Najma Chowdhury, an Ekushey Padak-winning professor, dies of COVID at 79

Najma Chowdhury, the professor emeritus of Dhaka University’s Department of Women and Gender Studies and a caretaker government adviser, has died of COVID-19.

She died on Sunday while receiving treatment at the Bangladesh Specialised Hospital in Dhaka, according to Prof Md Ferdous Hossain, the chairman of the DU Department of Political Science.

“She had tested positive for COVID,” he told bdnews24.com. “She passed away after being hospitalised for several days. Her funeral prayers will be held at Gulshan’s Azad Mosque after Asr prayers and she will be laid to rest at the Banani graveyard.”

The 79-year-old professor leaves behind two daughters. Her husband, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Mainur Reza Chowdhury, died in 2004.

Prof Chowdhury founded the Department of Women and Gender Studies and also taught classes in political science. She also played a notable role in women’s education and the movement for women’s rights.

In 1996, Prof Najma Chowdhury served as an adviser to the caretaker government. In 2007, she was awarded the ‘Rokeya Chair’ honour by the University Grants Commission. In 2008, she received the Ekushey Padak. 

In 1994, the American Political Science Association named ‘Women and Politics Worldwide’ – a book edited by Prof Chowdhury – the best book published in the US.

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman has expressed his deepest condolences over her passing.