Hazel Brown

Hazel Angela Brown (31 January 1942 – 22 September 2022) was a Trinbagonian women's and consumer rights activist. She was a co-founder and coordinator of the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women. She was secretary general of the Commonwealth Women's Network.

Early life Hazel Browne was born on 31 January 1942 in East Dry River, Belmont, Port of Spain, to Una Browne and Carlis Browne. She attended Gloster Lodge Moravian Primary School and received a scholarship to study at Bishop Anstey High School. She also attended St. Joseph's Convent in San Fernando.

Brown graduated from Cipriani Labour College in 1969;

In 1987 Brown said that the outlook for women under the National Alliance for Reconstruction and then-Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson was "bleak and dangerous", stating that "there is a lot of lip service being paid to the idea of the upliftment of women in the society but that is all. Mr. Robinson is the problem because there is a gap between his stated position on issues, including women, and his actions. But the whole change process will not work unless there is proper participation by women." Along with Grace Talma, she challenged the government's Policy Statement on Women which was approved by the cabinet in 1987. In response to the policy statement, she and other women's NGOs drafted a National Paper on the Status of Women in 1990.

Brown coordinated the participation of Trinidadian and Tobagonian NGOs in United Nations conferences. She was the coordinator for the Caribbean Region Preparatory Process Project of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development conference. She was responsible for the participation of NGOs at the 1995 Beijing UN Women's Conference Brown led the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women's 'Put a Woman' project during the 2000 and 2001 elections, which encouraged people to vote for women candidates.

Brown served as Secretary General of the Commonwealth Women's Network and was a special envoy for women and girls with the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development.

In 2017 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine for "her untiring work in women's development, consumer rights and poverty eradication".

Personal life Hazel married Herman Brown at the age of 20. They had three children—Leah, Carla and Garvin. Brown's husband died when the children were young.

Brown died at the age of 80 on 22 September 2022 at her home in Diamond Vale, Diego Martin. She was interred at Lapeyrouse Cemetery.