Vice Chancellor Emerita, Asian University for Women
Dr. Rubana Huq is a leading entrepreneur, academic, poet, and public intellectual whose work bridges business, higher education, literature, and public policy. She is the Vice Chancellor Emerita of the Asian University for Women (AUW), an international university in Bangladesh. From February 2022 to June 2026, she served as Vice Chancellor, providing strategic leadership during a period of significant institutional growth while advancing AUW's mission of educating women from across Asia and the Middle East.
Dr. Huq is the immediate past President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), where she made history as the first woman in four decades to lead the country's apex garment trade body. During her tenure, she championed sustainability, responsible sourcing, workers' welfare, and policies that strengthened the global competitiveness of Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry. She is the Chairperson of Mohammadi Group, a diversified family-owned conglomerate that began as a ready-made garment exporter and has expanded into software, digital distribution, real estate, power generation, and television broadcasting. The Group employs approximately 10,000 people, around 65 percent of whom are women in the ready-made garment sector. Under her leadership, the Group has pursued innovation while maintaining a strong commitment to ethical business practices and inclusive growth.
An accomplished poet, Dr. Huq was awarded the SAARC Literary Award for Poetry in 2006. She was named among the BBC's 100 Women in 2013 and 2014 and represented global manufacturers on the UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action from 2021 to 2022, contributing to international efforts to promote sustainability within the fashion industry. Dr. Huq holds a PhD in English Literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. In 2022, she received the Human Rights Award at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards during Milan Fashion Week in recognition of her contribution to advancing human rights and sustainability in the global fashion industry. Through her leadership across business, academia, and literature, she continues to advocate for ethical enterprise, inclusive education, women's empowerment, and sustainable development.
