Poet Begum Sufia Kamal's birth centenary is going to be observed across the country today.
The poet, short story writer and human rights activist was born into a landowner family on June 20, 1911 at Shaestabad in Barisal and died on November 20, 1999 in Dhaka.
Though she could not afford to get academic education, she learnt Bangla, Hindi, English, Urdu, Arabic, Kurdish and Persian language at home.
She was first married at the age of 11 to her cousin Syed Nehal Hossain and had a daughter, Amena Kahar.
After Nehal Hossain's death in 1932, she married Kamaluddin Ahmed in 1937.
Later, she gave birth to two daughters, Sultana Kamal and Saida Kamal, and two sons, Shahed Kamal and Sajed Kamal.
Her first poetry collection, Sanjher Maya [Evening Enchantment] was published in 1938. In 1937, her first collection of short stories, Keyar Kanta [Thorns of the Keya tree] was published.
In 1947, she became the founder editor of weekly Begum. She was also a language movement veteran in 1952 and later played significant role in the movements against military and autocratic rulers in 1961, 1969, 1971 and 1991.
She was also one of the founders of women's rights organisation, Mahila Parishad.
She was awarded Bangla Academy Award for literature (1962), Ekushey Medal (1976), Independence Day Award (1997) and Lenin Centenary Jubilee Medal (1970).
The president, Zillur Rahman, and the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday paid tribute to Begum Sufia Kamal's memory calling her a symbol of Bengali women on her anniversary of birth.
Source : New Age
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