A dedicated human rights defender and women’s rights activist, is the Executive Director of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers’ Association. In 1995, Advocate Salma Ali received an Ashoka Fellowship for obtaining the release of Bangladeshi women who were being imprisoned without having a proper trial or due cause and guiding them through the different transitions to the outside world. In 2010, she received the “Woman of Courage” award from the United State’s Secretary of State for her tireless work on behalf of women and children in Bangladesh over the last three decades.

Advocate Salma Ali has initiated advocacy at the national level for enacting women- and child-friendly legislation and has delivered technical assistance to the Government of Bangladesh in drafting and amending various laws and policies. In recent years, she has been influential in the development of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act, 2010 and the Rules of Procedure for the implementation of that Act and the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act, 2012.