In separate discussions marking Begum Rokeya Day in Barisal, speakers on Wednesday called for the elimination of gender discrimination.
Samajtantrik Mahila Forum and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, two affiliate bodies of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), and the regional office of the Bangladesh Girl Guides Association (BGGA), held the discussions in Barisal.
Those were part of weeklong celebrations marking the 143rd birth and 91st death anniversaries of Begum Rokeya Shakhawat Hossain.
This year Begum Rokeya Day was observed by the government on Saturday.
Samajtantrik Mahila Forum and Samajtantrik Chhatra jointly organized a discussion at the BSD office on Wednesday.
Mafia Begum, president of the Samajtantrik Mahila Forum’s Barisal district unit, chaired the event, which was moderated by Samajtantrik Chhatra Front Barisal city unit General Secretary Sujan Shikder.
Meanwhile, the other discussion was presided over by BGBA’s acting regional commissioner, Jahanara Begum, with BGBA District Commissioner Jesmine Nahar, among others, addressing it.
The speakers said that Begum Rokeya was the pioneer of women's awakening in the subcontinent and that her role in spreading women's education was unforgettable.
Despite being married off at the age of 16 and widowed 13 years later, Begum Rokeya understood how marginalized the position of women in society was.
In 1911, Begum Rokeya established a school in Aliullah Lane, Kolkata with only eight students, they said, adding that she approached every doorstep in order for voices to be raised against social barriers to and discrimination against girls and women.
Begum Rokeya, they said, worked her heart out to promote women's education and collect female students for the school.
Begum Rokeya's writings, too, highlighted social discrimination and focused on women's rights, the speakers said.
She disseminated the message that progress in society is not possible if women are left behind, and emphasized women's freedom and emancipation, they added.
Throughout her life, she struggled to establish the rights and dignity of women, the speakers noted.
