when most of us are busy chasing personal betterment, Nasreen thought only of what she could give. She adopted her daughter and spent the last year and a half as a contented mother. She had dreams of setting up an orphanage in the name of her brother Moni, who had died several years ago.
Nasreen left us all after our SSC exams to study in the US. She received her degree in nutrition from Berkeley and could have easily opted for a life of material gain and comfort in any country of the world. But she chose to come back to Bangladesh and to follow her vocation as an activist and a development practitioner.
At BRAC she worked to promote the use of backyard vegetables as a source of vitamins to prevent blindness, at Helen Keller, she devoted her efforts for policy reform and programmes to benefit the visually impaired, and finally, at ActionAid she ran programs in disaster management, education, rehabilitation of sex workers, and campaigned for equitable benefits of LDCs in global trade. All the time, she championed women’s rights.
In her professional and personal life, Nasreen broke barriers and set new standards of progressive thinking.
Nasreen used to insist on calling recipients of acid violence as survivors, not victims, to give them courage, to make us look at them not with pity, but with respect and a determination to resist this form of violence.
If she were with us today, as we are shocked and lost at her going away, I am sure she would chuckle in her characteristic way and tell us to focus on what she achieved, and what we shared together.
Among all our friends, she had to leave first, but only after making an impact and leaving a legacy. I know I speak for all our friends when I say that while we learn to deal with our terrible loss, we salute her memory and cherish that legacy; and feel proud and complete for having had her friendship.
Fahmeeda Wahab, one of Nasreen Huq’s school friends, currently working as a Development Officer, Canadian International Development Agency, Gatineau, Quebec.
[The namaj-e-janaza of Nasreen Huq, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, will be held today (Friday) after Juma prayers at Dhanmondi Eidgah Mosque.]
May 3rd, 2006 at 6:46 am
A wonderful article on Nasreen Huq by Shafiq Rehman of Jaijaidin. It touches on many aspects of Nasreen Haq including our media coverage.
http://www.jaijaidin.com/may02/pdf/dinerpardin.pdf
May 3rd, 2006 at 8:24 am
I didn’t find it wonderful, Rumi bhai. In fact, this is classic Shafiq Rehman, editor of upcoming daily Jaijaidin — its intellectually dishonest. It is shameful that he used this tragedy to take pot shot at his rival daily prothom alo. At the same time he glorified himself by naming the organizations that he or his family head at the top of the list of orgs that paid tribute (the top 4 orgs mentioned in the list are, democracy watch (wife), Lalgolap (him), JJD (him), Academy film society (his son) ). He did not also forget to mention that bouquets sent by JJD was the biggest. This is cheap. He never mentions that Nasreen’s husband is the deputy editor of his paper. He may be expressing genuine grief but glorifying his own role to take potshot at the rival using someone’s tragedy is new low even in Mr. Rehman’s standards which are not that high to start with. I don’t recall seeing a single word spent in JJD on Salma Sobhan, founder of Ain O Salish Kendro when she passed away. Neither I did not see many others’ who had significant contribution to the country in JJD either. Shame on you, Mr. Rehman. Wish you had taken a bit of lesson from Nasreen on intellectual sincerity and honesty.
May 3rd, 2006 at 11:27 am
Yes, repeated self protrayal with names of lal golap, democracy-watch were very annoying.
I didn’t try to read between the lines here. I found many information sorrounding nasreen’s life and death which I didn’t get anywhere else. The commentery about news media biases were definitely opportunistic, cheap but true. His role in killing Ekushe TV will also be in my mind forever.
And about intellectual dishonesty, well, I’ll not stand behind Shafiq Rehman. His role on Ekushe speaks it all. But blanket allegation of intellectual dishonesty against anybody who is not awami minded is not intellectual honesty either. One such example is Al Mahmud. This poet endured unimaginable media-intellectual oppression only because his personal-political belief is not in the same page with S S Huq, Shamsur rahman or other good poets we have.
I feel bad as I digressed so much in this Nasreen Haq memorial blog.
