Begum Badrunnessa Ahmed (1903 – 20 April 1980) was a Bangladeshi social activist.

Biography

Early life and education

Ahmed was born in 1903 in Singair,

Manikganj District Manikganj ( bn, মানিকগঞ্জ ) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division, In 1845 AD it was at first declared as a sub-division. It was at first, under Faridpur district (Faridpur Zila) then it was in ...

in the then

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

into the Paril Zamidar family. She married

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

based businessman Moslehuddin Ahmed. She moved to Kolkata after her marriage where she worked to promote female education.

Career

In 1930, Ahmed joined the Managing Committee of Abdullah Suhrawardi Girls' School. She worked to prevent religious riots in Mirzapur street of Kolkata during the Kolkata 1946 riots on

Direct Action Day Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, was a day of nationwide communal riots. It led to large-scale violence between Muslims and Hindus in the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) in the Bengal prov ...

. She moved to

Gendaria Gendaria ( bn, গেন্ডারিয়া) is a Thana of Dhaka District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its area is . The name is a portmanteau of original name Grand Area, still found in deeds prior to 1950s. Educational institutions ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

in 1951 after the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

. She founded Gendaria Primary School and was a founding member of

Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts Bulbul Lalitakala Academy (now known as Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts or BAFA) is an institution of fine arts established in Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Ban ...

. She was a member of the

All Pakistan Women's Association The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, ( ur, آل پاکستان ویمنز ایسوسی ایشن) as it is commonly known, is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political Pakistani organisation whose fundamental aim is the promotion of mo ...

. In 1960, Ahmed started her teaching career at Muslim Girls' High School.

Death and legacy

Ahmed died on 20 April 1980 in Dhaka and was buried in Azimpur Graveyard. She was awarded Tamgha-i-Pakistan, which she gave up during the

1969 uprising in East Pakistan The 1969 mass uprising in East Pakistan ( bn, ঊনসত্তরের গণঅভ্যুত্থান, lit=69’s Mass uprising) was a democratic political movement in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The uprising consisted of a series of m ...

. Her niece, Ashrafi Khanam, was the first female Muslim musician to be recorded in Bengal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Begum Badrunnessa 1903 births 1980 deaths People from Manikganj District Bangladeshi women's rights activists Burials at Azimpur Graveyard