Daulatunnessa Khatun (1918–1997) was a Bengali politician, social activist, feminist and former Member of East Bengal Legislative Assembly.

Early life

Khatun was born in 1918 in Sonatala,

Bogra Bogra ( bn, বগুড়া), officially known as Bogura, is a major city located in Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The city is a major commercial hub in Northern Bangladesh. It is the second largest city in Rajshahi Divi ...

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. She was married to Hafizur Rahman, a doctor, when she was 8 years old. She studied till she was 12 at Dhaka

Eden High School Eden High School, also known simply as Eden, is a public secondary school in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the corner of Lake St. and Linwell Rd. Eden is a part of the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN). The school was ...

. She continued her education in her husband's house despite social pressures against women's education.

Career

In 1930, at the age of 12, she joined the

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

Civil disobedience movement The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a ...

. She formed Gaibandha Mahila Samiti' (Gaibandha Women's Association) with like minded women in

Gaibandha Gaibandha ( bn, গাইবান্ধা) is a town and district headquarters of Gaibandha District in northern Bangladesh. It is a centre of commerce and trade of the Gaibandha District and is located under the Rangpur Division. The area of ...

. She was one of the few Muslim women activist who participated in the movement, organising women's meetings and rallies. She studied until finishing her Undergraduate. She and her husband were forced to leave their home in Gaibandha because of her activism. She was arrested by the British Raj. During the 1943 Bengal Famine she founded an orphanage. After the partition of India she settled in Dhaka. She was elected to the East Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1954, through active voting of women. In 1956 she was part of an official delegation of Pakistan to China.

Death

She died in 1997 in Gaibandha, Bangladesh.

References

1918 births 1997 deaths Bangladeshi feminists {{Bangladesh-politician-stub