May 3rd, 2006 at 11:34 am
I also liked the information on events sorrounding her funeral. I always wished a visionery or leader should get burried with flowers and songs with representation from all parts of society, women, man, child, all… exactly this happened in Nasreen case.
It’s about time sunni east bengal muslims change the way they bury their deceased.
May 3rd, 2006 at 1:37 pm
As the risk of offending 99% people following the death of Nasreen Haq and eulogising, I must say I am rather taken aback at the distinct smack of ‘hero-worship’ (as opposed to respect for an individual who has made a difference to society). I wonder if Haq herself would be at all pleased with all the glorified attention…if anything, it sounds like she was very modest, humble, and gave of her life without wanting/demanding the spotlight.
While it is heartwarming to see how much people cares for her, it is unsettling to see the extreme glorification. Perhaps, that is why Muslims (’sunni’ or not, from ‘east bengal’ or not) are inclined towards a simple funeral ceremony … one that while celebrating the life that the departed lived does not indulge in the excesses that flaunt. It may suit East Bengalis to be flamboyant…but it certaintly is not in line with Muslim ideology of simplicity and dignity.
For my part, I pray that Nasreen Haq (and all other departed souls uncelebrated and unknown they might be) find their peace as they travel into the unknown world.
May 3rd, 2006 at 6:20 pm
I have been crying ever since a friend of mine passed this heart breaking news to me. First of all I could not believe that. I checked with Daily star online issue and found that devastating news. I found myself helpless, sitting thousands miles away from all my colleagues of ActionAid
I left actionAid on November 2005. How could I forget her guidance and inspiration for accomplishing my work on Women’s Health Rights? On my farewell it was the last time i saw her smiling and wishing me good luck. Still I can not believe that I will never see that smile again, I will never receive any encouraging mail from our beloved Nasreen Apa.
I am reciting Quran and praying that all of her work for humanity will certainly be leading her to the best place.
Zinat
Virginia, USA
May 4th, 2006 at 3:09 am
And now the Police opens investigation on her death.
Somokal report indicates something fishy
May 5th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
I won’t be surprised if something is indeed fishy in the circumstances. Her husband is a recent turncoat - he used to be in the progressive camp but recently has switched allegiance to the right. He seems to have become an adviser of the hawa bhaban along with Shafik Rehman et al. He has truly moved into the ‘dark side’.
May 5th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Yeah Yeah Yeah.
‘aaa’ exactly this is what I was expecting. Because her husband is not Awami, and death of Nasreen Haq has is now being investigated, it is definitely a must do to implicate the husband.
Nasreen’s death is the result of a freak accident and inefficiency of Bangladesh’s rudimentary trauma management system.
Nobody, planning to kill nasreen, will atempt to hit her in the leg inside the parking garage with a car. People usually don’t die that way.
May 6th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Tribute
The Unique, The Unforgettable — Nasreen Huq
Akhtar Sanjida Kasem
Nasreen Pervin Huq, the Country Director of Action Aid Bangladesh, with many other credentials to her credit — a person who had lived her life with the mission and vision of rights, justice and empowerment of the vulnerable — was killed in a tragic accident on April 24, 2006. She was almost beyond help when she was taken first to the Orthopedic Hospital, and later to the Dhaka CMH.
Hundreds of people crowded the corridors of Dhaka CMH throughout the day and night on April 24. With tears in their eyes and prayers on their lips, they desperately hoped for a miracle that did not happen. At around 8:00 pm, the announcement came, and the agonised waiting was over. It was now time for mourning. News spread like wildfire, and more and more people poured into the CMH, defying the rain, the storm, and the tight security within the Cantonment area, to grieve for an extraordinary woman.
At first, I, like many others, could not really believe that Nasreen Apa had been killed in a freak accident, caused by her car and her driver, in the premises of her house. But when we stood in silence before her lifeless body, there was no denying the fact that we had lost her forever.
Even then, she looked so peaceful in death. Her skin was pale and translucent. Her face was composed. It seemed as if she was sleeping, and would just wake up if we called her. The eyes would sparkle again with intelligence and humour, and the finely chiseled mouth would break into a warm smile.
