Nawab Faizunnesa

Faizunnesa Choudhurani
Nawab
Nawab Faizunnesa
Zamindar of Homnabad-Pashchimgaon
Reign1883–1903
PredecessorAhmed Ali Chowdhury
SuccessorMohamed Ali Chowdhury
Born1834
Pashchimgaon, Bengal, British India
Died1903 (aged 68–69)
Pashchimgaon, Bengal, British India
Burial
Laksham, Chittagong, Bangladesh
SpouseMuhammad Gazi
IssueArshad-un-Nissa Choudhurani
Badr-un-Nissa Choudhurani
Names
Begum Faiz-un-Nissa Choudhurani
HouseHouse of Tughluq (by birth)[1] House of Timur (by birth)[2]
FatherAhmed Ali Chowdhury alias Shahzada Mirza Aurangazeb
MotherBegum Araf-un-Nissa Choudhurani

Nawab Begum Faizunnesa Choudhurani (Bengali: নওয়াব বেগম ফয়জুন্নেসা চৌধুরানী; 1834–1903) was Zamindar of Homnabad-Pashchimgaon Estate in present-day Comilla District, Bangladesh.[3] She is most famous for her campaign for female education and other social issues. In appreciation of her social work, in 1889 Queen Victoria awarded Faizunnesa the title of "Nawab", making her the first female Nawab in South Asia.[4][5][6][7]

Faizunnesa's educational and literary work belonged to the post-1857 era when Muslims in India started having the full thrust of colonial acrimony and were at the nadir of deprivation and discrimination. Faizunnesa embarked on establishing schools for women in that cultural context. Metaphorically, she sought to rescue the community from the menace of despair and pessimism by portraying a Muslim hero in Rupjalal and thus gave them hope and confidence.[8]

An advocate of female education, a philanthropist and social worker, Faizunnesa was born in Comilla in what is now Bangladesh. She was married to a distant cousin and neighbouring zamindar, Muhammad Gazi, in 1860 as his second wife only to be separated after mothering two daughters, Arshadunnesa and Badrunnesa. She became a zamindar after her mother's death in 1883 and became increasingly involved in social and charitable work, and thus in 1889 earned the honour of being the first woman Nawab of British India. She penned few other literary pieces such as Sangeet Saar, Sangeet Lahari and Tattwa O Jatiya Sangeet, and is renowned for her pioneering educational and charitable work and establishing of schools, madrasas and hospitals. However, Rupjalal has remained her most important work and attracted more research and critical attention.[8]

  1. ^ "Page:The Indian Biographical Dictionary.djvu/48 - Wikisource, the free online library". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Photo: The Laksham Nawab Family Genealogy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ Prof. Sirajul Islam. "Choudhurani, (Nawab) Faizunnesa". Banglapedia.org. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference college was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Famous Bengali: Nawab Faizunnesa Chowdhurani ... | Bangladesh". Mybangladesh.tumblr.com. 12 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  6. ^ "বাংলা সাহিত্যে মুসলমান নারী". Daily Sangram. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  7. ^ "নারী মহীয়সী". Jaijaidin. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  8. ^ a b Hasan, Md. Mahmudul (Winter, 2010) Review of Nawab Faizunnesa's Rupjalal. The Muslim World Book Review. Vol. 30, Issue. 2. Available at http://irep.iium.edu.my/30644/3/N._Faizunnesa.pdf Archived 29 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine