FARIDA AKHTER

email: faridaakhter.ubinig@gmail.com/kachuripana@gmail.com

PROFILE

Place of Birth: Chandaish Chittagong, Bangladesh

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Educational background: Masters in Economics, Chittagong University, Bangladesh

Farida Akhter is the founding Executive Director of UBINIG established in 1984. UBINIG (Policy Research for Development Alternative) is a policy and action research organization in Bangladesh. Its main work is research, campaign, and advocacy and to undertake action programs in the field of social development. UBINIG runs field offices called Biddaghors in three districts, including Tangail, Pabna, and Kushtia. In these centres, UBINIG carries out ecological agriculture programmes with farmers, fishers and other relevant occupational groups. Over 300,000 farming families, including fishers, and livestock keepers, are involved in the program and following a biodiversity-based system called Nayakrishi Andolon. This movement is comprised of small-scale farmers having land below 5 acres. The farmers preserve local variety seeds and carry out research on over 3000 varieties of rice. UBINIG helps the farmers through the Community Seed Wealth Centres and an active Network of Nayakrishi Seed Network. UBINIG also works on poultry bird diversity, and livestock animals those which are raised by the rural families specially the women. UBINIG is working in two major tobacco growing areas helping farmers willing to get out of tobacco cultivation for alternative crop production. UBINIG also is a part of a South Asia regional programme called Community Biodiversity Management (CBM).

UBINIG works with potters, weavers and different artisan communities. UBINIG also runs Narigrantha Prabartana, the first and only feminist bookstore and feminist publishing house in Bangladesh. Narigrantha Prabartana runs a Women and Biodiversity Network in 46 districts of the country.

She is the Convenor of Anti-Tobacco Women’s Alliance (in Bangla called Tamak Birodhi Nari Jote TABINAJ) and Women and Biodiversity Network which are active in 45 districts of the country.

Since 1985, she has been actively involved in the national level women’s movement and is an active member of various international networks. Have been active in organising many international regional and national conferences in Bangladesh.

She has been the Co-Convenor of Shasthya Andolon, (Health Movement) since 2000.

• Member of Resistance Network, a network of various women’s organizations on the issues of women’s health.
• Member of the South Asia Network on Food, Ecology and Culture (SANFEC).
• Council Member of Asian Women’s Human Rights Council (AWHRC)
• Instructor, Participatory Action Research and Planning SAS2 Dialogue, Canada

www.participatoryactionresearch.net

She has presented papers in many international and regional conferences held in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America,

Participated in the Conference of the Parties (COP) of Convention on Biological Diversity, and WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) on Framework Convention. Also Participated in the World Conference on Tobacco or Health, held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2015

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Since 1980, she has carried out extensive research in the field of women's development, health issues, agriculture, fisheries (marine), handloom industries, garment industries, population and other related development issues.

As a researcher, she has been leading the major research works carried out by UBINIG. These include research works on health care system, shrimp cultivation, tobacco cultivation, biodiversity, handloom and textiles etc.  

a. Social Research on Health:

1. Illness Behaviour “Experiences from Six Villages in Bangladesh, Part A : General Indicatiors, Sponsored by Essential Drugs Project - A GOB/Danida/Sida/Who Project, 1988.

2. “ A Study of the impact of the UHFWC and the Medical Assistant in two Unions of Bangladesh” 1984. Research Conducted by: UBINIG in 1984 Research sponsored by: Royal Netherlands Embassy

3. Emergency Food and Medical Supplies in Bangladesh 1988-89 Research conducted by : UBINIG in 1989 Research sponsored by : Gonoshayastha Kendra and CUSO

b. Research on Industrialisation and Industrial workers:

1. “Implications of the Introduction of New Technologies for the Role of Women in the Textile and Clothing industry in Asian Developing Countries” The Case of Bangladesh, Sponsored by: UNIDO, Vienna, 1990.

2. “Women Workers on Glass, Telephone, Textile, Electronics and Garment Industries in Bangladesh”, Regional Study on Impact of Industrial Restructuring on the Conditions of Women Workers in Six Asian Countries, Sponsored by: CAW (committee for Asian Women) Hong Kong, 1994.

