Nurjahan Begum, the Editor of the Indian subcontinent’s first women’s weekly magazine ‘Begum’, has died. She was 91.
The family said she passed away at a hospital in Dhaka around 10am on Monday.
The leading lady in women’s journalism in Bangladesh was buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard at Mirpur later in the evening after Namaz-e-Janazas and after thousands had paid their last tribute at the Central Shaheed Minar.
Nurjahan Begum was admitted to the capital’s Square Hospital on May 4 with respiratory problems. She was kept in the ICU for the past few days.
“She had a cardiac arrest around 8:30am. When the doctors were trying to resuscitate her she suffered a second attack,” her eldest daughter Flora Nasrin Khan told bdnews24.com.
Khan, her younger sister Rina Yasmin Bithi and other family members were at Nurjahan Begum’s bdside during her last moments.
President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, and Finance Minister AMA Muhith have condoled her demise.
After Nurjahan Begum was hospitalised, Hasina had taken up the responsibility to foot the bill of her treatment costs.
Her body was taken to her home at Old Dhaka’s Narinda at noon. There, a funeral prayer for her was attended by hundreds including Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor.
Later in the afternoon, her remains were taken to Shaheed Minar where thousands of people from all walks of life paid their respect.
Minister for Culture Noor, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki were among them.
Matia told reporters, “Nurjahan Begum did not go it alone as an enlightened woman, she spread the light among other women too. She did it through her magazine until her last breath.”
Noor said, “She is gone. But I hope the young generation will be encouraged by her work and ideals.”
Different political parties, including the Awami League and the BNP, and socio-cultural organisations also paid their last respect to the editor of ‘Begum’.
“Nurjahan Begum was a pioneer among the women of the world, not just Bangladesh. She has played a major role in ensuring the empowerment of the women in the country,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters.
Added Mohila Parishad President Ayesha Khanam: “Today’s generation may not be able to grasp how important Nurjahan Begum is. She has always tried to awaken the women through her magazine.”
Nurjahan Begum’s daughter Flora Nasrin Khan said, “She always wished that the ‘Begum’ magazine, through which she had led the women’s vigil until now, would never close down.
“To fulfil her wish, I will continue publishing the magazine in any way I can. When she was in hospital, I wanted to hand her the last issue. She would have taken it and smiled. But I didn’t make it,” Khan said.
From the Shaheed Minar, the mortal remains were taken to Azad Mosque in Gulshan for another funeral prayer before the burial at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard.
Born on June 4, 1924, in Chandpur’s Chalitatoli village, Nurjahan Begum received her education from the Begum Rokeya-established Shekhawat Memorial Girls High School in West Bengal before moving on to Lady Brabourne College.
In 1947, her father Mohammad Nasiruddin, also an eminent editor, launched ‘Begum’ to give space to women issues in the media.
Published initially from Kolkata, the magazine shifted base to Dhaka in 1950 following partition.
Nurjahan Begum succeeded Poet Sufia Kamal to become the editor of the magazine four months after it was launched.
Since its inception, the magazine promoted many women litterateurs of Bangladesh.
Nurjahan Begum in a recent interview had said, “I never tried to do anything else outside Begum. My life is dedicated to Begum.”
In 1952, she married noted litterateur, Rokannujjaman Khan, fondly known as Dadabhai. Khan died in 1999.
Nurjahan was awarded the Begum Rokeya Padak in 1997 for her contribution to women’s literacy and literature. Apart from that, she also received numerous awards and honours from various organisations.
Source: Bd news24
