Bangladesh’s first woman editor dies

Nurjahan Begum, editor of the country’s first illustrated women’s weekly Begum, passed away at a hospital in Dhaka yesterday. She was 91.She breathed her last at Square Hospitals at around 9:45am, said officials of the hospital.Earlier on May 4, she was admitted to the hospital over respiratory problems including pneumonia, and, later, shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on May 7 as her condition deteriorated.Nurjahan, 91, earned repute as the pioneering woman journalist as she edited the weekly Begum for over six decades as a mouthpiece of Bengali women. The magazine mainly carried write-ups of women as part of its motto to promote the backward Muslim womenfolk.She was the daughter of another prominent journalist Mohammad Nasiruddin, editor of the then popular newspaper Saogat.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had taken care of her medical treatment at the hospital. President Abdul Hamid expressed deep shock at the death of Nurjahan Begum.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed deep shock at the death of Nurjahan Begum. In a condolence message, the prime minister recalled with profound respect the contributions of Nurjahan Begum towards awakening the women of the subcontinent. “The nation has lost a great woman at her death,” she said.BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia also expressed profound shock at the death of Nurjahan Begum. In a condolence message, she said, “Nurjahan Begum through the weekly magazine inspired women to acquire knowledge and involve in writing and cultural activities. Begum has long been working as a torchbearer for the country’s women.”