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Jannatul Ferdous |
Jannatul
Ferdous was born on 1 July 1976 at Khulna district of Bangladesh.
She
is well known to her home and abroad friends as Ivy. In her family she is the
eldest issue of her parents Mr. Sharif Zafar Ahmed Siddiqi and Mrs Marium
Siddiqi. Ivy has two siblings. The sister is Lailatul Ferdous (Silvy) and the
brother is Sharif Md. Essa. During her childhood life her official name was Ivy
Ahmed i.e. with her father’s surname ‘Ahmed’. Ivy’s mother wished independent
names for her 2 daughters Ivy and Silvy which may not need surname of either
father or husband. So while Ivy was getting admission at high school the mother
named them officially as Jannatul Ferdous and Lailatul Ferdous. Ivy and Silvy
are their nick names to call. As a writer Ivy loves to write her
name as Jannatul Ferdous Ivy.
Ivy
started her education at Elezabeth Marble Primary school that was in a compound
of a Christian Missionary Church at Khulna district. She considers her primary
school’s education is the best education throughout her life. At high school
level she was a student of science and a student of Physics while she admitted
her under graduation level studies. A severe burn accident in 1997 stopped her
life’s harmony. She had to survive from that severe burn accident that caused
60% burn over her body. Her hands, neck and major areas of upper side of her
body was burn injured. She had to stop education for 3 years. It was the great victory of Ivy’s family to encourage
her as a survivor and face the world with a new life. Her sister Silvy is near
3 years younger to her. Silvy became the only teacher to Ivy to guide her for
Bachelor of Social Science studies. During these years the family faced extreme
financial crisis to continue expensive treatments of burn and plastic
surgeries. Ivy set for the exam with too much deep scars on her all joints of
hands. Although she achieved a poor number in BSS exams but she achieved a
world of confidence for the first time that she achieved all the numbers
without any academic institution’s help, she achieved it on her own knowledge.
Gradually she completed MA in English Literature from National University of
Bangladesh on 2005 and in Development Studies from BRAC University 2009,
Bachelor of Law (LLB) from National University of Bangladesh, Diploma in Social
Compliance from Institute of Management in Bangladesh and one certificate
course on photography along with many certificate courses on film making.
As
her profession, Jannatul has worked 2 international NGOs and 3 national NGO.
She started her profession in Action on Disability and Development (ADD)
Bangladesh on 2005 after completion of her first graduation as a Human Rights
Promoter. She continued that job till 2009 as Inclusive Education Project
Coordinator (unofficially). She worked at National Council of Disabled (NCDW);
Handicap International; DRRA and RMMRU after words. Right now she is leading
her own founded human rights organization Voice & Views (V&V) to raise
the rights issues of burn accidents survivors.
Ivy
wrote her first novel after completion of her BSS exam with some blissful
feeling of her gifted life and the diligence of her family to overcome all
adversities of her life. Especially her maternal grandparents and all relatives
of her mother’s side cared her like a new born baby. She was the first
grandchild of that family. Ivy was very pretty during her childhood. He father
was serving her profession at middle-east during her childhood. Her mother was
living at a flat of her maternal grandfather’s house. She and her sister were
very adorable children at their grandfather’s house. All of those hearts were
broken totally to accept the burnt look of Ivy but they inspired Ivy all
moments to see the beauties of world rather how the world looks towards her. She
tried to express their inspiration through her novel Shopno Nirman Proyash, An
Endeavor Towards A Dream. Over time she wrote Pora Matir Rajkonnya, Princess of
Burnt Soil, Ahmed Sofa: Oporahner Surjyo, several articles of Gender
Encyclopedia in Bangla (Edited by Selina Hossain), Nirobey, Somoyer Proticchobi,
Manobi, Nokkhotro, My Father.
Ivy
likes to understand women’s lives at home and abroad. She tries to understand
the effect of culture, education, climate, geographical diversity and other
factors on any individual woman versus national or global citizen. With her
observation she has directed her first documentary film ‘Emancipation’ to raise
the voices of four women with disability of Bangladesh. In her first feature
film ‘NIROBEY’ she raised the rights issues of working women. Her film
‘NIROBEY’ is been premiered at Bangladeshi TV channel ‘Channel-i” on 18
September 2012. It was screened in KynnysKINO International Film-Festival ,
Helsinki in 2013; at Women’s, Gender and
Sexuality Department, University of Wisconsin, USA on the Int. Women’s Day
Celebration 2014; in Dhaka International
Film Festival on 20&21 January 2016; on Ekadeshma Int. Film Festival at
Kathmandu, Nepal on 18 November 2017 and in “Bangladesh Film Festival”
organized by Embassy of Bangladesh in Brazil on 28 November 2017. Bangladesh
Embassy in Brazil honored ‘NIROBEY’ as opening film to honor Ivy as the first
woman with disability film-maker of Bangladesh.
Achieved Awards:
1. In Women’s Day 2018 Jannatul Ferdous Ivy
is awarded as “Award For Fighter Woman” by Rokeya Hall Alumni Association of
University of Dhaka.
2. In 2016 Honorary Award from Bangladesh
Mahola Parishad, on Women Rights in Cinema.
3. 2016 Honorary Award from Women
Architects, Engineers, Planners Association (WAEPA), Bangladesh on 12
December.
4. 2011 Honorary Award on Women’s Day from
Daffodil International, Dhaka
