Hasne Ara Begum
Hasne Ara Begum holds a Master's degree in Educational Research, Evaluation, and Assessment from Flinders University, South Australia, as well as Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Sociology from Dhaka University, Bangladesh. She also completed a Postgraduate degree in Research Methodology from Mumbai, India. Currently, Hasne serves as a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Specialist (consultant) for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), contributing to various projects in collaboration with Dhaka WASA and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) of the Bangladesh Government. With over 22 years of professional experience, Hasne has extensive expertise in integrating GESI principles across diverse development sectors. Her key competencies include designing gender-inclusive programs and projects, conducting GESI assessments and analyses, monitoring and evaluation, and building gender capacity for a wide range of stakeholders. She has played a pivotal role in supporting government organizations, international NGOs (INGOs), and NGOs in formulating GESI policies and strategies, establishing institutional mechanisms such as GESI units, forums, and gender-based violence (GBV) response systems, and enhancing result-reporting frameworks. Her work spans urban and rural development, health, energy, education, agriculture, WASH, microfinance, and business sectors, with a focus on climate-vulnerable, humanitarian, and hard-to-reach contexts. Hasne is an active member of several prominent networks, including the South Asia Network of Gender Activists and Trainers (SANGAT), the Leadership Institute of Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), and the Women's Leadership Network (WILN) of Southeast Asia under the Australia Alumni program. She has authored several national and international publications on gender equality, women's empowerment, and inclusive education.