Jahanara Imam

Jahanara Imam:

Jahanara Imam (May 3,1929- June 26, 1994) was a Bangladeshi writer and political activist. She is most widely remembered for her efforts to bring those accused of committing war crimes in the Bangladesh Liberation War to trial. She was popularly known as "Shaheed Janani"(Mother of Martyrs). Jahanara Imam was born to a progressive Muslim family in Murshidabad, in West Bengal, India. She was the eldest daughter in a family of three brothers and four sisters. Her father Syed Abdul Ali was a Civil Servant in the Bengal Civil Service and she lived in many different parts of Bengal - wherever her father was posted. She had a very liberal upbringing and education and was an exceptionally spirited person. Her father recognized this and made sure she received the best possible education. Her mother Hamida Ali, who spent her entire life looking after her family and bringing up her children, also had high ambitions for her daughter. At that time there was a lot of social pressure against Muslim women pursuing further studies, but she was determined that Jahanara's education would not be constrained. Her parents' ambitions and their belief in education for women left a deep impression on Jahanara. After finishing her studies in 1945 in Carmichael College in Rangpur, Jahanara Imam went to Lady Brabourna College of Calcutta University and in 1947 obtained her Bachelor's Degree. She was an activist even during her Lady Brabourne College days. After the partition of India, she joined her family in Mymensingh in what became East Pakistan and started teaching at Vidyamoyee Govt. Girls High School. In 1948 she married Shariful Alam Imam Ahmed, a Civil Engineer, whom she met in Rangpur while studying at Carmichael College. They settled in Dhaka and she joined Siddheswari Girl's School as Head Mistress. She was instrumental in transforming the school from its humble beginnings into one of the top girls' schools in Dhaka. She was the first editor of the monthly women’s magazine called “Khawateen”. It started its publication in 1952 and she ran it successfully for several years. In 1960 she gave up her job as Head Mistress to concentrate on bringing up her two sons Rumi and Jami born in 1952 and 1954 respectively. She said to her “I have given education to thousands of school children, now I should spend some time to bring up my own children”. During this time Jahanara Imam finished her Master's Degree in Bengali Language and Literature and a Bachelor's Degree in Education from Dhaka University in 1962 and 1963 respectively. After that she went back to full-time teaching. From 1966 to 1968 she worked as a lecturer in the Teacher’s Training College in Dhaka. From 1970 she also taught for several years on a part-time basis in the Institute of Modern Language in Dhaka University. She spent a significant part of her life in education. She visited the USA in 1964-65 as a Fulbright Scholar to San Diego University and again in 1977 under the International Visitor Program at the invitation of US Government