Founded by Begum Rokeya more than 100 years ago, Sakhawat Memorial Girls School is a government girls school with more than 1,300 students
Nestled in an upscale Kolkata neighbourhood, Lord Sinha Road; off Park Street is the school of Begum Rokeya’s dreams. Sakhawat Memorial Girls School stands out in a neighbourhood famous for premium private schools such as La Martiniere, Shri Shikshayatan, Birla High School and St. Xaviers. This government school that charges fees of ₹250/month for primary sections and ₹290/month for secondary sections stands tall on its founder’s vision to empower women through education so they can participate in society as full citizens.
Begum Rokeya is a 20th century pioneer in education and emancipation of Muslim women in the subcontinent and the writer of the much revered and pathbreaking feminist novel- Sultana’s Dream (1905). Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born in 1880 in Rangpur (now in Bangladesh) to a well off but orthodox Bengali Muslim family. The societal norms of the era allowed girls to have religious education via learning only Arabic and Persian. It deprived girls of basic formal education.
Rokeya was helped by her sister Karimunnesa and brother Ibrahim Saber who taught her English and Bengali. She was married at the age of 16 to a much older man named Khan Bahadur Sakhawat Hossain who was supportive of furthering her studies. He passed away 10 years into their marriage but he did leave behind a substantial amount of funds for Rokeya to pursue her dream of opening a girls school.
A project born of passion
Five months after the death of her husband, Rokeya started a high school in Bhagalpur. She named it after him — Sakhawat Memorial Girls High School . Disputes with her in-laws made her shift the school to Kolkata.
The school had a rocky start with few willing to take admission in it. Rokeya started a door-to-door campaign to encourage students to join her school but was met with a lot of opposition and reluctance. However, after much persuasion, the first batch commenced with nine girls.
Rokeya Begum ran the school for some 24 years until she passed away. Despite the initial hesitation of parents and several other obstacles, the school has been providing education to girls for more than 100 years. The school has grown to be amongst the best girls schools in the region. It has some 1,300 students now, from Kindergarten to Class 12.
Bengali and Urdu medium
The school offers admission into its Pre-Primary section from the age of 6 and has Class 1-12. Its curriculum is affiliated to WBSE (West Bengal Board of Secondary Education) and WBCHSE (West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education).
Two mediums of instruction are offered in parallel: Bengali and Urdu running parallel from Pre-Primary to the Secondary level. The school has two mediums of instruction in the Higher Secondary level as well. Science subjects are taught in both Bengali and English medium in the H.S level. The Bengali/Urdu student ratio is 70 to 30.
In accordance with the vision and rich literary background of Begum Rokeya, the school houses a well stacked library adorned with more than 2,000 books and journals. Two large buildings and a small but lush playground are the school’s hallmarks. The classrooms are clean and airy; there are a few extra rooms for co-curricular activities and workshops.
Begum Rokeya is a 20th century pioneer in education and emancipation of Muslim women in the subcontinent and the writer of the much revered and pathbreaking feminist novel- Sultana’s Dream (1905)
To motivate students to take part in community service the school runs an Eco club and a Consumer club. A Career Hub and a yearly career fair are some features. Being a state government school, its students are beneficiaries of all state sponsored programmes i.e Mid Day Meals, Free books and uniform.
Sakhawat Memorial Government Girls’ High School has been registered under “Global Schools” – a part of the UK-India Educational Research Initiative programme (UKIERI), launched by The British Council of India, in collaboration with the government of India and the UK government.
Rokeya’s legacy
Begum Rokeya’s literary career spanned across almost around three decades and her writings are a shining light even today. Apart from Abarodh Basini and Matichur, her novel Sultana’s Dream can be rightly called her Magnum Opus. The novel imagines a world without men in open spaces and women at the helm of affairs. The revered novel is seen as something which incorporated the feminist ideal into the Indian literary tradition. The work was recently inducted by UNESCO to its ‘Memory of the World’ list.
Published – March 07, 2025 10:11 pm IST