President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday paid rich tributes to the memory of poet Begum Sufia Kamal on the occasion of her 112th birth anniversary to be observed tomorrow.
In separate messages on the eve of the anniversary, the President and Prime Minister also prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul of Sufia Kamal, who was one of the pioneers of all progressive, democratic and women's emancipation movements in Bangladesh.
The President in his message said, "Poet Sufia Kamal was an inspiring and enlightened figure for the women in Bangladesh. She had fought throughout her life to make the women free from the shackles of superstition and regression.”
Noting that Sufia Kamal actively joined all the country's progressive movements, Mohammed Shahabuddin said she was a pioneer in organizing women to uphold humanity, non-communal spirit, patriotism and democratic values.
He added that the main objective of Sufia Kamal's lifelong struggle was to establish a humane society with equal rights for men and women in line with the spirit of the Liberation War.
"I firmly believe that the literary works of poet Sufia Kamal will encourage and inspire the new and future generations to be imbued with patriotism," the President hoped.
In her message Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on the one hand, Sufia Kamal was a portrait of traditional Bengali women, on the other hand, she played an uncompromising and steadfast role in every movement and struggle of Bangla.
Sufia Kamal was instilled with the thoughts and ideologies of Begum Rokeya and it had a great influence on her life, she said, adding that in response to her (Sufia Kamal's) demand, the first female dormitory of Dhaka University was named after her.
The Prime Minister recalled Sufia Kamal's role in the movement against the ban on Tagore's songs by the Pakistani government in 1961.
The people offered the sobriquet 'Janani Sahasika' to Sufia Kamal for her direct involvement in different democratic movements, including the language movement in 1952, the mass upsurge of 1969, the non-cooperation movement and the Great Liberation War of 1971, she said.
The premier added that the Awami League government built a female dormitory after the name of Sufia Kamal.
Sheikh Hasina said Sufia Kamal's role had inspired the pro-liberation forces when the distortion of history began in the country after the assassination of the Greatest Bangalee of all time Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.
The Prime Minister hoped on the 112th birth anniversary of timeless poet Sufia Kamal that her philosophy and literary works will enlighten the hearts of the readers from generation to generation.
Born on June 20, 1911, in an affluent family, known as the Nabab (nobles) of Shayestabad in Barishal, Begum Sufia Kamal dedicated her whole life to the promotion of women's liberty, progressive thinking and non-communal politics.
She was an activist in the historic Language Movement in 1952 and also played a significant role in the Great War of Liberation.
Sufia Kamal was also an excellent organizer. In 1956, she organized 'Kochi-Kachar Mela', a platform for children, and organized the Bangladesh Mohila Parishad in 1970.
Begum Sufia Kamal died in Dhaka on November 20 in 1999 and was buried at Azimpur Graveyard with full state honour.
She won more than 50 awards for her contributions to literature including "Ekushey Padak", "Swadhinata Dibash Padak", "Bangla Academy Padak", "Soviet Lenin Award", "Begum Rokeya Padak", and "Jatiya Kobita Parishad Award".
