Nurjahan Begum (4 June 1925 – 23 May 2016) was the first female journalist in Bangladesh and a trailblazer for female journalists in South Asia. Begum 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 2011 by the Government of Bangladesh. She served as the editor of ''

Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...

'' magazine.

Career

Begum was the daughter of

Mohammad Nasiruddin Mohammad Nasiruddin (20 November 1888 – 21 May 1994) was a Bangladeshi journalist and progressive thinker. He became an important reformer of Muslim Bengal in early 20th century and provided platform for female writers. He received Ekushey Pada ...

, journalist and founder of '' Saogat'' and ''

'' magazines. Upon Begum Rokeya's request, she was admitted to Sakhawat Memorial School at Baby Class. The first issue of ''Begum'' magazine was published on 20 July 1947. For the first four months, Nurjahan worked as the acting editor of the magazine helping the editor poet

Begum 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 ...

with collecting, editing and selecting writings for the issues.

Personal life

Begum was married to

Rokanuzzaman Khan Rokanuzzaman Khan (known as Dadabhai; 9 April 1925 – 3 December 1999) was a Bangladeshi journalist and litterateur. He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1998 by the Government of Bangladesh. He was the founder director of children's organization ''K ...

. Together they had two daughters, Flora Nasreen Khan and Rina Yasmin. Her granddaughter Priota Iftekhar made a documentary film on her 91st birth anniversary, titled “Nurjahan Begum – Itihaaser Kingbadanti Nari.”

Awards

* 2011,

* Bengali year 1409, Anannya Literature Award

References

1925 births 2016 deaths People from Chandpur District Bangladeshi women journalists Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy Recipients of Begum Rokeya Padak 21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad {{Bangladesh-journalist-stub