Sheikh Sayera Khatun (1886 – 31 March 1975) was the matriarch of Sheikh-Wazed political family and mother of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

, the founding president of Bangladesh. She was the grandmother of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh,

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

Biography

Sheikh Sayera Khatun was born to Sheikh Abdul Majid in 1886. She was married to her paternal first-cousin

Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Sheikh Lutfur Rahman ( bn, শেখ লুৎফর রহমান; 1881 – 30 March 1975) was a Bangladeshi ''serestadar'', an officer responsible for record-keeping at the Gopalganj civil court in British India. His son Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ...

, the son of her father's brother Sheikh Abdul Hamid. Her father had four daughters, so when she married her cousin she inherited all the family property. She lived in

Tungipara Upazila Tungipara ( bn, টুঙ্গিপাড়া) is an upazila of Gopalganj District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the birthplace of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of independent Bangladesh and his grave is also h ...

, Gopalganj District. She had six children, four girls and two boys. Her two sons were

and

Sheikh Abu Naser Sheikh Abu Naser (1928–1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and the only brother of the first President of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was the uncle of the present Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. Early life His elder broth ...

and her daughters were Sheikh Fatema Begum, Sheikh Asia Begum, Sheikh Amena Begum, and Khadijah Hossain Lily.

1971 Liberation war

During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

, Sheikh Sayera Khatun and her husband

, along with the family of

were put under arrest by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

. Initially, Sayera Khatun and her husband were in Khulna at their younger son

Naser Naser may refer to: Places * Naser (river), better known as Nežárka, a river in South Bohemia, Czech Republic * Naser, Khuzestan, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * Naser, South Khorasan, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran Other ...

's house in Khulna, but was later sent away to their ancestral home in

Gopalganj Gopalganj may refer to: Bangladesh *Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, a district of Dhaka Division **Gopalganj, Bangladesh, a town and headquarter of Gopalganj district **Gopalganj Sadar Upazila, an upazila of Gopalganj District **Gopalganj-1, a par ...

. On April 8, 1971, the

looted ornaments and other valuables from the house and later bulldozed and set fire to it. The soldiers also shot dead four relatives and two servants of the household. Sayera Khatun and her husband were rendered homeless until the local

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for ''Awam Awam ( ur, ) is the Urdu language word for common people or general public. In the early 20th century, the word was extensively used in the Indian subcontinent to refer to the general po ...

activists built them a temporary shed which was also destroyed by the

after 20 days. They were then sent away to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

where they were put under arrest with their elder son's family.

Death and legacy

Sayera Khatun died on 31 March 1975 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Sheikh Sayera Khatun Medical College and Hospital in Gopalganj District was named after her. The colle annually in

Bangabandhu Bhaban Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban or Dhanmondi 32, located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh, was the personal residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was also called Bangabandhu, the founder and president of Banglades ...

and

Bangabandhu Memorial Museum Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban or Dhanmondi 32, located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh, was the personal residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was also called Bangabandhu, the founder and president of Banglades ...

in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, by

Bangladesh Awami League Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and members of the Sheikh-Wazed family members.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatun, Sayera Sheikh Mujibur Rahman family 1975 deaths People from Gopalganj District, Bangladesh Housewives 1886 births Bangladeshi people of Arab descent