History & Background
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born on 9 December 1880 in Payrabandh village, Mithapukur upazila, Rangpur, and grew up to become one of Bengal's foremost writers, educationists, and social reformers, dedicating her life to women's education and rights during the British colonial era. In 1997, the government took up a project to honour her legacy, acquiring land adjacent to her ancestral home, and the Begum Rokeya Memorial Centre was formally established on 3.15 acres at Payrabandh on 1 July 2001, built at a cost of around 5 crore taka. The centre was created to preserve Rokeya's memory, house a museum on her life and works, support the rehabilitation and training of underprivileged women, and encourage research into her writings.