Mokbula Manzoor

[1] Makbula Manzoor is noted for writing from a woman's perspective in a male-dominated society; her 1998 novel Kaler Mandira is one such example, and references female exploitation during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

A superb story-teller, Makbula has skillfully portrayed the socio-political history of Bangladesh and the endless struggle of ordinary men and women.

[citation needed] Makbula spent most of her childhood years amongst the lush green fields, rivers and open skies of northern Bengal.

[citation needed] The nature of her father's police duties required the family to move throughout northern Bengal; across the Bogra, Pabna and Dinajpur districts.

Her experiences are reflected in many of her works, most notably in her novel Kaler Mondira (Cymbal of Time) where she documents the torture inflicted on the women of Bangladesh by Pakistani forces.

Through to her teenage years she wrote poems and some short stories but was later encouraged to focus on her fiction by the eminent artist Quamrul Hasan.

Whilst a Bachelor of Arts student, Makbula published her first novel Akash Kanya (Daughter of the Sky) which was serialised in the weekly Begum.