Dhaka: The nation is being observed Begum Rokeya Day today marking the 140th birth and 88th death anniversary of Begum Rokeya Shakhawat Hossain, an exponent of women’s rights in the subcontinent.
Different government, private, socio-cultural and political organisations and universities will organise various programmes which will be observed maintaining health guidelines amid the spread of coronavirus outbreak.
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, commonly known as Begum Rokeya, was born on December 9, 1880 at Pairaband in Rangpur. Rokeya, through her writings, advocated that both men and women should be treated equally and they should have equal access to education with their male counterparts.
Rokeya established the first school for girls in Kolkata in India and went door to door persuading the parents to allow their daughters to attend school. She ran the school until her death and also worked for establishing women’s rights.
Begum Rokeya’s books like ‘Matichur’, ‘Oborodhbasini’, ‘Sultana’s Dream’ and ‘Padmarag’ created a new chapter in the field of Bangla literature.
She wrote regularly for the Saogat, Mahammadi, Nabaprabha, Mahila, Bharatmahila, Al-Eslam, Nawroz, Mahe Nao, Bangiya Musalman Sahitya Patrika, The Mussalman, Indian Ladies Magazine and others.
Rokeya’s writings give the readers a glimpse into protest against injustices against women and try to break the boundaries of the patriarchal society.
She died on December 9 in 1932.
