Taranga Mohila Kallyan Sangstha (TMKS) was founded in 1996 by women’s rights activist Shamima Khan, who continues to serve as General Secretary and Executive Director. After returning to Bangladesh from Germany in the early 1980s, she began her journey of voluntary service and social leadership.

As the District President of Inner Wheel, Shamima Khan led numerous philanthropic and community initiatives, particularly in Jamalpur—a district known for its high poverty rate, frequent flooding, widespread child marriage, and vulnerability to human trafficking due to its shared border with India’s Meghalaya state. One of the earliest milestones came in 1992, when with the support of Rotary Club and Inner Wheel, TMKS established a vaccination center that provided polio vaccines to children, playing a vital role in making the community polio-free.

Her decades of voluntary work—supporting disaster victims, advancing women’s empowerment, and promoting education—revealed the urgent need for a structured platform to address these challenges. In response, she gathered local women and community members to form a collective movement that would fight violence against women, reduce child marriage, promote non-formal education for children, and strengthen economic independence through skills and income-generating opportunities. This initiative gave birth to TMKS.

With support from the World Food Programme (WFP) in 1997, TMKS launched vocational training and income-generating activities. Over the years, it has grown into a dynamic development organization serving women, adolescent girls, and transgender communities. TMKS also rescues and rehabilitates children trafficked into brothels in Jamalpur, working to restore their dignity and give them opportunities for education and a better future.

In addition, TMKS operates Legal Aid Centers, where women receive legal advice, assistance, and mediation support in family disputes and other legal matters—ensuring access to justice for the most vulnerable. The organization also promotes disability inclusion, ensuring that persons with disabilities are not left behind in development opportunities, and leads anti-drug and anti-tobacco campaigns to safeguard youth and build healthier communities.

TMKS works in the fields of rights and governance, livelihood development, and community enterprise, while prioritizing gender sensitivity, climate change, and disaster risk reduction as cross-cutting issues.

Today, with strong partnerships with the local administration, judiciary, and law enforcement agencies, TMKS continues its mission to build a just, inclusive, and dignified society for all.

A just, inclusive, and violence-free society where women’s rights are upheld, livelihoods are secured, and communities thrive with dignity and climate resilience.

To empower marginalized communities by promoting justice, inclusive skills development, sustainable livelihoods, and climate resilience — ensuring women, adolescent girls, transgender people, children, and persons with disabilities can live with dignity and equality.