Jahanara Arzu (born 17 November 1932) is a Bangladeshi poet. She was awarded

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

in 1987 by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

for her contribution to Bengali literature. Arzu and

Sufia Kamal Begum Sufia Kamal (20 June 1911 – 20 November 1999) was a Bangladeshi poet, feminist leader, and political activist. She took part in the Bengali nationalist movement of the 1950s and civil society leader in independent Bangladesh. She led fe ...

were the founding editors of ''Sultana'', the first women's weekly published from

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 ...

on 14 January 1949.

Personal life

Arzu was married to a former Vice President of Bangladesh and Justice A K M Nurul Islam. Together they have two sons including Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and professor Minara Zahan.

References

Living people Bangladeshi women poets Bangladeshi women writers Bangladeshi writers Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Writers from Dhaka 1932 births 20th-century Bengalis {{Bangladesh-poet-stub