Cultural institution Chhayanaut has postponed the event to celebrate the rainy season, named after its founding president eminent poet Sufia Kamal, after taking stock of the Covid-19 situation in the country. The event was scheduled to take place Friday at the Chhayanaut Sangskriti Bhaban in the capital's Dhanmondi and be broadcast on Chhayanaut's official Facebook page and YouTube channel. The event "Sufia Kamal Smarok Borshar Onushthan" (Sufia Kamal Memorial Monsoon Celebration) was initiated to mark the 111th birth anniversary of the legendary poet. READ: Chhayanaut pays tribute to Rabindra Sangeet legend Mita Haque "Due to the recent surge in the Covid-19 case test positivity rate, the Sufia Kamal Memorial Monsoon Celebration which was scheduled to be held Friday, Ashar 10, 1429, has been postponed," Chhayanaut General Secretary Laisa Ahmed Lisa said. "We plan to organise this event next month, the Bengali month of Shraban, if the situation improves." Sufia Kamal established Chhayanaut at the end of 1961.

The 22nd death anniversary of Begum Sufia Kamal, country's trailblazing woman activist, poet and educationist was observed on Saturday. The day was observed in a befitting manner by different socio-cultural organisations, unlike last year’s limited programs due to the pandemic being near its peak. Commemorating the eminent personality, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate massages. Read: Notable works of Bengali literature to be translated to Korean: KM Khalid Besides, several socio-cultural organisations including Bangladesh Mahila Parishad remembered the poet on social media. Bangladesh Mahila Parishad is the organization of which Sufia Kamal was the founding president. A woman ahead of her time, Sufia Kamal was instrumental in naming the first women’s dormitory of Dhaka University as Rokeya Hall after Begum Rokeya, the legendary educationist who was her own inspiration. Born on June 20, 1911 at Shayestabad, Barishal to Abdul Bari and Sabera Begum, Begum Sufia Kamal went on to become a civil society leader and a pioneer activist for women’s rights. She played active roles in the 1952 Language Movement, the oppressions against the nation before and during the 1971 Liberation War and every human rights movement in independent Bangladesh  till her demise. Despite lacking formal education during her childhood, she learned multiple languages at her home including Bengali, Hindi, English, Urdu, Arabic, Kurdish and Persian. Her first book of poems, Sanjher Maya (The Eventide Spell), was published from Kolkata in 1938 and  praised by legendary litterateur Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore. As a poet and writer, she then went on authoring more than a dozen volumes of poetry and several volumes of short stories, short novels, travelogues, etc. Her journal  entries in Ekatturer Diary (Diary of 71) narrated the horrific stories during the 1971 Liberation War. She was the founding editor of Begum, country's maiden women’s magazine. Read: Bangiya Sahitya Sangskriti Samsad pays tribute to late legends Sufia Kamal was the founding-chairperson of The Bangladesh Women’s Rehabilitation Board, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (now Brac), and Dustha Punarbasan Sangstha. She was the president of Chhayanaut, Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation and Nari Kalyan Sangstha. Sufia Kamal received a large number of awards including the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (1961), a major national award conferred by the Pakistani government that she returned in 1969 in protest at the then government’s oppressive treatment to Bengali people. Her major achievements include Bangla Academy Award for Literature (1962), Ekushey Padak (1976), Jatiya Kabita Parishad Award (1995), Women’s Federation for World Peace Crest (1996), Begum Rokeya Padak (1996), Deshbandhu CR Das Gold Medal (1996), Independence Day Award (1997), Czechoslovakia Medal (1986) and more. Besides, the National Public Library in Dhaka is named the Sufia Kamal National Public Library and Bangladesh National Museum named one of its main auditoriums in her honour. Sufia Kamal passed away on November 20, 1999. She was survived by her three daughters and two sons, including Sultana Kamal, a noted human rights activist and former adviser in the Caretaker government of Bangladesh.  

Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra University Professor Biswajit Ghosh said that poet Sufia Kamal was a visionary, who illuminated the road that led women towards socio-economic empowerment in the country. “One has to be amazed at the way poet-activist Sufia Kamal thought about the emancipation of women 70-80 years ago, and the way she organized movements and activities for ensuring women empowerment in the society is beyond commendable.” Read: 110th birth anniversary of Sufia Kamal today Dr Ghosh made his remarks on the eminent social reformist at a webinar organized by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) on Sunday, commemorating Begum Sufia Kamal on her 110th anniversary of birth. Presenting the commemorative speech titled "Sufia Kamal and the Feminist Movement of Bangladesh" at the webinar, Prof Biswajit Ghosh said, “Sufia Kamal earned her rightful position in the history through her change-making and impactful social activities, despite being born and raised in a confined society. The theoretical framework of feminism that we see in our society today was not properly active in the time of Sufia Kamal, but she saw the greater picture ahead of her time regarding the development of women, more than anything or anyone else.” The virtual event was streamed live on BMP’s Facebook page and chaired by BMP's current president Dr Fauzia Moslem, who commemorated the founding president on her birth anniversary with utmost respect during her speech. Read: Sufia Kamal's 21st death anniversary observed “The formation of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad under the leadership of poet Sufia Kamal on April 4, 1960, was a remarkable event in history, and our organization is still implementing effective social activities for not only women but for every one existing in the society. The feminist movement has been widespread in many ways after the twentieth century, and it is highly indebted to Sufia Kamal in so many ways,” Dr Fauzia Moslem said at the event. Maleka Banu, general secretary of the central committee of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, said, "Sufia Kamal, one of the most respected and leading figures in women's liberation and a vibrantly active luminary in many democratic, social and cultural movements of the country during her time, has not been physically present with us for more than two decades - but she is involved in all of our actions, thoughts, joys and crises.” The Poet Sufia Kamal Award-2020 (posthumously) was conferred to late journalist, teacher, politician and activist Nurjahan Murshid and Poet Sufia Kamal Award-2021 was given to Kumudini Welfare Trust for making social impacts through various humanitarian activities. Read:Google doodle celebrates poet Sufia Kamal’s birth anniversary Sharmeen Murshid and Tazeen Murshid, daughters of Nurjahan Murshid virtually received the award on behalf of their mother and Sreemoti Saha, director of Kumudini Welfare Trust, received the award on behalf of her organization, alongside other members of Kumudini Welfare Trust. Eminent Rabindra Sangeet artiste Iffat Ara Dewan and Nazrul Sangeet exponent Khairul Anam Shakil performed songs at the event. The webinar and award-giving ceremony was hosted by Seema Moslem, joint-general secretary and Umme Salma Begum, organizing secretary of the central committee of BMP.

The 109th birth anniversary of poet Begum Sufia Kamal  is being observed on Saturday.

The 109th birth anniversary of poet Begum Sufia Kamal will be observed on Saturday.