Inequality begins when a person forgets hoping 

Social entrepreneur, humanitarian and author Runa Khan, who is also the founder and executive director of Friendship, has devoted decades to serving Bangladesh’s most remote and climate vulnerable communities. As a steadfast advocate for human rights, she has now been honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2026 for her enduring work among people shaped by rivers, erosion and displacement. She shared her journey, vision and hopes with The Daily Observer.

The interview was conducted by Ahasan Uddin Bhuiyan

Observer: Congratulations on winning the Ramon Magsaysay Award. What does this recognition tell you about the struggles of the communities Friendship has worked with?
Runa Khan: For me, this recognition tells me that those unseen and unheard communities no longer remain voiceless. At the very heart of our country live millions of people who, for climatic, geographical and economic reasons, have remained invisible for generations. Today, they can be seen not only by us, but by the world, and we hope our Government, whose actions can truly change their lives, sees them too. The communities we work with have extraordinary courage, but this courage, also called resilience, too often becomes an excuse for not taking better care of them. That is not acceptable. If this award brings greater attention to their lives, dignity and contribution, then it has real meaning for me. It belongs to them and to my colleagues as much as it does to me.

Observer: Friendship works with some of Bangladesh's most marginalised communities. What is the biggest rights gap they still face?
Runa Khan: The greatest gap is not the absence of rights, but not even knowing that you have them. A person on a remote char may theoretically have the same rights as someone in the cities, but if they do not know they can access a doctor, a school or a legal service, what does that equality really mean? People need to know their rights, have access to them and find justice when those rights are denied, especially women, children and those who are differently abled.

Observer: You have spent more than two decades working with communities often beyond the reach of the state. What has that experience taught you about inequality in Bangladesh?
Runa Khan: Inequality is when a person has forgotten how to hope. People can live in poverty, but they cannot live without dignity and hope, and hope is sustained by opportunity. In Bangladesh, geography itself can determine the opportunities you receive, healthcare, education, communication. I have met people of innate intelligence and courage who were excluded simply because of where they were born. That is an inequality we must consciously correct, and arrogance towards them is one of its greatest drivers.

Observer: Climate change is increasingly displacing people from their homes and livelihoods. Should climate displacement be treated as a human rights issue?
Runa Khan: Absolutely. When somebody repeatedly loses her home, land, livelihood and her children's education through circumstances she did almost nothing to create, this is not simply an environmental problem. It becomes a question of justice and human dignity. Why them? Because they were born into circumstances from which they could never rise on their own, like quicksand. Climate finance and adaptation must follow vulnerability, not visibility or influence. The poor cannot afford poor solutions.

Observer: What legal protection is most urgently needed for people displaced by river erosion, floods and other climate disasters?
Runa Khan: We need a coherent framework that recognises climate displaced people as citizens whose needs, health, education, justice, finance, must be addressed wherever they migrate. Their citizenship does not disappear when their land disappears. This is why our paralegals, trained through manuals accredited by the Government of Bangladesh, bring awareness to every community through our Inclusive Citizenship system and link them to justice courts. These citizens are not asking to be rescued forever. They need a dependable platform from which to restart their own lives.

Observer: Why do people living in chars and other remote areas remain so far behind in accessing healthcare, education and justice?
Runa Khan: Because most conventional systems are built around the permanence of land, but for people in chars, riverine and coastal areas, land is not permanent. A hospital or school many kilometres away is meaningless to somebody isolated by a wide river, or forced to migrate when her island erodes. We have to design services around the reality of people's lives, rather than expect them to fit our administrative systems.

Observer: When NGOs provide services that the state is constitutionally expected to provide, does it risk weakening state accountability?
Runa Khan: It can, if an NGO begins imagining that it is replacing the state. Our role is to fill a gap, demonstrate what works and connect communities to government systems until those systems can serve them directly. Government has a scale and legitimacy no NGO can replace. Our responsibility is partnership, not substitution.

Observer: What should the government do differently to make public services genuinely accessible to hard to reach communities?
Runa Khan: Accept that one model cannot serve every geography. Mobile healthcare, community based services, digital systems and locally trained workers have to become part of mainstream public service thinking, and government should listen much more systematically to communities and local organisations that understand these environments. Policy becomes effective only when it survives contact with reality.

Observer: Women in vulnerable communities often face multiple forms of exclusion. Which intervention creates the greatest change in their lives?
Runa Khan: There is no single intervention, because a woman's life cannot be divided into projects. If she is sick, address her health; if she cannot earn, give her skills; if she cannot exercise her rights, give her knowledge and access to justice. But beneath all of this is something deeper: she must recognise her own worth and gain the confidence to make decisions. That is when empowerment becomes real.

Observer: After working at the grassroots for so long, what is one thing policymakers in Dhaka still fail to understand about vulnerable communities?
Runa Khan: That vulnerable does not mean incapable. I have seen people whom society calls poor show extraordinary knowledge, discipline and leadership during disasters. They often already understand the solution, but lack the resources to implement it. We must stop designing for people and become much better at designing with them.

Observer: What are the biggest barriers preventing marginalised people from claiming their legal and constitutional rights?
Runa Khan: Distance, cost, bureaucracy and fear are all major barriers, and for women there can also be powerful social restrictions. Many systems assume, for convenience's sake, that a citizen is educated and able to navigate institutions, but the people most in need of protection are often those least able to do so.

Observer: What should be the priority for Friendship over the next decade?
Runa Khan: Our responsibility is to deepen, strengthen and share what has been learnt over more than two decades, particularly around climate adaptation, mobile services and locally led development. Our ICAS, Integrated Climate Adaptation Solutions, has been working for 25 years, with quality and dependability. The scale of the challenges ahead is far greater than any single organisation. Our role must increasingly be to demonstrate and enable.

Observer: Finally, what would a truly just and inclusive Bangladesh look like from the perspective of the people you serve?
Runa Khan: It would be a Bangladesh where geography no longer determines the value of your citizenship. A girl living on a disappearing char would have the same expectation of quality healthcare, education, justice and opportunity as a child born in Dhaka. She would not need charity to live with dignity; she would have the tools and the rights to shape her own future. For me, that is what development ultimately means: opportunity, dignity and hope for every person.