[2] As an environmentalist, her work is focused on regulations for the shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh, and was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009.

"[4] Syeda Rizwana Hasan was born on 15 January 1968, into a Bengali Muslim Zamindar family called Narapati Haveli in Habiganj District, East Pakistan.

[5] Hasan got involved in the shipbreaking industry, first suing the breaking yards in Chittagong in 2003 for, among other reasons, bringing health hazards to the workers, poor working conditions, and improper waste disposal.

[5] Under Hasan's leadership, BELA won the Global 500 Roll of Honor in 2003 by the United Nations Environment Program.

[8] In April 2014, her husband Siddique, managing director of a garment factory owned by Nasrul Hamid Bipu, was briefly abducted by unknown individuals.