A BIOGRAPHY OF BEGUM SUFIA KAMAL

Sufia Kamal started her schooling at a local maktab, where she studied Arabic. As she became older, she moved to home schooling in accordance with cultural customs there she learned Hindi, English, Urdu, Arabic, Kurdish and Persian from her house tutors. She learned also Bengali from her mother even though Urdu was spoken in the household, Sabera Begum, who also taught her how to write. However, due to prevailing social norms and limited opportunities for women’s education at the time, she was unable to pursue formal education beyond the primary level. Sufia Kamal continued to educate herself through extensive reading and engaging with literary circles. She had a deep appreciation for Bengali literature and poetry, and her self-education allowed her to become an accomplished poet in her own right. She wrote extensively on various social issues, women’s rights, and the struggle for independence in Bangladesh.

Sufia Kamals feminist ideologies were reflected in her literary works from the very beginning of her career. She published her first story titled “Sainik Badhu” (The Soldier Bride) in 1923, which reflected the cause of women’s empowerment which she so passionately believed in and advocated for. Sufia came to be known more as a poet later on, for her instinctive and natural verses, with the publication of her initial poetry book, ‘Sanjher Maya.’ Subsequently, in 1937, she released her anthology of short stories titled ‘Keyar Kanta’ which were praised by legends like Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Sufia Kamal assumed the role of the first editor of Begum, a weekly magazine dedicated to women’s issues, in 1947. The magazine was published by Mohammad Nasiruddin. Following the partition of India in October 1947, Kamal relocated to Dhaka, Bangladesh. During a period marked by tensions between Muslims and Hindus, Kamal actively promoted friendship and harmony by participating in the Peace Committee. In 1948, she took on the position of chairperson when the Purbo Pakistan Mohila Committee was established.

She ceaselessly picked up elements from her surroundings and incorporated them in her poems, all the while forming strong and beautiful imagery so effortlessly that her poems were read and loved by a vast reader base, many of whom did not take interest in Bangla literature at all. She regularly wrote for Saogat magazine—and was, in fact, the first Bangali Muslim woman to have her photograph published in the magazine—before eventually becoming the first editor of the women’s weekly magazine, Begum.

Sufia’s activism was not only confined to the fight for women’s rights. She was politically aware through and through, understanding the political reality of her time well and standing against all kinds of state-imposed oppression. She realised that women could not be fully liberated when the nation itself was not. She was a leading activist when it came to Bangali nationalist movements, from leading the Martyrs Day march in February 1952 to the Sanskritik Swadhikar Andolon (Movement for Cultural Autonomy) in 1961.

Despite being recognized as a romantic poet, she actively opposed the authorities of Pakistan. Just years before the Liberation War of 1971, when the six- and 11-points were gaining more and more support from the masses, the female student leaders realised that this was the time to draw more focus on their fight for equal rights. They had already started a signature campaign demanding the bail of political leaders who were in jail. Because of Sufia Kamal’s wide acceptance in all spheres, female leaders from different political groups and professions came under her leadership and formed the Mahila Parishad. Because she was bold and fearless in her expression, even a notorious military dictator like Ayyub Khan couldn’t shake her conviction. When he referred to all the Bangalis as “haiwan” (beasts), it was Sufia, poet and feminist, who stood up to him and called him the “President of Haiwans”.

This spirit was well reflected in her writing. She wrote rigorously against the oppressions of the military regimes which subjected her to direct surveillance of the Pakistan army during the Liberation War. She kept assisting the freedom fighters in secret even while being under surveillance, sending her two daughters to join the fight as well. She realised her obligations to the cause of correcting the narrative of Bangali history and documented the events of the war in her memoir, Ekattorer Diary (1989). A writer through and through, even a war could not stop her pen from documenting the lived experiences of the time.

Even after Bangladesh’s independence, Sufia Kamal was vocal and critical of the government whenever her judgements told her to be. Her inclinations towards leftist ideologies were not unknown, and was reflected in her verse as well, when she wrote:

“Bipul bishshoy prithibir

Joy joy joygaan kaste-haturir!”

(The world is amazed/victory to the sickle and hammer)

Unsurprisingly, she expressed her support for the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War and assumed the role of chairperson for the Pak-Soviet Friendship Society in 1966. Having visited Russia both before and after its liberation, she was deeply impressed by the strength, self-awareness, and dignity displayed by Russian women. As a result, the establishment of Mahila Parishad in 1970 was influenced by a blend of these prevailing political ideologies.

During the final years of her life, she dedicated herself to improving the rights of women. She led the biggest women’s organization in Bangladesh (Mahila Parishad) for a long time. She strongly believed that women in her home country faced discrimination, which she saw as a problem affecting all women, regardless of social class. Kamal, a devoutly religious woman, also spoke out against religious extremism. Her outspoken views led to her being targeted by Harkatul Jihad, an extremist group, who put her name on a list of people to be harmed in 1993.