Anyone who knew about her, would know that she changed the lives of many people, through her professional, and humanitarian work. She brought light, faith and hope in the lives of many people. She simply could not sit back and watch people suffer. Hundreds and thousands of people loved her, a few may have hated her too (it was only natural, as she never compromised). But one thing was certain, you could never forget her, ever. I had met her only a few years ago, and I consider it a privilege. Many people knew her more intimately for a longer period of time, and their grief must be unbearable at this moment.
She spearheaded the campaign against acid violence against women in Bangladesh, and was a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Acid Survivors Foundation. Her compassion for the acid survivors was unique. But mere words fail to express how much she meant to the acid survivors. These women (mostly young, some in their teens) suffered severe physical and psychological trauma. Nasreen Huq, through her relentless efforts, helped to restore their faith and trust in people, and reintegrated them in the society through education, employment and social interaction. I met Nasreen Apa recently at a programme organised to mark International Women’s Day, where some of the survivors were present. Someone was saying that one out of the five sentences they utter would be about their Nasreen Apa. We afterwards found that it was quite true. They got a new lease of life through her, and quite naturally, their life revolved around her.
Late Nasreen Huq was one of the most remarkable women in our country - in terms of education, professional status, and service to the society. She studied in the USA, and obtained her Masters Degree in Nutritional Science in 1989 from the University of California at Berkeley. She also did a short course on Women, Men and Development from the Institution of Development Studies, University of Sussex.
Besides being the Country Director of Action Aid International in Bangladesh, she was also the former Senior Policy Advisor of Hellen Keller International, former Research Nutritionist of BRAC, former Project Coordinator of ICPD Follow-up Programme in Naripokkho, and the Founder Director of Social Initiatives Ltd. She was a Gender Equity and Health consultant with many years of professional experience, she also had extensive experience promoting nutrition and health through a focus on women and children. She represented her organisation and her country at many national and international conferences. She was a member of the Bangladesh Delegation to the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and the Third Preparatory Committee Meeting (1994).
She was also the member of many important committees, for example, the Gender Advisory Committee, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Gender Advisory Panel for the Special Program on Reproductive Health, WHO, Geneva, and the Programme Advisory Committee, Asia Pacific Research and Resources Centre on Women and Health, Kuala Lumpur, to name a few.
The tragic and untimely death of such an accomplished person is an irreparable loss, not only to her family, friends and colleagues, but to the country as well.
There were many facets of Nasreen Apa’s personality, like those of a finely cut diamond. She was a devoted daughter, a loving sister, a cherished wife, and, in the later years of her life, a doting mother. She was blessed with an educated and enlightened family, who encouraged her to nurture her talent and potential.
We saw that she constantly re-invented herself. With the arrival of her daughter, she changed the whole concept of motherhood for a working woman. She was immensely happy and proud to be a mother, and shared her happiness with all those around her. Very few children are loved by their mother, the way Jamila was loved. Even in her last few moments of consciousness, she ensured that Jamila was safe and unhurt. When Jamila grows up, perhaps someone will tell her that she was blessed, albeit for a very short time, with one of the best mothers in the world.
We were always amazed with the way she bonded with small children. She would share chocolates with them, play with them with cars or spinning tops, and would not hesitate to let them play games on her state of the art laptop. It is no surprise that my son is crying his eyes out, mourning the loss of his “Nasreen Auntie.”
She was a warm and loving person, who valued and nurtured friendships. She was the busiest of us all, but she always had time for friend, family and colleagues. Her love and warmth reached out not only to her own friends, but to those of her husband’s as well. Those who have visited her house even once, would know that she was a gracious and generous hostess. It was impossible to leave her house without having a meal with her. Her gifts were exclusive and thoughtful — chosen with a lot of care, given with a lot of love.
All this talent, love, warmth, courage, commitment. . . destroyed in a moment of irresponsible recklessness!
Nasreen Huq was an icon in her lifetime. In death, she has attained immortality.
The writer is a Chartered and Cost and Management Accountant.
