Sufia Kamal’s birth anniversary today

The 109th birth anniversary of poet Sufia Kamal is being observed today (June 20) virtually in the wake of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

A pioneer in movement for women emancipation, Sufia Kamal was born on June 20, 1911 in Shayestabad Nawab family in Barisal.

During her childhood, women’s education was prohibited and she could not afford to get academic education.

Nevertheless, she learned Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Arabic languages at home.

In 1918, she went to Kolkata with her mother where she came to meet with Begum Rokeya.

She was first married at the age of 11 to her cousin Syed Nehal Hossain who was a law student.

They had a daughter, Amena Kahar.

Hossain died in 1932. Five years later, Sufia married Kamaluddin Ahmed.

Kamal later had two other daughters, Sultana Kamal and Saida Kamal, and two sons Shahed Kamal and Sajed Kamal.

In 1925, Kamal met Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired her to wear simple clothing.

Kamal’s first poem, Bashanti (Of Spring), was published in Saogat magazine in 1926. In 1931, she became the first Bengali Muslim female to be a member of the Indian Women Federation.

In 1937, she published her first collection of short stories, Keyar Kanta (Thorns of the Keya Tree).

In 1947, Kamal became the founding editor of the Begum, a weekly magazine specialized on women’s issues which was published by Mohammad Nasiruddin.

She died in 1999 and was the first woman to be given a state funeral in Bangladesh.



Dhaka/Mukul