Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born on 9 December 1880 AD in the village of Payraband in Rangpur district. His father Zahir Uddin Mohammad Abu Ali Haider was an aristocratic landlord of Saber. As a child, his elder sister Karimunnesa helped Begum Rokeya in learning Bengali. He later learned English under the tutelage of his elder brother Ibrahim Saber. After her marriage to Sakhawat Hossain of Bhagalpur in Bihar, she became known as Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain. Inspired by her husband, she started practicing literature. He wrote against the prevailing superstitions of contemporary Muslim society. She played a leading role in the awakening of Muslim women. She helped Muslim women advance in the path of education and culture by establishing Islam at the Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School and the Khatuatin in the Anjuman. His notable books are Padmarag, Abrodhabasini, Matichur, Sultana's Dream etc. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain died on 9 December 1932.