Syeda Razia Faiz

Syeda Razia Faiz (18 April 1936 – 15 November 2013) was a Bangladeshi politician. She served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 1960s. In 1979, she became the first and only woman to be elected as a member of the Jatiya Sangsad out of 300 members.^[1][2]

Syeda Razia Faiz
সৈয়দা রাজিয়া ফয়েজ
Member of Jatiya Sangsad
In office 18 February 1979 – 12 February 1982
Preceded by	Salahuddin Yusuf
Constituency	Khulna-14 (now-defunct)
In office 1 October 2001 – 29 October 2006
Succeeded by	Syeda Jebunnesa Haque
Constituency	Reserved Women's Seat–35
Personal details
Born	(1936-04-18)18 April 1936 Murshidabad, Bengal Province, British India
Died	15 November 2013(2013-11-15) (aged 77) Dhaka, Bangladesh
Political party	Bangladesh Nationalist Party Islami Jatiya Oikya Front
Spouse	Mohammad Abul Faiz
Parent	Syed Badrudduja (father)
Relatives	Syeda Sakina Islam (sister)

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 and India's Lok Sabha.^[1]

Meanwhile, her sister Syeda Sakina Islam, was among the 30 nominated/selected members of the reserved women seats (a quota for the winning party which holds the parliamentary majority) of the same national parliament.^[3]

Career

Faiz (pictured middle row, first from left) on a diplomatic delegation, with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai

Faiz was elected to Pakistan National Assembly in the 1960s under President Ayub Khan,^[4] representing the country on a number of delegations overseas.^[3] During the Bangladesh Liberation War she was also part of the Pakistani delegation to the United Nations.^[4] She was placed under house arrest in Bangladesh after its independence.^[4]

In 1979, Faiz was elected from the former constituency of Abdus Sabur Khan to Bangladesh's Parliament.^[4] She was the first female elected member of parliament in Bangladesh.^[3] In 1989, she was appointed as the minister for women and social welfare^[1] Later, she served as the vice president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party until her death.^[5]

Personal life and death

Faiz was married to Mohammad Abul Faiz, a chairman of Petrobangla. They had a daughter, Fawzia Alam, and two sons, Osman Ershad Faiz and Aman Ashraf Faiz.^[1] She died on 15 November 2013.^[5]