Nazrul Islam Ritu (Bengali:নজরুল ইসলাম রিতু; born 15 June 1979[1]) is a Bangladeshi activist and politician. She was born on 15 June 1979. She[a] is the first hijra (third gender) elected union parishad chairperson in Bangladesh. She lives in Trilochanpur, Jhenaidah District.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Nazrul Islam Ritu
নজরুল ইসলাম রিতু
Born (1979-06-15) 15 June 1979 (age 44)
Trilochanpur, Bangladesh
NationalityBangladeshi
OccupationPolitician

Life and career edit

Nazrul Islam Ritu was born in Trilochanpur, but had to flee when she was five years old and took refuge in a transgender commune located in Demra Thana, Dhaka.[14][15] In her late twenties, she returned to Trilochanpur and became known for her charity and assistance, notably by donating to a number of local Hindu temples and helping with the construction of two new mosques.[14] Ritu started her political career in 2020 from Jhenaidah district, and promised to "eradicate corruption and uproot the drug menace". She ran as an independent in the elections and won against her opponent, Nazrul Islam Sana, who was supported by the ruling Awami League, with an over 2:1 vote ratio.[15][16]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Sources state that Ritu uses "female and male pronouns", but mostly use she/her pronouns when describing her. This article will use she/her for consistency.

References edit

  1. ^ ucanews.com. "Bangladesh Catholic news today , Latest updates - UCA News". www.ucanews.com. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  2. ^ Assunção, Muri. "Bangladesh elects first transgender mayor: 'The glass ceiling is breaking'". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  3. ^ Saha, Partha Shankar (2021-11-29). "'If I wasn't a 'hijra', perhaps they wouldn't have said all this'". Prothom Alo (Opinion). Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  4. ^ "Town in Bangladesh Elects Country's First Trans Mayor". The Advocate. 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  5. ^ "Bangladesh town elects country's first transgender mayor". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  6. ^ "Bangladeshi transgender's polls win a lesson for Malaysia: FMT opinion". The Daily Star. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  7. ^ "Nazrul Islam Ritu, Perempuan Transgender Muslim yang Jadi Walikota di Bangladesh". kumparan (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  8. ^ "UP polls: Ritu takes aim at corruption, drugs". Dhaka Tribune. 2021-11-29. Archived from the original on 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  9. ^ "Nazrul Islam Ritu entra nella storia, è la prima sindaca transgender del Bangladesh". greenMe (in Italian). 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  10. ^ "Nazrul Islam Ritu prima sindaca transgender del Bangladesh". Dire.it (in Italian). 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  11. ^ "Nazrul Islam Ritu makes history as Bangladesh's first out trans mayor". GAY TIMES. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  12. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "তৃতীয় লিঙ্গের নজরুলের কাছে নৌকার হার | DW | 29.11.2021". DW.COM (in Bengali). Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  13. ^ "বাংলাদেশে প্রথম তৃতীয় লিঙ্গের নজরুল ইসলাম ঋতু চেয়ারম্যান নির্বাচিত". BBC News বাংলা (in Bengali). 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  14. ^ a b "Rural town elects Bangladesh's first transgender mayor". Deccan Herald. 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  15. ^ a b "Jhenaidah's Nazrul Islam Ritu becomes first transgender UP chairman in Bangladesh". The Independent. Dhaka. UNB. 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  16. ^ AsiaNews.it. "First transgender to lead local government in Jhenaidah". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 2022-02-09.