Begum Rokeya

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (9 December 1880 – 9 December 1932), commonly known as Begum Rokeya, was a prominent Bengali feminist thinker, writer, educator and political activist from British India. She is widely regarded as a pioneer of feminism in Bangladesh and India. She advocated for men and women to be treated equally as rational beings, noting that the lack of education for women was responsible for their inferior economic position. Her major works include Matichur (A String of Sweet Pearls, 1904 and 1922), a two-volume collection of essays articulating her feminist ideas; Sultana's Dream (1905), a feminist science fiction novella set in Ladyland, a realm governed by women; Padmarag (Essence of the Lotus, 1924), portraying the struggles of Bengali wives; and Abarodhbasini (The Confined Women, 1931), a bold critique of the extreme purdah system that imperiled women's freedom and self-worth. Rokeya held education to be the central precondition of women's liberation, establishing the first school aimed primarily at Muslim girls in Kolkata. She is said to have gone from house to house persuading the parents to send their girls to her school in Nisha. Until her death, she ran the school despite facing hostile criticism and social obstacles. In 1916, she founded the Muslim Women's Association, an organization that fought for women's education and employment. In 1926, Rokeya presided over the Bengal Women's Education Conference convened in Kolkata, the first significant attempt to bring women together in support of women's education rights. She was engaged in debates and conferences regarding the advancement of women until her death on 9 December 1932, shortly after presiding over a session during the Indian Women's Conference. Bangladesh observes Rokeya Day on 9 December every year to commemorate her works and legacy. On that day, the Bangladesh government also confers the Begum Rokeya Padak on...