May 9th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Received this via email today:
We are profoundly grieved at the untimely death of Nasreen Huq. Your messages of condolence have given us support and comforted us at a time of deep sorrow and grief. This feeling is shared by Nasreen’s family, especially Shireen, her mother, brother, husband and brother-in-law. We have received messages from all over the world, from people who were either very close to Nasreen or Shireen, and even those who had met Nasreen briefly and were touched by her. We thank you for providing much-needed comfort and support to Nasreen’s friends and members of her family.
We would like to use this opportunity to describe to you in as much detail as we have been able to piece together, the nature of the accident that took Nasreen’s life. The incident happened on Monday morning (24 April 2006), when, as usual, Nasreen along with her little daughter, Jamila (who was 18 months old on that day), was setting off to work. Nasreen walked down the steps of her apartment on the 3rd floor with Jamila in her arms. The ActionAid car was already in the driveway waiting to pick her up. While Nasreen was in front of the car the driver half stepped out of the vehicle to greet Nasreen, when she called out to him that the car was moving. At this point the car lunged forward.
Instead of stepping on the brake, the driver apparently pushed the accelerator. Nasreen had no time to move away, and was rammed against a metal door in the wall. Somehow, she was able to hand over the baby to Bashir, the driver of their family car.
Her husband Choton and friend Ruma ran downstairs on hearing her screams. By this time the car had been lifted and pushed back to extricate Nasreen. All this time the driver remained seated in the car apparently in a state of shock. Choton, Ruma and Bashir and a driver drove her to the hospital, while she continued to bleed profusely.
Choton informed her mother’s home on the way to hospital.
Later she was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital to avail better facility, and despite all efforts, Nasreen expired around 8 in the evening. The unfortunate accident caused a rupture in her left femural artery which led to excessive bleeding. Despite infusion of blood Nasreen could not be saved. Attending doctors included her brother-in-law, Zafrullah Chowdhury and Shireen’s childhood friend, Naila Khan, for whom Nasreen was like a little sister. On hearing the news of the accident, hundreds of friends, relatives, colleagues and well-wishers had rushed to the hospital, and stood outside in a vigil, as her life slowly ebbed away.
A week after her death, and on recovering from the initial shock, family and friends, who had been visiting the site of the accident, started voicing doubts as to whether it was an accident or whether it was a premeditated attack on Nasreen. There is an investigation underway - a routine procedure instituted in case of any unnatural death. The driver has been take into custody, and is being questioned by the police.
It is indeed very distressing that we now have to think that somebody could have deliberately plotted against Nasreen’s life. ActionAid has also instituted an internal inquiry, and we are waiting for the results of the investigations.
We will keep you informed of the proceeding, and if, at any point, it is felt that some international pressure is needed to ensure a free and fair investigation, we will call on you to provide that support.
In response to many of your queries regarding contributions, please be informed that a trust is being set up to continue Nasreen’s efforts to provide a better life for those who need the support. In the near future you will all be informed about how you may participate in the noble cause.
Thank you again for your messages of support and condolence, and we do hope that we can count on your future support. Finally, we request you to send us in writing a few sentences or paragraphs on Nasreen which we would like to compile for a memorial publication. The Naripokkho website will provide more information and regular updates.
Maheen Sultan
Convenor
Naripokkho
GPO Box 723, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
E-mail: convenor@pradeshta.net
Phone: 88 02 8119917, 8153967
Website: http://www.naripokkho.org
May 11th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Nasreen Huq was a relative of my dad’s, and I really thought she was cool because she was feminist, and that’s not too common in Bangladesh. I really wish that I could have known her better. She had a really interesting life.
May 23rd, 2006 at 4:37 am
Thanks to Rumi and Asif for their concerns. I would like to add one more thing - Nurul Islam bhuiya Choton has been writing in Jaijaidin for long as “Noman Irfan”. Market rumor says that - he is the most trustworthy servant of Shafique rehman.
We can recall Ekushey Tv issue and more imporantly, brutal midnight police attack on Shamsunnahar Hall students in 2002. Jaijaidin supported police attacks!!!!
