The passing of Sigma Huda leaves a huge void in our hearts as well as in her country Bangladesh. The government clampdown on widespread protests by students has led to over 100 deaths. Sigma’s voice in such a situation would count.

A prominent lawyer and human rights advocate, she passed away in Dhaka on July 17, succumbing to long-standing health conditions. She was 79.

A lawyer and a champion of women’s rights, she was a valued member of the Sapan family – the Southasia Peace Action Network bringing together activists, journalists, medical professionals and students across the region and diaspora.

Those of us who knew her, and also those who didn’t, deeply mourn her passing.

Born Sigma Kabir, she held a law degree from the University of Peshawar before 1971, and became an Advocate of the Supreme Court of the newly independent country of Bangladesh in 1972.

She was passionate, articulate and had spent her life fighting for a fairer world.

Her husband Nazmul Huda, also a prominent lawyer active in politics - he had held positions like minister of information with the government of Bangladesh – passed away in February 2023.

Sigma was appointed the first UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in persons, in 2004. She founded several NGOs, including the Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association and Acid Survivors Foundation. She was a member of the National Council for Women in Development and held significant positions in the Bangladesh Bar Council.

In 2007, she was awarded Pope John Paul II Wellspring of Freedom Award for dedicating her life to upholding human rights and combating injustice.

“Women and children continue to fall prey to international prostitution networks,” she said, urging greater cooperation among the countries in the region, speaking at Sapan’s webinar on ‘Combat the Trafficking of Women in Southasia’, to mark UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons a year ago, in July 2023.

The sister of feminist activist Khushi Kabir, a fierce and fiery founding member of Sapan, Sigma will be deeply missed.

CAPTION: Advocate Sigma Huda speaking at the Sapan seminar on the battle to stop the trafficking of women and girls in Bangladesh

Her niece Ananya Jahanara Kabir, author of Partition’s Post-Amnesias: 1947, 1971 and Modern South Asia (Women Unlimited, 2013) is a professor of English Literature at King’s College London. Ananya was also a speaker at the Sapan seminar, Beyond Partitions: Shared Histories, Ways Forward’. (video here)

(The author is a journalist with over two decades of experience across South Asia. A Charles Wallace scholar, she has been the chronicler of tiny details and people who are footnotes in history. She is a founding member of the Southasia Peace Action Network. By special arrangement with Sapan)