SALMA SOBHAN (1937- 2003)

In 1986, along with eight other members, Salma Sobhan founded Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), and was its first Executive Director until her retirement in 2001. Under the leadership of Salma Sobhan, ASK has developed into one of the leading organizations involved in human rights activism and extending legal aid services to deprived women. Today ASK has a staff of nearly 200 people and has received strong national and international recognition. Salma Sobhan also contributed towards establishing the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST).

Salma Sobhan , barrister, teacher, human rights activist was a source of inspiration for human right activists in Bangladesh. She practiced at the bar for a few years, taught law in the university of Dhaka and she became an activist through her legal aid work.

Salma Sobhan pioneered the concept of educating the deprived women of Bangladesh about their legal rights. She helped to develop a legal aid programme for BRAC which contributed to spreading legal knowledge to rural women in the remote areas of Bangladesh and was directly involved in supervising the implementation process of this project.

Salma Sobhan was a founding member and a staunch ally of APWLD. She was a member of the APWLD Regional Council and was part of the constitutional review committee in 2003. Salma will be remembered as an active, vibrant woman, committed to her work as a lawyer activist for women's rights.

She played a leading role in the development of Women Living Under Muslim Law network. Just before her death, she was elected as a board member of Geneva based UN Research Institute for Social Development.

Salma Sobhan died of a heart attack on December 30, 2003.