# Razia Sultana (Born 1973)

> Lawyer and human rights activist · Maungdaw, Rakhine State

- Known for: Lawyer and human rights activist
- Born: 1973, Maungdaw, Rakhine State, Myanmar
- Place: Maungdaw, Rakhine State
- Fields: Human rights, Law
- Page: https://people.rohingya.ro/people/razia-sultana/

## Summary

A Rohingya lawyer, researcher and human rights activist born in Maungdaw, who practises law in Bangladesh with Rohingya refugees and documents the trauma, mass rape and trafficking suffered by Rohingya women during Myanmar's military operations. Her reports Witness to Horror (2017) and Rape by Command (2018) exposed the systematic use of sexual violence by Myanmar's security forces, and in 2019 she became the first Rohingya woman to receive the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award.

## What she did

- **1973** — Born in Maungdaw, Rakhine State.
- **2014** — Began extensive field research, interviewing hundreds of survivors of Myanmar's military operations.
- **2017 – 18** — Published the reports Witness to Horror (2017) and Rape by Command (2018), which exposed the systematic use of sexual violence by Myanmar security forces during the 2016–2017 "clearance operations".
- **Advocacy** — Founded the Rohingya Women Welfare Society (RWWS) and became Coordinator for Women and Children's Affairs at the Free Rohingya Coalition.
- **2019** — Received the International Women of Courage Award from the U.S. Department of State, the first Rohingya woman to do so.

## Biography: Bearing witness for Rohingya women

Razia Sultana is a prominent Rohingya lawyer, researcher, and human rights activist born in Maungdaw, Rakhine State, Myanmar. She currently practices law in Bangladesh, working directly with Rohingya refugees. Her work focuses on documenting trauma, mass rape, and human trafficking suffered by Rohingya women during Myanmar’s military operations.

Since 2014, Sultana has conducted extensive field research, interviewing hundreds of survivors and documenting their testimonies in influential reports like Witness to Horror (2017) and Rape by Command (2018), which exposed the systematic use of sexual violence by Myanmar security forces during the 2016–2017 "clearance operations."

She serves as Coordinator for Women and Children’s Affairs at the Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC) and founded the Rohingya Women Welfare Society (RWWS). For her tireless activism, she was honored with the International Women of Courage Award (2019) by the U.S. Department of State, becoming the first Rohingya woman to receive the award.

## Sources

- Sultana, Razia. (2017). Witness to Horror. [Report documenting sexual violence in Rakhine State.]
- Sultana, Razia. (2018). Rape by Command. [Report documenting systematic rape by Myanmar military forces.]
- U.S. Department of State. (2019). 2019 International Women of Courage Award. [Archived from the original on March 3, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.]
- The Daily Star. (2019, April 20). Rohingya lawyer gets US award. [Retrieved April 20, 2019.]

## Photographs

- ![At the 2019 International Women of Courage Awards.](https://people.rohingya.ro/photos/razia-sultana-2.webp) At the 2019 International Women of Courage Awards. (Wikimedia Commons, File:Razia_Sultana_2019_International_Women_of_Courage_(cropped).jpg)

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From Rohingya Famous People, https://people.rohingya.ro/people/razia-sultana/ (updated 2026-11-04)