Bangladeshi Human Rights Activist Sanjida Islam Tulee Shortlisted for 2025 Human Rights Tulip Bangladeshi Human Rights Activist Sanjida Islam Tulee Shortlisted for 2025 Human Rights Tulip Award

Bangladeshi human rights activist Sanjida Islam Tulee has been shortlisted for the 2025 edition of the Human Rights Tulip, one of the Netherlands’ most prestigious international honours given to defenders of human rights worldwide. As a nominee, Tulee joins nine other individuals and organisations from across the globe.

Tulee is the founder of Maayer Daak (Mother’s Call), a platform that represents families of victims of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh.

Her activism was triggered after her brother was allegedly abducted in 2013; since then, she has been leading the struggle for truth, justice, and accountability, documenting missing-persons cases, supporting affected families, and campaigning for human rights and transparency under serious challenges.

The 2025 Human Rights Tulip shortlist was announced by the foreign ministry of the Netherlands following a global selection process involving Dutch embassies and civil-society organisations. All shortlisted candidates will receive an embassy-provided “tulip” in recognition of their work.

From among them, a final winner will be selected by an independent panel of human rights experts. The winner, to be announced on 10 December, International Human Rights Day, will receive a monetary prize and additional support to scale up their human-rights work.

In response to the announcement, senior political figures and human-rights supporters in Bangladesh hailed the nomination as a matter of national pride, emphasising that it draws international attention to the plight of families of disappeared persons and the broader struggle for justice and human rights in Bangladesh.

Tulee’s inclusion among the 2025 finalists underscores the continuing global recognition of efforts to defend human rights, speak for victims of enforced disappearances, and seek accountability and justice under difficult circumstances.