Shamsunnahar Mahmud Explained

Honorific Prefix:Begum
Shamsunnahar Mahmud
Native Name:শামসুন্নাহার মাহমুদ
Birth Date:1908
Birth Place:Guthuma, Bengal Province, British India
Death Place:Dacca, East Pakistan, Pakistan
Constituency1:NE-77 (Women's Reserved Seat-II)
Office1:Member of 3rd National Assembly
Term Start1:1962
Term End1:1965
Successor1:Dolly Azad
President1:Ayub Khan
Occupation:Writer, politician and educator
Parents:Mohammad Nurullah
Children:Mamun Mahmud
Alma Mater:Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' High School
Diocesan College
Relatives:Abdul Aziz (grandfather), Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury (brother)

Shamsunnahar Mahmud (c. 1908 — April 10, 1964) was a writer, politician and educator in Bengal during the early 20th century. She was a leader of the women's rights movement in Bengal pioneered by Begum Rokeya.[1] Shamsunnahar Hall of the University of Dhaka and University of Chittagong was named after her.

Early life and education

Mahmud was born in 1908 in North Guthuma village, in what is now Parshuram Upazila of Feni District, Bangladesh. Her father, Mohammad Nurullah, was a munsiff. Khan Bahadur Abdul Aziz was her grandfather. Her brother, Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury was a politician.[2]

Mahmud started her studies at Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School in Chittagong, and matriculated in 1926 as a private candidate. She received her I.A. in 1928 and B.A. in 1932 at the Diocesan College of Calcutta.[3] In 1942, she completed her M.A. in Bengali literature.[2] After her studies she joined the women's rights movement led by Begum Rokeya.

Career

Mahmud started her career as a teacher of Bengali literature at Lady Brabourne College. She worked as secretary to the Nikhil Banga Muslim Mahila Samity (All Bengal Muslim Women's Society). She visited Turkey and the Middle East as a representative of East Pakistan in 1952. She was elected member of the National Assembly in 1962.[2]

In 1961, she initiated the establishment of "The Centre for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Children".[2] She led a delegation to the International Council of Women in Colombo and joined the International Friendship Organization as Asia's regional director.

Personal life

She married Wahiduddin Mahmud in 1927. They had met in Calcutta two years ago when she was a teenager.[4] He was the Surgeon General of then East Pakistan. Together they had two sons, Mamun Mahmud, a martyred freedom fighter during the 1971 Liberation war of Bangladesh, and Mainuddin Mahmud, a cricketer, and sports enthusiast.

Works

Mahmud's first poem was published in a juvenile monthly magazine, Angur. She edited the women's sections of the magazines, Nauroj and Atmashakti. Together with her brother, Habibullah, she edited the magazine Bulbul (1933) which was published from Kolkata.

Books

Legacy

After Mahmud's death, the women's hall of the University of Dhaka,University of Chittagong were named Shamsunnahar Hall.[2] She was awarded Independence Day Award in 1981 by the Government of Bangladesh for her contribution to social work.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Banu, U. A. B. Razia Akter . 1992 . Islam in Bangladesh . BRILL . 135 . 90-04-09497-0 . Begum Shamsunnahar Mahmud carried Rokeya's torch in former East Pakistan from 1950 to the 1960s..
  2. Mahmud, Shamsunnahar. AKM Saifuzzaman.
  3. Book: Amin, Sonia. The World of Muslim Women in Colonial Bengal, 1876-1939. BRILL. 1996. 90-04-10642-1. 159.
  4. Paul . Sreejata . 2024-07-04 . Writing Rokeya: Muslim Women’s Life-Writing, Intergenerational Camaraderie and Activism in Twentieth Century Bengal . South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies . en . 1–15 . 10.1080/00856401.2024.2365522 . 0085-6401.