Firdous Azim is a professor of English at
BRAC University
BRAC University ( bn, ব্র্যাক বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, also known as BracU) is a private research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 2001 as a branch of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed's BRAC un ...
, a literary critic, and a women's rights activist. She is the chairperson of the Department of English and Humanities at BRAC University. She is a member of
Naripokkho.
Early life
Azim completed her master's degree in English from the University of Dhaka in 1976.
She joined the University of Dhaka as a lecturer in 1978.
She completed her PhD from the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
in 1989.
She was married to
Bashirul Haq
Bashirul Haq (24 June 1942 – 4 April 2020) was a Bangladeshi architect, town planner and educator. He is regarded as one of the most influential architects in South Asia.
Early life
Haq was born in Brahmanbaria (now a district of Bangladesh) ...
, an architect.
Career
Azim worked at the University of Dhaka till becoming a full professor in the English Department.
She joined BRAC University in July 2004.
Azim published her book, ''The Colonial Rise of the Novel'', in 1993 through
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
. The books examines 18th century novels through feminist and post colonial lenses. In June 1994 she published ''“Lost in India: The Stories of Kim and Gora"'' in the journal of the Bangla Academy with Professor
Kashinath Roy of the
University of Dhaka
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
.
In 1996, Azim edited the, along with
Niaz Zaman, ''Infinite Variety: Women in Society and Literature'' through
The University Press Limited
The University Press Limited, commonly abbreviated as UPL, is an academic publishing house based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. UPL was established in 1975 as a successor to Oxford University Press' Dhaka branch where Mohiuddin Ahmed was chief executive. ...
.
Azim, along with
Niaz Zaman, edited ''Different Perspectives: Women Writing in Bangladesh'' in 1998.
Azim presented her paper, ''Feminist Struggles in Bangladesh'' in ''Creating Collective/Doing Transnational Politics at the European Social Forum'', on 16 November 2004 and this paper was later published in the
Feminist Review
''Feminist Review'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal with a focus on exploring gender in its multiple forms and interrelationships. The journal was established in 1979. It is published by SAGE Publishing and is edited by a collective.
...
in July 2005.
Azim wrote Women and religion in Bangladesh: new paths for Open Democracy on 19 December 2007. In March 2008, she moderated a discussion on ''Stories of Change'' documentary.
Azim moderated a session of the 2012 Hay Festival. She spoke in the Commonwealth Writers Conversation: The Untold Story session of the 2013 Hay Festival. In March 2013, Azim edited ''Complex Terrains: Islam, Culture and Women'' in Asia for Routledge.
Azim hosted a panel at the 2014
Hay Festival
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Y Gelli), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, t ...
in which she spoke with
Zia Haider Rahman
Zia Haider Rahman () () is a British novelist and broadcaster. His novel '' In the Light of What We Know'' was published in 2014 to international critical acclaim and translated into many languages. He was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial ...
about his new novel, ''
In the Light of What We Know
''In the Light of What We Know'' is the first novel by Zia Haider Rahman. First published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, it was released in the spring of 2014 to international critical acclaim and earned Rahman the James Tait Black Memorial Pri ...
.'' In 2015, she taught at the Umea Centre for Gender Studies in
Umeå University
Umeå University ( sv, Umeå universitet; Ume Sami: ) is a public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders.
As of 2015 ...
.
On 11 August 2016, Azim presented the ''Nari O Sahitya'' colloquium at the
Central Women's University
Central Women's University is one of the first private university in Bangladesh, established in 1993. It was the first university in Bangladesh established exclusively for the purpose of female education. Beggzadi Mahmuda Nasir served as the fo ...
. She was a judge at the 2016
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000 to 5,000 words). The prize is open to citizens of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations aged 18 and over. The Commonwealth Short ...
.
Azim served as a jury
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is an international literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South AsiaNote: South Asia for the purposes of the prize is defined as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka ...
of 2018. Azim attended the launch of ''Resonance'' a literary journal of
BRAC University
BRAC University ( bn, ব্র্যাক বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, also known as BracU) is a private research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 2001 as a branch of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed's BRAC un ...
in October 2019. In March 2019, she signed an open letter with a group of other activists accusing the government of Bangladesh of cowardly action for forcefully canceling a talk between
Shahidul Alam
Shahidul Alam (born 1955) is a Bangladeshi photojournalist, teacher and social activist. He has been a photographer for more than forty years and "his photographs have been published in almost every major western media outlet".
Alam founded the ...
and
Arundhati Roy
Suzanna Arundhati Roy (born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. S ...
in Dhaka.
Azim is member of the Board of Trustees of Bangladesh Freedom Foundation. She is an editor of the Feminist Review and member of the
Naripokkho and
Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Society.
She is the leader of Naripokkho's ''The Forgotten Women of 1971'' project. On 26 November 2020, she spoke at the Curriculum Integration (CI) Program of the
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh ( bn, লিবারেল আর্টস বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় বাংলাদেশ) (ULAB) is a private liberal arts-based University in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in ...
. Azim signed a petition with 41 other academics calling on the government to form a Supreme Judicial Council to investigate allegations against the
Bangladesh Election Commission
The Bangladesh Election Commission ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নির্বাচন কমিশন), abbreviated and publicly referred to as EC, is an independent constitutional body that operates the legal functions of election laws i ...
. She attended a session, ‘''Women Representing Women’'', on the second day of the ‘English JUbilee Lit Fest 2021’ at
Jahangirnagar University
Jahangirnagar University ( JU) is a publicly funded university located in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the only fully residential university in Bangladesh. It operated as a project until 1973, when the 'Jahangirnagar Muslim University Act' w ...
in March 2021. In October 2021, she signed a letter with 46 other academics condemning attacks on Hindu religious minorities in Bangladesh.
Azim wrote the introduction of the 2022 book ''Inherited Memories: Third-Generation Perspective on Partition in the East'' by Zubaan. She is part of the research team for ''The Gendered Price of Precarity: Workplace Sexual Harassment and Young Women's Agency'' which is an ongoing project of
The British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azim, Firdous
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Alumni of the University of Sussex
Academic staff of BRAC University
Bangladeshi women's rights activists