Photo: Md. kamrul hasan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Begum Rokeya Memorial Centre
About Begum Rokeya Memorial Centre
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born in 1880 in Pairaband, a village in Mithapukur upazila south of Rangpur. She became one of the most important social reformers in Bengal, arguing that girls and women had the same right to education as men.
She wrote in Bengali and English. Her novella Sultana’s Dream, published as a book in 1908, imagines a country run by women and is an early classic of feminist science fiction. In 1911 she opened the Sakhawat Memorial Girls’ School in Calcutta, which she ran for more than two decades, and she founded a Muslim women’s association. She died in Calcutta on 9 December 1932.
The memorial centre at Pairaband keeps her memory alive in her home village, with a museum on her life and work and space for women’s training and cultural events. Her birth and death are both remembered on Begum Rokeya Day, 9 December, with events across Bangladesh and in Pairaband itself.
It is a quiet, rewarding stop for travellers interested in social history. Evergreen Bangladesh Tours can add it to a day around Rangpur with Tajhat Palace; see Rangpur Division for more.
Things to do
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Learn about Begum Rokeya’s life
See the displays on her writing, her school and her campaign for women’s education.
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Walk through Pairaband village
See the rice fields and homesteads of the village where she grew up, a glimpse of rural Rangpur.
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Visit on Begum Rokeya Day
On 9 December the village marks her birth and death anniversary with official and cultural events.
Getting there
From Rangpur: about half an hour south by car, through Mithapukur.
From Dhaka: fly to Saidpur and drive via Rangpur, or stop on the way north by road, since Mithapukur lies on the main road between Bogura and Rangpur.
Where to stay
Stay in Rangpur city, about half an hour away, which has the best choice of hotels in the region.
We suggest hotels that fit your budget when we send your tour price.
More to see in Rangpur
Tours that visit Begum Rokeya Memorial Centre
None of our set tours stop here yet, but we can add it to a tailor-made trip.
Questions
Who was Begum Rokeya?
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880 to 1932) was a Bengali writer, educator and social reformer from Pairaband in Rangpur, best known for campaigning for Muslim women’s education and for her novella Sultana’s Dream.
Where was Begum Rokeya born?
In the village of Pairaband in Mithapukur upazila, Rangpur District, in what is now northern Bangladesh.
What is Begum Rokeya Day?
Bangladesh marks Begum Rokeya Day on 9 December, the date given for both her birth in 1880 and her death in 1932.
How far is Pairaband from Rangpur?
About half an hour south of Rangpur city by car.