People of all walks of life in Chittagong have paid homage to eminent writer and freedom fighter Shahid Jaya Begum Mushtari Shafi.
Her body was brought to the Central Shaheed Minar premises in Chittagong on Wednesday morning.
A police team led by Additional Deputy Commissioner ASM Jamshed Khandaker gave a guard of honour to Begum Mushtari Shafi, a soldier of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. Additional Deputy Commissioner (South) Aminul Islam and Mushtari Shafi's son-in-law Lt Colonel (Retd) Nazrul Islam, MP were present at the time.
At the end of the guard of honor, Mushtari Shafi's daughter Sharmin Shafi administered an oath.
Ekushey Medal winning poet and journalist Abul Momen, Vice Chancellor of Chattogram University Dr Shirin Akter and its Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Benu Kumar Dey, Bir Muktijoddha Balagat Ullah, City Awami League General Secretary AJM Nasir Uddin, CPB, Chattogram District General Secretary Ashok Saha, Udichi Chattogram Vice-President Dr Chandan Das, Begum Mushtari Shafi's son Mehraj Tahsan Shafi, heroic freedom fighter Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, President of Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee Chattogram Delwar Majumder, Poet and Journalists Kamrul Hasan Badal and Omar Kaiser, General Secretary of South District Awami League Mofizur Rahman, General Secretary of District Shilpakala Academy Saiful Alam Babu, President of Proma Avritti Sangsad Rashed Hasan, Regional Director of Bangladesh Betar Chattogram Center SM Mostafa Sarwar, Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikyo Parishad Shyamal Kumar Palit, President of Bodhan Avrtti Sangsad Abdul Halim Dobhas, among others, addressed the ceremony.
Mehraj Tahsan Shafi, son of Shahid Shafi, said: "My mother did not fight in the Liberation War for any medal. She fought for the country. My father Dr Shafi was not only a martyr of the Liberation War, he was also an intellectual.”
She was later buried at Chaitanyagali Baish Mahalla graveyard this evening.
Shahid Jaya Mushtari Shafi, a well-known writer, freedom fighter, woman leader and president of Udichi Chittagong, died at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka around 4 pm on Monday. She had been suffering from respiratory disease for a long time.
She left two sons, four daughters, and numerous relatives and admirers to mourn her death. Bangla Academy awarded her a fellowship in 2016 for her outstanding role during Liberation War. She also received the Rokeya Padak in 2020.