Sufia Ahmed

Sufia Ahmed
সুফিয়া আহমেদ
Born(1932-11-20)20 November 1932
Faridpur District, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died9 April 2020(2020-04-09) (aged 87)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
NationalityBangladeshi
EducationPh.D.
Alma mater
OccupationAcademic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1955; died 2003)​
Children
FatherMuhammad Ibrahim
AwardsEkushey Padak

Sufia Ahmed (née Ibrahim; 20 November 1932 – 9 April 2020)[1][2] was a Bangladeshi academic. She was selected as the first female National Professor of Bangladesh in January 1995. She was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2002 by the Government of Bangladesh.[3]

Career

Ahmed was born in the Faridpur District to M Ibrahim, a justice and former vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka and Lutfunnessa Ibrahim.[3][4] She was a student of Brojomohun College in Barisal. In 1950, she got admitted to the University of Dhaka (DU). She was one of the female forerunners to break section 144 and deny the curfew in DU Campus on February 21, 1952.[5] She earned her Ph.D. degree in 1960 in London.[3]

Ahmed joined as a faculty member at the Department of Islamic History and Culture of the University of Dhaka in 1961.[3] She was a visiting professor of Bosphorus University in Istanbul and Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[3]

Ahmed served as a member of board of the directors of Bangladesh Bank.[6] She was the president of Bangladesh Itihas Parishad.[7]

Personal life

Ahmed married Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed in June 1955. Together they had a son, Syed Refaat Ahmed, 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh[8] and a daughter, Raina Ahmed, a physician.[9]

On July 18, 2004, Sufia Ahmed established a trust fund titled "Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Memorial Foundation" at the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.[10]

Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Tasneem Raina Fateh, the two children of Sufia Ahmed, established a trust fund titled "National Professor Dr. Sufia Ahmed Memorial Foundation" on November 20, 2020 at the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.[11]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Thirty Oral History interviews". Bengali Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  2. ^ "National Professor Sufia Ahmed no more". The Daily Star. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Sheikh Rafiq (7 February 2010). জাতীয় অধ্যাপক সুফিয়া আহমেদঃ অন্যতম ভাষা সৈনিক. Biplobider Kotha (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. ^ Mustafa Kamal (12 July 2008). "Ishtiaq: An extraordinary legal mind". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  5. ^ Audity Falguni (26 February 2010). "His-story vs Her-story". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  6. ^ "DR SUFIA AHMED". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Preserve real history for new generation". The Daily Star. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Brief biography of Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. 11 August 2024. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024.
  9. ^ "In memorium : Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed". The Daily Star. 21 July 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Barrister Ishtiaqmemorial foundation established". The Daily Star. 22 July 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  11. ^ "National Professor Dr. Sufia Ahmed Memorial Foundation". Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Eight women get Sufia Kamal Award". The Daily Star. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016.