Maliha Khatun (died 24 May 2002) was a Bangladeshi educationist, writer and social worker. She was awarded Begum Rokeya Padak in 2001 by the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

. She served as the first woman principal of Dhaka Teachers' Training College.

Early life

Khatun's father, Kazi Sanaullah, was a professor of Arabic and Persian at the

Presidency College, Calcutta Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

. She completed her BA honors from

Bethune College Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879. ...

, Calcutta, after securing a first division in matriculation from Sakhawat Memorial School. She got her master's in Bengali and philosophy. She did her diploma and post-graduation in education and psychology respectively from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1957. In 1987, she obtained her Ph.D. degree in educational psychology from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

Career

After teaching for a few years, Khatun was appointed assistant inspector of schools in Rajshahi Division and subsequently, became the inspector, where she spent a major portion of her career. Khatun retired from the position of principal of

Government Teachers' Training College, Dhaka Government Teachers' Training College, Dhaka is a public college for training government teachers in Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and d ...

, in 1982.

Awards

* Dewan Abdul Hamid Literary Award * Nazrul National Award * Sher-e-Bangla National Award

Personal life and legacy

Khatun was married to S. M. Shamsul Haque, an academic. Together they had three children Shamima Nargis, Humayun Kamal, Nishat and Khurshid Anwar. Shamima died in the

Moorgate tube crash The Moorgate tube crash occurred on 28 February 1975 at 8:46 am on the London Underground's Northern City Line; 43 people died and 74 were injured after a train failed to stop at the line's southern terminus, Moorgate station, and crashed ...

incident in 1975. Humayun served as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to China, Korea and Poland. "Dr Maliha Khatun Scholarship Fund" was created at the

in 2009. Her sister Ms Razia khatun was also a renowned educationist who worked in khulna, mymensingh and Dhaka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatun, Maliha 2002 deaths Bangladeshi women writers Bangladeshi philanthropists Bangladeshi academics University of Dhaka alumni Bethune College alumni Year of birth missing Recipients of Begum Rokeya Padak Alumni of the University of Edinburgh