May 28CUNY Macaulay Honors College 2023 Commencement SpeechCongratulations Macaulay graduates! I am so very proud of you. The CUNY student has a special place in my heart. When I’m asked, what’re your priorities as a Council Member? I always mention: CUNY students and CUNY faculty and staff. CUNY students run this City. Embrace this hugely important accomplishment…10 min read10 min read
Dec 22, 2020Statement on Changes to NYC’s Middle and High School Admissions SystemAs we close out 2020, we are celebrating overdue wins in NYC’s school admissions system, which would not be possible without the tireless organizing of students, parents, teachers, principals, and education equity leaders. …5 min read5 min read
Jun 29, 2020Bangladeshi #MeToo Movement in NYC: Today and Every Day, Believe SurvivorsJune 28, 2020 I believe survivors. I am a survivor. I have held many survivors who remain traumatized and neglected by the Bangladeshi community and our City; and I have been held by survivors all my life. These experiences inform my belief in feminist liberation. …Metoo3 min readMetoo3 min read
Apr 3, 2020Practicing Language Justice for Movement Building in COVID-19As our communities mobilize mutual aid networks, support hotlines, and other autonomous interventions to survive COVID-19, we must center a multilingual strategy to respond to the immediate and long-term recovery needs. When Mutual Aid NYC brought me on to help expand the organization’s translation apparatus, I responded by elevating questions…Social Justice3 min readSocial Justice3 min read
Feb 5, 202029Some time ago I was a writer. A writer of mostly creative nonfiction, and I performed on stages across NYC with the Muslim Writers Collective. I performed infrequently after learning I love to put on the show. I wanted to curate and collaborate, and spend my time strategizing deeply about…Lupus3 min readLupus3 min read
Nov 26, 2019বার্নি স্যান্ডার্স কে সমর্থন দিন / Bernie Sanders for Presidentআসসালামু আলাইকুম। আদাব। আমি শাহানা হানিফ। আমার জন্ম ব্রুকলিনে। কাজ করি একজন সংগঠক, ও নারী অধিকার কর্মী হিসেবে। নিউ ইয়র্ক সিটির সবচেয়ে বড় বাংলাদেশী মুসলিম কমুনিটিগুলোর মধ্যে একটি, এই কেনসিংটনে আমার বেড়ে ওঠা। এই ভিডিওটি বাংলায় করা হয়েছে, কারণ আমি মনে করি, আমাদের এই কমিউনিটিতে এবং পুরো যুক্তরাষ্ট্রেও সমস্যাগ্রস্ত এমন…3 min read3 min read
Dec 4, 2018PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING EXCHANGE — Barcelona, Spain 2018I spent the last week of November in Barcelona, Spain with a group of over 40 #ParticipatoryBudgeting (PB) experts across continents — a convening that is historic and first of its kind — in an effort to develop resources to strengthen PB globally, understand the current state of PB and…Participatory Democracy3 min readParticipatory Democracy3 min read
Sep 17, 2018Summer Newsletter for Bangladeshis in Kensington, Brooklyn + Participatory Budgeting!*Scroll for Bangla/নীচে বাংলা (translation by Sohel Mahmud) This is Shahana Hanif, Director of Organizing and Community Engagement, writing to you from the Office of NY City Council Member Brad Lander. I pray my message finds you in positive spirit. This summer was a busy but delightful one spent working…Immigrants10 min readImmigrants10 min read
Aug 4, 2018For Bangladeshi Women, By Bangladeshi Women, in Bangla: Immigrant Rights Forum in Kensington, BrooklynThe following piece is intended for archival memory. Some of what’s written here is highlighted across Facebook statuses by those of us present. However, community organizing content centering groups rarely or never written about deserves extra care and coverage. Given the Kensington, Bangladeshi women’s forum took place in March 2018…Bangladesh5 min readBangladesh5 min read
May 8, 2018Like GlueThis piece was originally published in Muslim Women’s Stories edited by Rana Abdelhamid and Hira Baig. I grew up in Brooklyn. The sounds of the quaint azaan in Arabi and Mehdi Hasan’s crash-course-on-love Urdu ghazal verses harmonized daily. When we weren’t playing outside, my sister Kumkum and I were glued…Short Story7 min readShort Story7 min read