Is there any websiteon Shafiq Rehman’s mis-deeds? I am planning to launch a website on his hypocracy…
I wish to get your cooperations.
May 26th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
I hope that Jamila will know one day (when she is somewhat better able to understand what has happened) that the enduring love we feel for Nasreen extends to her as well.
Nasreen and I were roommates at Purchase College in New York. One thing that I believe most of us who are in mourning now can agree on is that our friendships with Nasreen had a particular timelessness about them. I might not hear from her for months, then I’d phone or e-mail her and it was as if we had only just spoken or seen each other. She was–is–a dear soul, a proud Bangladeshi for whom national borders meant little or nothing when caring about other human beings was involved. The language that we often slipped into was a mixture of English, Bangla and Yiddish (of all things). She lived by her principles, as many have said, and she could be quite fierce and tenacious, but that ferocity was motivated by caring and a desire for justice. It pains me that I will never hug Nasreen (whom I knew as Bilai and other endearments) again, but I hope to meet her daughter some day and help however I can to keep the memory of our extraordinary sister alive. May all that is good and loving meet her.
June 19th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
ive just watched the video clip about nasreen apa’s work.. and to now know of her fate sends me shivers throughout my entire body
may god rest her soul and give us the strength to carry on her work.
July 26th, 2006 at 10:55 am
Dear friends,
This is a long overdue follow up to our letter of 9 May 2006. Nasreen’s sudden and tragic death has left us all devastated. The continuing anxiety over not knowing what really happened on that day is taking its toll on all of us. However, the everyday demands of work have meant that members have had to try and get back to keeping things going.
Nasreen’s mother, sister Shireen, brother-in-law Zafrullah, nephew Bareesh, and husband Choton are still struggling to accept the reality of the loss of Happy, as are the members of her wider ‘family’ and friends. Little Jamila’s smiles, so reminiscent of Happy, provides solace, even as she points to Happy’s photographs, saying “Mama”, sometimes in a tone of assertion and pride in her being able to do so, sometimes in a tone of query. Shireen, Zafrullah and Choton have rejoined work. The knowledge that her death may not have been an accident and keeping track of the investigation takes up much of the remaining energy of the family.
A Nasreen Huq Memorial Committee was formed, composed of several women’s organisations and human rights groups, with Naripokkho as Convenor. It has been dealing with following the official investigation to ensure that the truth is brought to light and that all the various questions surrounding Nasreen’s death and how it was dealt with by the various parties, such as the police and her organisation ActionAid Bangladesh, are satisfactorily answered. The Committee is open to the possibility that Nasreen’s death could have been caused by a freak and very unfortunate accident. If so, this too has to be fully investigated and satisfactorily proven. However the questions that have arisen that suggest that it might not have been an accident, also have to be satisfactorily resolved.
The police investigation was delayed, apparently because the family had not filed a formal complaint. Although the police had filed a general diary on which the investigation should have proceeded, it appears not to have been the case. These are some of the routine lapses of our criminal justice system! The delay in the investigation, in particular that the driver of the ActionAid car which had rammed in to Nasreen was not questioned for nearly ten days, may mean a loss of valuable evidence.
Only after Shireen and other family members met with the Minister for Home Affairs on 2 May 2006 did the investigation get started. The driver was arrested on the next day. He was in police custody for nearly 15 days. During the interrogation he consistently stated that he cannot recall how and what happened. He also maintained that he alone was responsible for the accident. He is now out on bail.
Immediately after Nasreen’s death the family has said a post-mortem was
not required since they did not suspect anything more than a freak
accident. However once doubts began to be voiced the need for a post mortem was identified. Nasreen’s body was exhumed on 19 June 2006 and an autopsy was done at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after which she was re-buried that same afternoon. The viscera examination is still pending at the Chemical Examiner’s Lab and therefore the report is delayed. The exhumation was done at the insistence of the family and the police maintained that it was not necessary at this stage of the investigation. Other legal advisors felt that it should be done sooner than later and in fact all unnatural deaths necessitate post mortems.
