Selina Banu (; 12 October 1926 – 26 January 1983) was a Bangladeshi politician, social activist, and feminist.

Early life

Banu was born in

Pabna Pabna () is a city of Pabna District, Bangladesh and the administrative capital of the eponymous Pabna District. It is on the north bank of the Padma River and has a population of about . Etymology * According to the historian Radharaman Saha ...

Pabna District Pabna District () is a district in west central Bangladesh. It is a geographically and economically important district. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. The main five rivers of this district are: Padma, Jamuna, Baral, Atra ...

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

, British Raj. Her father Washim Uddin Ahmad was a member of the

Bengal Legislative Council The Bengal Legislative Council ( was the legislative council of Bengal Presidency. It was the legislature of the Bengal Presidency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After reforms were adopted in 1937, it served as the upper house of ...

. She joined the Communist Study Group. She graduated from Pabna Girls' School in 1943 and from

Pabna Edward College Govt. Edward College, Pabna is one of the oldest colleges in Bangladesh. History It was established in July 1898 in Pabna. The college was first named as "Pabna Institution" and founded by Gopal Chandra Lahiri, a pioneer of education in norther ...

in 1945. She finished her master's degree from Pabna Edward College in 1949. She graduated from Dhaka Teacher's Training College in 1961. She worked in food and shelter houses managed by the women's Self-defence Association during the

1943 Bengal Famine The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region (present-day Ban ...

Career

Banu joined Pabna Government Girls' School as a teacher. She joined Awami League in 1953 and was elected Women Secretary to the provincial committee. She was elected to the

East Pakistan Provincial Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

next year from the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

. She was nominated whip by Awami League. She criticised the police treatment of

Ila Mitra Ila Mitra (; 18 October 1925 – 13 October 2002) was an Indian Communism, communist and peasants movement organizer of the Indian subcontinent, especially in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Early life and education Mitra's ancestors were fro ...

and asked for and to her detention. She was elected to the Central Committee of the

National Awami Party The National Awami Party (NAP) was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, through th ...

. She would later work as a teacher in Rangpur Government Girls' School and from 1959 to 1964 in Nari Sikkhsa Mondir. She was the headmistress of Pabna Central Girls' School. Banu joined Farida Bidyatan school as the headmistress in 1964. She joined the Moscow aligned fraction of the National Awami Party in 1967. After Dr.

Mohammad Shamsuzzoha Mohammad Shamsuzzoha (; 1 May 1934 – 18 February 1969) was a Bengali writer, professor and proctor at Rajshahi University. Shamsuzzoha was the first university teacher in erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) who was killed by the Pakistani ...

was killed in

Rajshahi University The University of Rajshahi (), also known as Rajshahi University (RU), is a Public university, public research university located in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and third largest university in Bangladesh. The university's 59 ...

, she presided over a protest in

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

in 1969. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

she worked in the refugee camps in

Salt Lake city Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

and

Agartala Agartala (, , ) is the capital and the List of cities and towns in Tripura, largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora River, Haora/Saidra River, about east of the border ...

. Her daughter, Shirin Banu, fought in the Bangladesh Liberation war dressed as a man.

Death

Banu died at age 56.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banu, Selina Bangladeshi feminists 1926 births 1983 deaths People from Pabna District Politicians from Rajshahi Division Pabna Edward College alumni