Karimunnesa Khanam Chaudhurani ( bn, করিমুন্নেসা খাঁনম চৌধুরানী; 1855 – 6 September 1926) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poet, social worker, and patron of literature.

Early life and family

Karimunnesa was born in 1855 into a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family in Rangpur,

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

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 himsel ...

. Her father was Zahiruddin Muhammad Abu Ali Saber, the Zamindar of Payraband Pargana, and her mother was Rahatunnesa Sabera Chaudhurani. Her younger sister was

Begum Rokeya Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain") is the commonly used spelling of Rokeya's full married name, Rokeya herself is never seen to use her full married name in this English spelling. In much of her correspondence in English, she used just her initials: � ...

. Raised in a traditional Islamic household, Karimunnesa observed the

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

and her early education began with the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

. She memorised Persian verses by listening in on her brothers lessons, and learnt English and Bengali through her own effort. At the age of 14, she married Abdul Hakim Khan Ghuznavi, the

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

of Delduar in

Tangail Tangail ( bn, টাঙ্গাইল, ), is a major city within the Dhaka Division in central Bangladesh. It sits on the bank of the Louhajang River, north-west of Dhaka, the nation's capital. It is considered to be the main urban area of ...

. Her husband died when she reached the age of 23, leaving behind two sons.

Career

Karimunnesa made sure her children were given a Western education. She had her children's schooling done in

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 ...

. She sent Abdul Karim Ghaznavi, her eldest son to England when he was 13. Her second son,

Abdul Halim Ghaznavi Sir Abdul Halim Khan Ghuznavi (1876 - 1953), (also spelled Sir Abdul Halim Ghaznavi) was a politician, zamindar, and industrialist. He was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly of British India. Early life Abdul Halim was born in Deldu ...

, studied at St. Xavier's College. Her sons would go on to become important and influential politicians in Bengal. She supported Begum Rokeya in her desire to study Bengali and literature. Karimunnesa's poetry were mostly about nature. She published two books, ''Mānas Bikāsh'' and ''Dukkha Tarangiṇī''. She patronised the fortnightly magazine ''

The Ahmadi ''The Ahmadi'' was a historic fortnightly magazine published in Tangail. History ''The Ahmadi'' was first published in 1886. It was financially supported by Karimunnesa Khanam Chaudhurani and edited by Abdul Hamid Khan Yusufzai. Karimunnesa Khan ...

'', which was published by Abdul Hamid Khan Yusufzai. From 1884 to 1892, she served the estate manager of Delduar Estate. In 1885,

Mir Mosharraf Hossain Mir Mosharraf Hossain ( bn, মীর মশাররফ হোসেন; 1847–1912) was a Bengali writer, novelist, playwright and essayist. He is considered to be the first major writer to emerge from the Muslim society of Bengal, and one ...

dedicated his book ''

Bishad Shindhu ''Bishad Shindhu'' (Bengali language, Bengali: ''বিষাদ-সিন্ধু'', English: ''Ocean of Sorrow'') is a Bengali epic novel by Mir Mosarraf Hussain, the first modern Bengali language, Bengali Muslim writer and novelist. Regarded as ...

'' to her.

's book ''Motichur'' (Vol II) was dedicated to her as well. At the age of 67, Karimunnesa learnt the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

in order to gain a better understanding of the

Death

Karimunnesa died on 6 September 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhurani, Karimunnesa Khanam 1855 births 1926 deaths 19th-century Bengali poets 20th-century Bengali poets Bangladeshi feminists Bangladeshi women poets People from Rangpur District Proponents of Islamic feminism Writers from Kolkata