Rokeya Rahman Kabeer (4 October 1925 – 28 July 2000) was a Bangladeshi academic and feminist.

Early life

Kabeer was born on 4 October 1925 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 ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

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 ...

. Her father, Mujibur Rahman, was an Indian Civil Service officer. She studied in

Loreto Convent, Darjeeling Loreto Convent is an English-medium girls' primary and secondary school located in Chauk Bazar, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. It is run by Loreto Education Society of Darjeeling. The school is affiliated to the ICSE and ISC boards of Delhi. ...

. She graduated from

Lady Brabourne College Lady Brabourne College (LBC) is an institution for women's education in Kolkata, India. The college admits undergraduates and post-graduates, and awards degrees from the University of Calcutta. It is a state government administered college and is ...

in geography. She completed her master's degree from

Presidency College Calcutta Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...

in history. She became involved with secular left wing politics in college.

Career

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: ...

in 1947, Kabeer left Kolkata, India for

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 ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. She settled in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

where she worked as a school teacher. She afterwards worked as a school teacher in Dhaka. She moved to London, United Kingdom to do a second Masters in history from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. After graduation she joined Eden Girls' College as the chair of the history department. She created an award-winning documentary on the archaeological site in

Mainamati Moinamoti (''Môynamoti'') is an isolated low, dimpled range of hills, dotted with more than 50 ancient Buddhist settlements dating between the 8th and 12th century CE. It was part of the ancient Tripura division of Bengal. It extends through the ...

. In 1968 she joined Chittagong Girls’ College as its principal. She left for England soon for further studies and returned to Bangladesh in 1976, when she became a full-time activist. She created Saptagram Nari Swanirbhar Parishad in Faridpur to campaign for the rights of women. The organisation by the 1980s had helped thousands of women. She founded the Shoptogram Silk Production Centre which was handed over to Brac in 1999.

Death and legacy

Kabeer died on 28 July 2000. The ''Rokeya Rahman Kabir Women's Development Centre'', named after her, was created to further women's rights in Bangladesh. Her daughter, Naila Kabeer, is a feminist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabeer, Rokeya Rahman 1925 births 2000 deaths Academics from Kolkata Lady Brabourne College alumni Alumni of the University of London Academic staff of Eden Mohila College Bangladeshi feminists Place of death missing