Famous Women s Rights Activist And Poet Dies At Age 75

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Famous Women s Rights Activist And Poet Dies At Age 75
27 Jan 2023
6 min read

News Synopsis

Latest Updated on 27 January 2023

The South Asian Network of Gender Activists and Trainers which later changed its name to The South Asian Feminist Network first met in Koitta, Bangladesh in April 1998 Kamla successfully led a workshop with the goal of bringing together founded and starting to emerge activists and academics from South Asia to share knowledge and advance the feminist movement in the region. A month-long gender course that Kamla helped create and lead each year is now regarded as the most thorough and compelling feminist training in the area.

She declined to stay in Fancy Hotels when she was in Bangladesh. She would spend the night at either our home or Khushi Apa's. She enjoyed carefully washing her own clothing and was very organized. She really likes short Chicken Curry and Daal when it came to Bangladeshi food. She acted as the Gamcha's Brand Ambassador and would sometimes want to be taken to Elephant Road so she could get her favorite white dinnerware from Shinepukur or white handkerchiefs from Gausia. We were all fascinated by Kamla who was also a performer and her never-ending supply of "Sardarji" jokes. She self-taught herself Bangla which she insisted on using when she was there. Every time we sang a song by Tagore she would join in.

Kamla was a person with many talents. She created a number of booklets in simple English so that development professionals from all backgrounds could understand and read them with ease. Her children's books challenged gender norms and provided fresh views of the world. She created Famous Songs and strong declarations. She was the idea behind the message and the heart of every instruction she provided.

She was committed to fighting for Women's Liberation, Gender Equality, and Justice. She also spoke the truth and had the guts to call attention to what was wrong. She was an amazing lady with magnetic energy who practiced yoga led training sessions Wrote Poetry and Songs ran across the world spreading her message of love and unity and supported tiny female-led NGOs and Organizations.

Last Updated on 25 September 2021

Kamla Bhasin is a key figure of the feminist movement not only in India but around South Asia as well. Her involvement in women’s rights movement is considered crucial and she has always been an important figure for women. She was born in Shahidanwaali Village in Gujrat district of Punjab which is now in Pakistan in the year 1946. She joined the Midnight Generation which is a group of people who were born right before or during the partition. Her journey as a poet and feminist is inspiring to say the least. 

Kamla, after her graduation, got a scholarship to study in Germany at the University of Munster. After completing her studies, Kamla came back and started working at the Seva Mandir in Rajasthan. From here onwards she became vocal about the oppression of women and their rights in Indian society. Soon she became a prominent feminist voice and a women’s rights activist. Her poem ‘Kyunki Main Ladki Hoon, Mujhe Padhna Hai’ became popular. She also made the Azaadi chant famous in India and every protestor uses it to raise their issue. 

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