Ferdous Ara Begum

Ferdous Ara Begum is a Bangladeshi economist, gender specialist, and retired civil servant. She was a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and is an expert consultant on Gender Issues for the United Nations Population Fund. She is a former joint secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.

Early life Begum completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Dhaka. She later earned a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In 2005, Begum became the first female director general of Bangladesh Television (BTV), the state-owned national television.

Begum was awarded the Begum Rokeya Shining Personality Award in 2005 by Narikantha Foundation.

In April 2026, Begum was elected as the president of executive council of the Bangladesh Senior Citizens Forum for the term 2026-27.

Personal life Begum is married to Tajul Islam, advocate and former press secretary to the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. They both received promotions under the President's quota after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power.