The Memorial Committee has been monitoring the investigation and has had two formal meetings with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), one on the 24th of May 2006 and the other on the 4th of July 2006. The first meeting served to reassure the Committee that all was being done to conduct a thorough investigation. The second meeting was more frustrating and pointed out the limitations of such a committee trying to scrutinize such a police investigation. However the Committee remains determined to follow-up the status of the investigation and keep up some form of pressure on the CID.
The investigation process has been very slow. On one hand this is not surprising considering the weaknesses in the Bangladeshi law enforcement and criminal justice systems. On the other hand it is surprising for such a high profile case.
The Memorial Committee has also raised concerns about the way the ActionAid Bangladesh office responded to the incident. These were communicated to Noerine Kaleeba, the Chair of the ActionAid Board in a letter on 24 May 2006. Ms. Kaleeba replied immediately to convey the Board’s condolences and to say that they would await the results of the official investigation and then consider the Committee’s queries. We will be following up with an acknowledgement letter to AA and also asking about progress on their end.
We are also trying to find out more about any politically sensitive issues Nasreen might have been working on before her death, which might have disturbed any vested interests.
We feel that the process of discovering the truth behind the incident and ensuring justice for Nasreen will be a long drawn out one. We are counting on the support of all of you who knew Nasreen and cared about her to sustain her family and us through this process.
For all those of you, overseas and outside Dhaka, who would like to participate in the experience of active remembrance, there are a number of ways open for consideration.
The first way is to be part of commemorating Nasreen and her unfinished work by volunteering to be part of certain projects or movements she held dear. Ways in which this can be done will be elaborated and sent out. The second way is to contribute articles, essays and personal reminiscences for a commemorative volume. The deadline for these writings is 31st August 2006. Pieces which do not meet the deadline will be considered for another volume, possibly to be published in 2007. A third way would be to contribute to a Trust Fund that the family will set up to support work that Nasreen had started and/or would want to see done. This is in the process of being set up and we will be informing you of progress.
If any of you have ideas, suggestions and/or comments regarding the manner in which we can dedicate ourselves to Nasreen, please do not hesitate to contact me, Firdous Azim or even Shireen Huq
January 26th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Any update on Nasreen Haq’s death mystery ? There is no follow-ups in the newspapers anymore.
March 17th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Is there any progress on Nasreen Huq’s death investigation?
March 18th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
“May 15, 2006
The Daily Star
Nasreen’s murder was pre-planned, says CID IO
The killing of ActionAid country director Nasreen Perveen Huq was a ‘pre-planned’ one, the CID officer investigating the case remarked before taking her driver on a fresh three-day remand yesterday.
Assistant Superintendent Arman Ali of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took the charge of investigating the case yesterday and sought fresh remand for Zakir Hossain, Nasreen’s driver. “He needs to be quizzed more,” he argued in his petition to a Dhaka court.
Nasreen died from the injuries she received while waiting at the parking lot of her apartment building on April 24 when the driver allegedly lost control of her car and crushed her against a wall.”
We already passed 11 months, but we do not know who murdered Nasreen Apa.
Is it Fundamentalist, Asia Energy or anybody else?
I really confused to learned that in Khaleda Nizami’s Government, Dr. Kamal Siddiqi and Energy Secretary Nasiruddin were promoting Asia Energy, those people were also close to Nasreen Apa.
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
As I am reading the articles today, I am just wondering what has become of the investigation into Nasreen’s death. While the country’s new government is doing a brilliant job of eradicating corruption, shaking off dust gathered in the system..I am requesting Nasreen’s family and friend to see if the reason for her untimely death could also be put into the notice of the police system, the home office etc.
As her friend, the last thing I would feel terribly sorry to see was her ‘death’ being taken as a part ‘unhappy history’ without any proper conclusion made. Nasreen has always fought for justice, I hope justice is what she will get from the concentrated efforts of her well-wishers and friends in seeking the truth behind her freaky accident. My prayers are always for her. May Allah rest her soul in peace.