Syeda Razia Faiz
Syeda Razia Faiz was a prominent Bangladeshi politician. She served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 1960s. In 1979, she became the first woman to be elected as one of 300 members of the Jatiya Sangsad.
Early life and family
Faiz was born on 18 April 1936 into a Bengali Muslim family of Syeds from the village of Talibpur in Murshidabad. Her father, Syed Badrudduja, was a mayor of Kolkata and a member of the Bengal [Legislative Assembly |Bengal Legislative Assembly] and India's Lok Sabha.Meanwhile, her sister Syeda Sakina Islam, was among the 30 nominated members for reserved women’s seats in the same national parliament.
Career
Faiz was elected to the Pakistan National Assembly in the 1960s under President Ayub Khan, representing the country on a number of delegations overseas, demonstrating a unique moment in history where she was a Pakistani stateswoman concurrently to her father’s membership of India’s Lok Sabha.During the Bangladesh Liberation War she was also part of the Pakistani delegation to the United Nations. She was placed under house arrest in Bangladesh after its independence.
In 1979, Faiz was elected from the former constituency of Abdus Sabur Khan to Bangladesh's Parliament. She was the first female elected member of parliament in Bangladesh. In 1989, she was appointed as the minister for women and social welfare during the regime of Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Later, she served as the Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party until her death.