sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

Contribution of women: Autobiographies, Biographies, Memoirs and the discussions thereon
share considerably large portion of little magazines. In the selected 511 issues of different magazines,
there are 187 such writings which mean that on an average, one biography or memoir has appeared
in every 2 issues. Of these 187 writings, some are anonymous, some are critical analyses on this
genre; some pieces are written by more than one author. In total, there were 114 contributions by
the female and 100 by the male writers. A gender‐based distribution of Biographies and Memoirs is
as follows:
Women as auto/biographer: Thus, the mere number of contributions by women immediately
Female Contributions
Male Contributions
Biographies of Women written by Women 25 Biographies of Women wrıtten by Men: 52
Biographies of men written by Women 28
Memoirs about women by women 25
Memoirs about men by women 08 Memoirs by Men about Women 13
draws our attention. Although the biographical literature discussed here are not full‐fledged
biographies in the strict sense. It is not possible to write a full biography in the short span of a little
magazine. At times, only the bio‐data or chronicles of events of a celebrity’s life has been presented.
Some of the critical appreciations contain brief life‐sketches in 2 or 3 paragraphs. However, one
cannot ignore these short profiles or micro‐biographies. They may be called portrayals of
personalities or bio‐profiles which are short but lively sketches drawn out of personal experiences.
Thus, many times the elements of biography, memoir and autobiography have become overlapping
and intermingled. Be it a biography or a memoir, the personal relations of the writers have mattered
and dominated the scene. Women have written at length about their family, their parents, husband,
children (daughter), father and mother‐in‐laws, colleagues, music teachers, friends and so on. The
fond memories of being together, moments and events shared with the discussed personality, even
the trifles are not neglected! Some rare exceptions among these memoirs have focused on such
topics as sellers of old books in College Street, Chittagong Armoury Raid case, trauma and tortures in
prison life, arrest of Naxal activists during 1970s. These pen‐pictures provide invaluable information
about the time gone. Some of the writings have an explicit or implicit propagandist urge. Thus there
are hidden messages in some of these writings.
Women as subject of writings: The writings unravel the personalities of celebrities as well as the
comparatively less‐known or completely unknown ordinary women. Irrespective of time, place,
religion, profession, reputation, stature and status, personalities from all over the world have been
taken as subjects. The main objective of old periodicals like Bamabodhini was to enlighten the
women but at the same time the male editors and writers were cautious enough to keep the
womenfolk within limits. Therefore, they discussed lives of missionaries, saints, queens, warrior
princesses, women characters from Hindu mythology and some foreign personalities like Hypotia or
Florence Nightingale. These restrictions were completely lifted and removed during the late 20 th or
21 st centuries. As women themselves came forward as writers, and the immediate context was the
determining factor, personalities from different platforms were liberally discussed. Some of them are
famous and successful women like Margaret Thatcher, the iron‐lady of U.K. or Gita Mukherjee, the
famous Indian Parliamentarian and social worker; some poets and authors like Ashapurna Devi,
Kavita Sinha, Taslima Nasrin, Arundhati Roy, Nadine Gordimer and Doris Lessing; Captain Lakshmi
Sehgal, the Commander of the Women’s wing of Indian National Army founded by Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose; famous singers like Suchitra Mitra and Indubala; singer‐dancer and prostitute Gauhar
Jaan‐ the first female performer to record with the Gramophone Company; Binodini Dasi‐ the famous
theatre‐actress; Jahanara Imam‐ Bangladeshi martyr Rumi’s mother and political activist; Bhanwari
Devi‐ a Dalit woman allegedlt gang‐raped by some upper‐caste men; the inhabitants of a Women
Vagrant’s Home‐‐ It is a long but interesting list! Men like Rabindranath Tagore or Swami
Vivekananda have not been forgotten either. There is an amusing story of a cricket match in which
Rabindranath, the first Nobel‐laureate of India took part.