Anika Rahman

Rahman was born in Bangladesh and raised by three "strong willed women" after her father divorced her mother and then quickly abandoned her family.[1] She moved to the United States to study international relations.[2] She became an American citizen in 1997.[3] She obtained a BA from Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and her JD from Columbia Law School, before joining the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Present Rahman is an experienced nonprofit leader and has held numerous executive roles in the sector. She is currently the Chief Board Relations Officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Early Career Rahman was one of the co-founders of the Center for Reproductive Rights and was the founding director of its International Legal Program. She was an integral part of the groundbreaking movement that framed reproductive rights as human rights. In 2002, she was a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the global gag rule, also known as the Mexico City policy.

Advocacy and Philanthropy Later, Rahman became the President of Friends of UNFPA, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports the work of the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency. During her tenure, she campaigned for the restoration of the U.S. government's funding for the United Nations Population Fund. In 2009, President Barack Obama resumed the U.S. government's support for the United Nations Population Fund.

Rahman also served as President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women. During her tenure, the women's rights organization launched a new rebranding campaign and focused on three key national issues.

Soon after, Rahman became Vice President of Development at the Rainforest Alliance, an international NGO working at the intersection of business, agriculture, and forests to make responsible business the new normal.

Rahman currently serves as board member of Bangladesh International Tutorial (BIT), a co-educational private school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Rahman is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Rahman was awarded the "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" Award by Women's eNews as well as the Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility by Columbia Law School.

Rahman was also honored as a pioneer for women's rights at Columbia Law Women's Association's 38th Annual Myra Bradwell Banquet in 2018, an event to advance the position of women in the legal profession and society at large.

Other honors include the Legal Trailblazer Award by the South Asian Bar Association, the Leadership Award by South Asian Youth Action, as well as the Our Pride Award by The Bangladesh-American Foundation.

Rahman is the co-author, with Nahid Toubia, of Female Genital Mutilation: A Practical Guide to Worldwide Laws and Policies, published by Zed Books.

Rahman has also been a contributing writer to The New York Times, HuffPo, and Bustle. She frequently speaks and writes on critical issues such as human rights, women's equality, reproductive rights, and sustainable development.

Rahman, A. and Nahid Toubia, “Female Genital Mutilation: A Practical Guide to Worldwide Laws and Policies,” Zed Books (2000)

Rahman, Anika. “Fear in the Open City,” published in The New York Times. September 19, 2001.

Rahman, A., ed., series entitled “Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives,” covering Anglophone Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Francophone Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, The Center for Reproductive Rights (1997-2002).

Rahman, A. and Pine, R., “An International Human Right to Reproductive Health Care: Towards Definition and Accountability,” 1 Journal of Health and Human Rights, 401 (1995).

Rahman, A., “Towards Government Accountability for Women's Reproductive Rights,” 69 The St. John's Law Review 203 (1995).

Rahman, A., “Women's Rights Versus Religious Rights in India: A Test Case for International Human Rights Law,” 28 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 472 (1990).