3. The Impact of Technological Changes on Women's Work in Bangladesh

Research conducted by : UBINIG in 1995 Research sponsored by : The United Nations University-Institute for New Technologies

4. Options for Women in Textile and Handloom Sector

Research Conducted by: UBINIG in 2002-2003 Sponsored by: United Nations Development Fund for Women

c. Research on shrimp

1. Study on Socio-Economic and Cultural Live of Shrimp Fry Collectors in Coastal Area of Bangladesh Research Conducted by : UBINIG in 1987 Research Sponsored by: Bay of Bengal Programme of FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of UN)

2. A study on Freshwater Prawn (M. Rosenberg II) Fry Marketing in Borguna, Patuakhali and Chittagong Research conducted by : UBINIG in 1989 Research sponsored by : Bay of Bengal Program (BOBP) of FAO, Madras, India

d. Research on Agriculture and related issues

1. Study on Women and Pesticides Research conducted by UBINIG in 1998, Research sponsored by : Pesticide Action Network - Asia and the Pacific2. Uncultivated Food: In the Context of Food Security of Rural Communities

Research conducted by UBINIG in 1998 -1999 Research sponsored by : International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada

3. Farmer Based Strategies for Enhancing Community Seed Wealth & Agro-biodiversity

A UBINIG ongoing study (2000-2003) Sponsored by : IDRC, Canada

4. Food Security in South Asia: Enhancing Community Capacity to Generate Knowledge and Influence Policy A UBINIG Action Research Study in 1999-2002

Sponsored by: UADRA (Using Agricultural Diversity Research Award) of IDRC, Canada and SANFEC (South Asian Network for Food, Ecology and Cultural)

5. Action Research on Community-based Biodiversity Management

(Strengthening Livelihood and Building Resilience to Climate Change in Rural Communities)  A South Asia Country-Based Program conducting by UBINIG for the period 2008-2013 Sponsored By: Local Initiative for Biodiversity Research and Management – LI-BIRD, Nepal in collaboration with Development Fund, Norway

6. Women, Rice and Livelihood, An explorative study supported by IWRAW Asia Pacific in 2016

e. Research and action on Tobacco cultivation and alternative livelihood

1. Study on "From Tobacco to Food Production: Assessing Constraints and Transition Strategies (Bangladesh)" Research Conducted by: UBINIG in 2006-2008

Sponsored By: International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada

2. Study on “From Tobacco to Food Production: Consolidation, Dissemination and Policy Advocacy (Bangladesh)” Research Conducted by: UBINIG in 2009-2011 Sponsored By: International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada

Editorial experiences

She has edited many books published by Narigratha Prabartana. She is a regular column in national newspapers and journals within and outside the country.

Books [in English]

1. Women and Trees

Trees in the life of Women in Kaijuri Village, 1990 Published by Narigrantha Prabartana

2. Food Sovereignty and Uncultivated Biodiversity in South Asia: Essays on the Poverty of Food Policy and the Wealth of the Social Landscape Joint Author with Farhad Mazhar, Daniel Buckles and P.V. Satheesh, 2007

3. Breaking the Dependency on Tobacco Production: Transition Strategies for Bangladesh, by Farida Akhter, Daniel Buckles and Rafiqul Haque Tito in the book Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming: Separating Myth from Reality; edited by Wardie Leppan, Natacha Lecours and Daniel Buckles, published by ANTHEM PRESS, IDRC, 2014

4. Depopulating Bangladesh, Essays on the Politics of Fertility and Reproductive Rights by Farida Akhter published by Narigrantha Prabartana (second edition) 2022

Books [in Bangla]

5. “Freedom from Tobacco Chain” (Bangla) findings of UBINIG research on shifting out of tobacco to food production, supported by IDRC, Canada, 2012

6. Protirodhe Nari: by Farida Akhter, published by Agami Prokashoni (second Edition) 2024

7. Purushtontro O Nari co-authored with Farhad Mazhar, published by Adarsho, 2022

8. Bikrito Beez, by Farida Akhter published by Agami Prokashoni (second Edition) 2024

Residence: Huq Garden, Apt # 4AB 1 Ring Road, Shaymoli, Dhaka – 1207

BANGLADESH