Zainul Abedin

Gifted by the artist to Sufia Kamal and Kamaluddin Ahmad Khan, Dhaka, 1968

Thence by descent

Sufia Kamal (1911 – 1999) was a pioneering Bangladeshi poet and political activist in the history of modern Bangladesh. Emerging in the 1930s, she was part of a progressive literary circle that included Rabindranath Tagore and was a prominent advocate for women’s rights and social justice. Kamal was a key figure in movements leading up to Bangladesh’s independence, and later in life she served as head of the country’s largest women's organization, the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad. Widely honored during her lifetime, Kamal remains a national cultural icon and, in 1999, became the first woman in Bangladesh to receive a state funeral.

The friendship between Zainul Abedin, Kamal, and her husband, Kamaluddin Ahmad Khan (1907-1977), dates back to the early 1930s. Over the years, Abedin and Kamal gained prominence and collaborated on organizations such as Kochi Kanchar Mela (Gathering of Budding Children). Kamaluddin, a social philosopher, literary critic, author, and translator, though less of a public figure, made progressive and pioneering contributions to gender equality, interreligious harmony, literature, and scientific thinking.