[2] Imam was born on 3 May 1929 in Murshidabad, West Bengal, British India,[3][4] the eldest daughter in a family of three brothers and four sisters.

At that time there was a lot of social pressure against Muslim women pursuing further studies, but Hamida was determined that Jahanara's education would not be constrained.

[5] After the partition of India, she joined her family in Mymensingh in what became East Pakistan and started teaching at Vidyamoyee Govt.

In 1960, Imam gave up her job as the head mistress to concentrate on bringing up her two sons Rumi and Jami born in 1951 and 1954 respectively.

She visited the US in 1964–65 as a Fulbright Scholar to University of San Diego and again in 1977 under the International Visitor Program at the invitation of US Government.

Jahanara's husband and her younger son Jami along with other male members of the family were also picked up for interrogation and were tortured.

As the ruler of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman (1975–1981) enacted several controversial measures, ostensibly to win the support of Islamic political parties and opponents of the Awami League.

The committee called for the trial of people who committed crimes against humanity in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistani forces.

The Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee set up mock trials in Dhaka on 26 March 1992 known as Gono Adalat (People's Court) and 'sentenced' persons they accused of being war criminals.

[14] However, Bangladeshi writer and filmmaker Humayun Ahmed, disagrees that she was charged and commented that her movement was part of a "stage-managed game.

[17] Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed was found guilty over the murder of her son in Bangladesh Liberation war by International Crimes Tribunal.