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BEGUM ROKEYA

A pioneer of women’s rights
Unlike most women, however, Rokeya was fortunately blessed with a supportive husband named Khan Bahadur Sakhawat Hossain, who was the deputy magistrate of Bhagalpur.
RAIDAH SAFIYA REDWAN
Can you imagine what it would be like if the women in our lives did not receive an education? What would happen if women did not have the privilege to pursue their ambitions? Well, that is what used to be the social norm in 20th century British-ruled India, until a woman with a futuristic mind came forward to remove the obstacles that hindered women from chasing their dreams.
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born in 1880 in present day Rangpur, Bangladesh. Rokeya was a bright and lively child; just like the birds whose chirps would mark the beginning of her day, this outgoing child wanted to spread her wings and explore the world. However, this was difficult to execute, when her family, as well as the society, maintained a strict Islamic code of pardah (veil) for women. As a result, only Rokeya’s elder brother Ibrahim had the privilege of going to school, while Rokeya and her sister Karimunnessa couldn’t. However, if women were not allowed to go to schools, how were they supposed to get an education?
Regardless, Rokeya did not slam the brakes on her desire of being literate and attaining an education. She learned how to read and write Arabic, Persian and Urdu. However, her biggest aim was to gain knowledge about her mother tongue Bangla, and hence, after midnight, she took lessons on Bangla reading and writing from Ibrahim. Rokeya started building her own boulevard of enlightenment, but little did she know, that the path that she was creating would soon be walked on by many young women.
In those days, child marriage was a common occurence, particularly for girls between the ages of 12 to 18. The same was true for Rokeya and her sister, who got married at the ages of 18 and 14 respectively. Unlike most women, however, Rokeya was fortunately blessed with a supportive husband named Khan Bahadur Sakhawat Hossain, who was the deputy magistrate of Bhagalpur. Despite Sakhawat and Rokeya’s huge age gap of 20 years, he always made sure to validate her feelings and took her desire for knowledge seriously. He encouraged Rokeya to learn Bangla and English, and she became an erudite in the two languages. In addition, sensing potential in Rokeya, Sakhawat also motivated her to start writing as a voice for women empowerment and liberty. Thus, the role of Ibrahim and Sakhawat should be recognised, so that the men in today’s society can take inspiration from them.
Rokeya’s writing career mainly dissected by the issues women faced in society and in their own household. Her prominent works include Sultana’s Dream , set in a witty feminist utopia. It’s a tale that portrays a vision of role reversal, a vision of a strict dress code being enforced upon men, while women dominate the economic and commercial sectors of the Indian subcontinent. Another is Abarodh Bashini (Imprisoned Resident), which is a valiant censure on the extreme levels of pardah that jeopardised women’s lives and thoughts.
She also opened a school for girls and named it Sakhawat Memorial Girls School in honour of her deceased husband. Initially, there were only 5 students in this school, but the 5 soon became as large as 5,000.
However, the idea of making female education a social norm was not so easy. As Rokeya’s school for girls was the first one, she had to face an abundance of people who wanted her to close down her school. However, unwavering from the beginning, Rokeya went from door to door and tried persuading Muslim families to allow their daughters to go to school. She also established a slum literary programme in Kolkata, where work teams would visit women living in slums to teach them reading, writing, personal hygiene and child care.
Besides education, Begum Rokeya also understood the essence of women’s contribution to the economy. She realised that in order for Bengal to grow, it was necessary to create assembled action for change with women involved. As a result, she established an organisation called Anjuman-e-Khawateen-e-Islam (Muslim Women’s Society) in 1916, whose aim was to advocate for women’s political and legal rights, give shelter to orphans, sponsor girls’ attendance in schools, offer financial and legal assistance to widows, etc. It was a linchpin to the feminist movement in Bengal, and paved the path for the feminist movements that can be seen in Bangladesh today.
Begum Rokeya was the first woman in her society to highlight the issue of gender inequality, and through her writing and social work, she passed a message to the Bengali women to embark upon a journey of claiming their rights and privileges. She realised that the low levels of female literacy would act as a barrier to several life opportunities, and also erode the confidence needed to step into public life. She toiled day and night to elevate the conditions of women, and under her sprightly leadership, she was successful in implanting a feeling of renaissance in women.
Begum Rokeya often compared gender equality to the wheels of a cow cart. She mentioned that a cow cart has two wheels, and in order for the cart to move, both the wheels have to be equal in size and shape. Similarly, men and women could just be like those wheels. If women are lagging behind men in several aspects of life, then the society would never be able to make progressive change.
It is important to remember Begum Rokeya’s contributions towards making female education just as important as male education in society. In a world where many women don’t have autonomy over their own bodies, where women have to fight to receive an education and are restricted from even stepping outside the house by themselves, and where, even after doing the same jobs as men, women are paid much less, Begum Rokeya is an important figure for women who long for female emancipation.
Though she has left this world around 90 years ago, her tolerant and liberal attitude can still be seen in many Bengali young girls, who, just like her, want to pursue their dreams against all kinds of religious and social bigotry.
This essay won the Bronze award in the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition.