[5][6] Syeda Sufia Begum was born on 20 June 1911, in her maternal home Rahat Manzil in Shayestabad, located in the Backergunge District of Eastern Bengal and Assam.

Whilst she was seven months old, her father Syed Abdul Bari left his job as a lawyer and became a Sufi ascetic, never returning home.

Her first book of poems, Sanjher Maya (Evening Enchantment), came out in 1938, bearing a foreword from Kazi Nazrul Islam and attracting praise from Rabindranath Tagore.

In 1947, Kamal became the inaugural editor of the Begum weekly magazine specialized on women's issues which was published by Mohammad Nasiruddin.

During the mass uprising in 1969, which demanded the resignation of Pakistani military general Ayub Khan, she promoted the cause by forming Mohila Sangram Parishad (lit.

Once Ayub Khan at a meeting with social elites of Dhaka, commented that ordinary people are like beasts and as such, not fit to be given franchise.

"[12] When the news of the 'killings' of Kamal and Dr Nilima Ibrahim by Pak Army after the crackdown on 25 March 1971 was broadcast on Akashbani, a radio station of the Indian state West Bengal, it drew criticism internationally and countries across the world put diplomatic pressure on the then Pakistani military government for clarification.

[13] Zillur Rahman, the then regional director of Radio East Pakistan, forwarded a paper to Kamal to sign with the statement "In 1971 no massacre took place in Bangladesh."

When she refused, Rahman threatened, "If you don't give your signature then it might create a problem both for you and your son-in-law Abdul Quahhar Chowdhury."

In 1971, several people in Dhaka including professor Ghyasuddin Ahmed and writer Shahidullah Kaiser collected medicine and food and delivered those to the posts of Sufia Kamal's house, from where the freedom fighters picked those up for their training outpost.

She was able to establish closer contact with the freedom fighters such as Abul Barak Alvi, Shafi Imam Rumi, Masud Sadek Chullu and Jewel in August.