Female Rebels & Activists

Jahanara Imam- জাহানারা ইমাম

Born May 3, 1929, in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Her father was, Syed Abdul Ali, who was a civil servant in the Bengal Civil Service. Her mother, Hamida Ali, was a housewife. Jahanara had 3 brothers and 4 sisters. The family moved all over Bengal, depending on where her father was posted. At the time there was a lot of stigma against Muslim women getting a higher education, but Hamida was determined her daughter should be able to get a better education. Jahanara graduated from Carmichael College in Rangpur (now in Bangladesh) and went to get a bachelor's degree from Lady Brabourne College of Calcutta University, in 1947. While at university, Jahanara was an activist. After partition in 1947, she joined her family in Mymensingh, in what was now East Pakistan; she than began teaching at Vidyamoyee Government Girls Highschool.

In 1948, she married, Shariful Alam Imam Ahmed, a civil engineer. The couple had met while Jahanara was attending highschool in Rangpur. They settled in Dhaka, East Pakistan (modern day Bangladesh) and she got a job as principal of Siddheswari Girls School, Jahanara played a key role in the elevation of the school into one of the most prestigious girls schools in the city. She was also the first editor of the monthly women's magazine, Khawateen, which published it's first edition in 1952.

In 1960, she quit her job so she could dedicate herself to raising her two sons, Rumi and Jami, born in 1952 & 1954 respectively. She is quoted as having said, "I have given education to thousands of school children, now I should spend some time to bring up my own children". Around this time, Jahanara was attending Dhaka University and received a master's degree in Bengali language and literature in 1962 and a bachelor's in education in 1963. After she graduated from Dhaka University, she went back to full-time teaching. From 1966-68, Jahanara was a lecturer at the Teacher's Training College, in Dhaka. Beginning in 1970, she also taught part-time at the Institute of Modern Language of Dhaka University; needless to say a significant part of her life was spent in pursuit of education. She visited the US twice, in 1964-65 she went to San Diego University as a Fulbright scholar and again in 1977, through the International Visitor Program at the invitation of the US government.

In 1971, after the Pakistani army began cracking down on unrest in East Pakistan on March 25, the Liberation War of Bangladesh officially began. Thousands of people joined the war effort including Jahanara's eldest son, Shafi Imam Rumi, who joined the Mukti Bahini to become a freedom fighter. During the war, Jahanara kept a diary and recorded her thoughts and emotions about the conflict. This would later become one of the most important documents from the Liberation War. Sadly, Rumi was captured by the Pakistani authorities and was never seen or heard from again. Jahanara's husband and other son, as well as several male family members, were also arrested and tortured by Pakistani forces. Her husband, Sharif Imam returned home beaten and broken and died a mere 3 days before the war ended and Bangladesh was declared a free country on December 16, 1971.

The second president of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman (1975-81), implemented several strict & controversial measures, in an attempt to win the support of other Islamic parties, who were rivals of the Awami League. In 1978, he lifted the ban on Jamaat e Islami, who were accused of collaborating with the Pakistani army. They formed the pseudo-military groups, Al-Badr, Al-Sham & Rajakar, who were Pakistani loyalists and were guilty of committing various war crimes against Bengali civilians. Ghulam Azam, the exiled chief of the Jamaat e Islami, was allowed to return to Bangladesh in 1978. In 1991, Azam was elected head of Jamaat e Islami, in retaliation, Jahanara formed the Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee (Committee for Eradicating the Killers & Collaboraters of '71) and became the face of of the organization. The committee called for the arrest and trial of people who'd committed crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971. The Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee held mock trials on March 26, 1992, which were called, Gono Adalat (People's Court). Jahanara and a number of others were charged with treason by the nationalist government. However, the charges were dropped in 1996 after her death, by Mohammad Habibur Rahman, chief advisor of the caretaker government.

After Bangladesh achieved it's independence, Jahanara began her literary career. During this period, she also travelled extensively around Europe, the US & Canada. She published her wartime diary, Ekatturer Dinguli (Days of 71). Like Anne Frank's diary, Jahanara's diary was a very intimate portrayal of her personal experience with tragedy. Her simple candidness resonated with many people, especially people who had lost loved ones during the war. During her career she contributed greatly to Bengali literature. When Jahananara started writing she also translated many works from English to Bangla including Laura Ingalls Wilder's, Little House series. She also won several awards including an award from Bangladesh's Writers Association (1988) & Bangla Academy Literary Award from the Bangla Academy (1991). The famous newspaper, Ajker Kagoj, dubbed her as the greatest freedom fighter of the 14th century of the Bengali calendar. Jahanara posthumously received the Independence Award (1997) and Rokeya Award (1998).

In 1981, Jahanara was diagnosed with mouth cancer and the operations she had made it difficult for her to speak, but she continued to write voraciously and working with the Mukti Bahini. Jahanara Imam died on June 26, 1994, in Michigan, USA. Her remains were returned to Dhaka where she was buried, according to her last wishes. Nearly 200,000 people attended her funeral to pay their respects to the national icon.

http://icrfoundation.org/home/jahanara-imam/