ARTICLE 19 Regional Director Tahmina Rahman has been awarded the UK government’s Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her outstanding services to freedom of expression and the right to information in Bangladesh. 

Tahmina has been put in the list of diplomatic service and overseas, according to a press release issued this afternoon.

A total of 1,109 people is on the honours list, of whom 438 are awarded as MBE while 221 as OBE and 303 as BEM, reports UK’s daily Mirror.

ARTICLE 19’s regional director for Bangladesh and South Asia, Tahmina has a distinguished career in promoting human rights. For about a decade now, she conducted human rights projects on freedom of expression and access to information, the organisation’s release added.

"I am extremely pleased that Tahmina is being honoured for her work in defending and promoting freedom of expression and information. Under her leadership, the ARTICLE 19 regional office in Dhaka has achieved many notable successes and helped improve the lives of many in Bangladesh," said Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, Thomas Hughes.

Recognition for her work by the UK government clearly demonstrates the commitment and impact that Tahmina and her team are achieving, he added.

Tahmina studied law at Dhaka University and has a Master in Laws from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies. She was a McArthur Fellow at Harvard University and has recently been awarded the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and Rule of Law.

Awarded for the first time, in 2016, jointly by Germany and France to human rights defenders from around the world, the prize honours the work of the recipients for demonstrating great civic courage in order to improve the protection of human rights in their respective countries.