Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua
Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua (16 December 1906 – 2 May 1977) was a Bangladeshi poet, essayist, and a pioneering women's liberation activist.[1] She was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1977 by the Government of Bangladesh.
Mahmuda Khatun Siddiqua | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 December 1906 |
| Died | 2 May 1977 (aged 70) Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Other names | Raquibunnesa Mahmuda Khatun, Batashi |
Life and activism
Mahmuda was born in Pabna in the then East Bengal and Assam. Her father Khan Bahadur Mohammad Sulaiman was a divisional school inspector who supported women's literary movement. Her mother Syeda Rahatunnesa Khatun had great love for literature and music.[1]
The young Mahmuda showed great skills in sketching and drawing. Writer Najibar Rahman was her home-tutor when she was a child. Although his father was a proponent of female education, she could only study till Class VIII and was married off at a young age.
However, she got a divorce from her husband when her rights and independence were throttled. [2] She returned to live with her father who supporter her independence and social work throughout his life as she wrote poems and joined social welfare activities. She was involved in running a free-clinic for homeopathy treatment and also joined the Swadeshi movement.[3]
Mahmuda believed in the network of sisterhood and supported new female writers whole-hardheartedly. She was inspired by how Saogat supported the women's movement and wrote in the magazine all through. She also mentored new writers with networking leads and advice. Her niece Nurjahan Begum remembers:
She would bring along women writers, whenever she found one. She went knocking at different publishers doors, urging them to publish books by a lot of women writers. Most of them still remember her.[2]
Literary work
Mahmuda's first poem was published in a magazine from Calcutta called Al-Islam when she was twelve. She also attended literary meetings both in Pabna and Calcutta. Although she did not receive any formal degrees, she was a self-taught scholar. She ready widely and was influenced by contemporary literature. She also traveled to many places, which inspired her to write about themes like nature, environment, culture and society.
Mahmuda's compositions included sonnets and poems in free verse. She was deeply moved by the woes caused by the two World Wars and advocated for peace in her poems. She published three volumes of poetry: Pasharini (1931), Man O Mrttika (1960) and Aranyer Sur (1963). Additionally, she also wrote essays and short stories.
She died on May 2, 1977.
Awards
- Bangla Academy Literary Award (1967)
- Ekushey Padak (1977)
References
- Mahmud Shah Qureshi (May 27, 2015). "Siddiqua, Mahmuda Khatun". Banglapedia.
- Shaheen Akhtar and Moushumi Bhowmik (eds) Women in concert: An anthology of Bengali Muslim women’s writings, 1904-1938 (Kolkata: Stree, 2008). 358.
- Alam, Tahmina. “Bengali Muslim Women in Post-Rokeya Period: Samsun Nahar Mabmud and Fazilatunnessa” in Women in Changing Society edited by Sahai, Srinath. Mithai Publications: 1985. 95.