Begum Rokeya Day Today

Begum Rokeya Day is being observed today, Saturday (December 9) to commemorate the contribution of Begum Rokeya, a pioneer of Bengali women’s education and a social reformer for ensuring equal rights for women and men.

In observance of the day, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has taken programmes, including awarding “Begum Rokeya Padak” to five women for their outstanding contributions to empowering women in the country.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday issued separate messages, paying respect to the memory of Begum Rokeya for her contribution to the spread of education for women. Both the President and the Prime Minister congratulated the five women on receiving “Begum Rokeya Padak 2023”.

Special supplements, posters, booklets and souvenirs have been published on the occasion of the day. Various programmes have been taken at district and Upazila levels across the country to celebrate the day with due dignity.

Born on 9 December 1880, at Pairaband village in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur district, Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain learned to read and write Urdu, Bengali, Arabic and Farsi from his elder brother in secret from everyone in the family, even though she had no formal education.

Begum Rokeya’s brother and elder sister played a significant role in shaping her education and values ​​in her life. Later, she got married to Syed Sakhawat Hossain in Bhagalpur, Bihar. With the encouragement of her husband and her own interest, Begum Rokeya expanded her education. She died on 9 December 1932.

Begum Rokeya was voted sixth in BBC Bangla’s “Greatest Bengali Ever” poll in 2004. She is known as an essayist, novelist, literary and social reformer. Her notable works are - Matichur, Sultanar Shopno, Padmarag, and Oborodh-Basini. Begum Rokeya Day is now an officially observed national day.