BADC Celebrates International Women's Day 2015

Bangladeshi American Democratic Coalition (BADC) celebrated International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, 2015, at The Villages in San Jose, CA, with about 150 people in attendance. 

Organized by Nasreen Rahim, president of BADC, vice-president Tina Jabeen, general secretary Tahsina Haque, and director of outreach Nilufar Haque, the “Make It Happen” day recognized and honored several America women of Bangladeshi heritage for their outstanding contributions to society. The honorees were Rahima Mohammed, principal engineer at Intel, Sitara Khan, philanthropist extraordinaire, Samihah Azim, product design manager, Fahmida Ahmed, environmentalist and sustainability leader, Suhaila Khan, physician, Sylvia Reshmeen, artist and calligrapher, Naushaba Rashid, innovative financial planner in a field dominated by men, and Zakia Afrin, human rights advocate and professor of international law.

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Mike Honda, Congressman from California, sent a congratulatory congressional letter that lauded the successes of BADC. “Today’s event celebrates International Women’s Day and promotes the achievements of Bangladeshi American women leaders in the Bay Area. As a strong supporter of women’s rights, I understand the importance of holding events that highlight the contributions of women to our communities.”

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Among the prominent politicians joining the celebration were supervisor Dave Cortese, supervisor Cindy Chavez and council member Ash Kalra. Their message was unifying and inspiring. More women must run for public offices because they bring different and more humane gifts to the mix. They are better at forging consensus. They know how to appeal to the better angel of our nature to reach common ground on contentious issues. They act on the conviction that peace requires more courage than war.

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Ania Alam, founder of “Outdoor Endorphins” that uses the healing powers of the outdoors to help at-risk high-school students develop their confidence and social skills, moved the attendees with her poignant reflection on the influence her grandmother, the late Dr. Razia Moni Khatun, had on her. “She gave me the strength and the motivation to pursue a career in medicine. My generation is inspired by women leaders of the past. In my case, it is my grandmother. She is no more but I feel her influence in my life every day.”

A lively panel discussion by the honorees of what can “Make It Happen” for women concluded the event. The consensus was that empowering women and ensuring their safety and security worldwide will succeed if grassroots organizations work locally to educate men about their responsibilities toward women while inspiring women to reach for the stars.

It is one of the goals of the Bangladeshi American Democratic Coalition to become such an organization.

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BADC News, September 2014

September 7, 2014: The Executive Committee (EC) of BADC met at the residence of Nilufar and Yusuf Haque at Woodside, California, for their monthly meeting. The Committee reviewed and defined the duties and responsibilities of each EC member. Everyone agreed that the preparatory phase was over and that it was now time for measurable and sustained action.

The newly-formed Advisory Board of BADC had its first quarterly meeting with the EC members, also at the residence of Nilufar and Yusuf Haque at Woodside, California. Both the EC and the Advisory Board participants unanimously nominated Ferdous Alam to be the Chair of the Advisory Board. He will be the point of contact between the EC and the Advisory Board for BADC. Among those who traveled far to attend the meeting included 
- Rashida Majumder, representing Fremont, Union City, Newark, San Ramon, and Pittsburg, 
- Sayeda Lata, representing Sacramento, Folsom and Davis, and 
- Mizan Rahman, representing San Francisco, North Bay, East Bay, Berkeley and Contra Costa County

As always, the gracious hosts provided the perfect environment for animated and fruitful discussions among members, while also offering a variety of nourishing delicacies to keep the energy levels of participants high.

Report on Current BADC Activities (July-August 2014)

On Thursday, July 10, Nasreen Rahim, Tahsina Haq and Nilufar Haque attended the Santa Clara County Democratic Club as the formally-nominated Executive Board of BADC.

In the first week of July, Executive Committee (EC) members were busy researching the state and federal financial and legal documents to ensure that the paperwork met the deadline and all the criteria. Steve Preminger, President of SCCDP, suggested that we request the help of Herb Engstrom for help with financial and legal documents.

On July 15, the BADC-USA (umbrella for all BADCs in the US) caucus leaders met congressmen Sander Levin, John Conyers, Gary Peters, Chris Van Hollen, John Dingell, and representatives of congressmen George Miller, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chris Van Hollen, Mike Honda, Keith Ellison, Gerry Connolly and Rush Holt. The intention of the Democratic Party Caucus was to play a complementary role and provide positive feedback towards the development of Bangladesh while strengthening US-Bangladesh bilateral relations. BADC-USA President Nazmul Hassan and VP Zakirul Haque kept the Bay Area BADC updated.

Regarding Bangladesh Garments, the following issues were presented:

• Reinstatement of a trade privilege, GSP (generalized system of preferences), that was blocked last year
• Request duty-free access for Bangladeshi garment items to the US market

On July 18, 2014, BADC was invited to the Bay Area Sikh Panchayat event honoring US Congressman Mike Honda (CA-17) in Chandni Restaurant, Newark, CA. The American Sikh Congressional Caucus was also represented in the event, along with CAIR and others.

Satinder Malhi, young democrat of Contra Costa County, inspiring youths in the audience

On July 24, Arinee Rahman, along with three of her friends, including Angela Cortese (daughter of San Jose mayoral candidate Dave Cortese), hosted a vigil for peace between Palestine and Israel to remember and commemorate all the lives lost in this conflict, in front of San Jose City Hall, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

On August 12, EC members agreed to unanimously endorse SB 52 (California Disclose Act). To receive the input of the rest of the BADC members and finalize the endorsement, a survey will be emailed to all BADC members: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MHNXBZX. 

The deadline for responding to this survey is Sunday, August 31, 2014.

Also on August 12, Herb Engstrom, CDC Treasurer and Treasurer of the Santa Clara County Democratic Club met with Nasreen Rahim and agreed to meet with the BADC EC to help with the club finances and other legal paperwork with the federal and state.

On August 15, the BADC Advisory Board members were finalized, along with membership drive sub-committee coordinator.

On August 17, at 10:30 am, the EC and a couple of Advisory Board members attended the “Club Finances” training session with Herb Engstrom for approximately 2 hours. In this session, members learned about the finer details of maintaining the club finances, as well as filing relevant legal documents.

On Monday, August 18, an invitation to the first meeting of EC with the Advisory Board, scheduled for Sunday, September 7, was emailed to members. 

New BADC Executive Committee Members Elected

On May 8, 2014, Rashida Majumder, coordinator of Bangladeshi American 
Democratic Coalition (BADC) Election Commission, announced to the 
community that the following nominated candidates have been elected 
uncontested:

Nasreen Rahim – President
Farkhanda Jabeen (Tina) – Vice President
Tahsina Haq - General Secretary
Nilufar Haque - Director of Outreach 
Mahbub Alam – Treasurer

The following letter went out to BADC members from the newly-elect 
President of BADC:

18 May 2014 

Dear BADC Members,


On-behalf of BADC Executive Committee, I would like to thank you for electing us to the following positions, uncontested: 

Nasreen Rahim – President

Farkhanda Jabeen (Tina) – Vice President

Mahbub Alam – Treasurer

Tahsina Haq - Gen. Secretary

Nilufar Haque - Dir. Of Outreach











Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the four talented BADC Election Commissioners: Rashida Majumder, Badrul Hasan, Sohel Imtiaz, and Abu Hena Kamal. 
 It is their commitment that made the BADC election process so smooth.

According to the Election Commissioners, the effective date of the start of the new BADC Executive Committee is May 18, 2014. 
The Transition BADC Executive Committee has been dissolved.

As the official BADC Executive Committee, we pledge to do our best to promote the interest of 
Bangladeshi-Americans. Let us work together toward achieving our common goals.


Sincerely,

Nasreen Rahim

President, BADC

Bio-sketches of BADC’s elected executive committee members, 2014, 
are as follows:

		Nasreen Rahim, President - Nasreen Rahim is a professor and Staff Development Chair at Evergreen Valley College (EVC), San Jose, California. She is the recipient of the most distinguished faculty of the year 2012 award at EVC. Currently, Professor Rahim is completing her doctorate in Leadership in International Education. She is an Executive member of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) 6157. As Interim Vice-President of BADC, she has already created a strong network with leading politicians of the Santa Clara County and the California Democratic Party. As the current President of BADC, her goal will be to nurture the next generation of leaders from among Bangladeshi-American women and young adults.
		Farkhanda Jabeen (Tina), Vice President - Tina Jabeen is a Director in a private equity firm in San Francisco. She works with a number of non-profit organizations – Agami, to name only one – that are focused on education and women’s health for marginalized people in the slums and rural areas of Bangladesh. She is also active with Sneha, a non-profit organization based in Canada, that works primarily on education and rehabilitation of families for garments workers in Bangladesh. She is passionate about Bangla language and culture and actively supports initiatives to promote them. Tina has been involved with BADC since 2012. As the Vice President of BADC, she would like to connect issues of the local Bangladeshi community to the local political arena. Tina graduated from Haas School of Business in 1995 and has been living in the Bay area since 1989 with her husband Md. Salahuddin and mother Najma Khatun.
		Tahsina Haq, General Secretary - Tahsina Haq is a quality control technician at Reed and Graham Inc. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from San Jose State University. Tahsina’s political involvement began from high school when she worked as an election officer for three years. She went on to champion minimum wage workers by working on Measure D and getting it passed through a joint effort with other activists. She played a critical role in establishing BADC as a club with the Santa Clara County Democratic Party. She has interned with the Labor Council in its Summer Justice program in which she got training in community outreach, strategic research, political strategy and networking. She is passionate about working with people of all ages and backgrounds in building an informed and progressive community from which the next generation of Bangladeshi-American politicians can rise to local, state and national prominence.
		Nilufar Haque, Director of Outreach - Nilufar Haque is a CPA and Director of Taxation at the Palo Alto office of Frank Rimerman & Co., a national accounting firm. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Dhaka University, Bangladesh, and an MBA from Santa Clara University. She also holds a Master’s degree in Taxation. She is a passionate supporter of several non-profit organizations and has served for a number of years on the Board of the Santa Clara Chapter of the National MS Society. She was an early advocate of BADC and has been involved with the organization from its inception.
		Mahbub Alam, Treasurer - Mahbub Alam is an experienced accountant and a licensed tax practitioner in California. He has a Bachelor's degree in Commerce and a Master's degree in accounting from Dhaka University, Bangladesh. He is also a Nationally Certified Bookkeeper by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. He has also served as a voluntary treasurer for other non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a key member of BADC, he is excited about the contributions the organization can make in enhancing the political presence and influence of Bangladeshi-Americans.