Activist Ruby Ghaznavi passes away

Ruby Ghaznavi, the pioneer of the renaissance of natural dyes and handicraft movement in Bangladesh, has passed away. 

She breathed her last at 5:54pm Saturday (14 January) while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka.

Ruby was born in Faridpur in 1935. She did honours and masters in Economics from Dhaka University.

She left behind a son, a daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn her death.

Inspired by the work of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Ruby Ghaznavi devoted herself to the development of handicrafts in Bangladesh. In 1982, she started the Natural Dye Project. She founded Aranya Craft in 1990. 

In 1985, Ruby founded National Crafts Council of Bangladesh (NCCB).  

In 2018, NCCB arranged a Jamdani festival that played a vital role for Sonargaon to achieve the status of World Craft City. Ruby also played a pivotal role behind Jamdani's Geographical Index (GI) status.