After obtaining a dental degree from the University of Calcutta in 1923,she became the first female dentist in undivided India. She was a close associate and adviser to her brother,Muhammad Ali Jinnah. After the independence of Pakistan,she co-founded the All Pakistan Women's Association,which played an integral role in the settlement of women migrants in the newly formed country. She remained the closest confidant of her brother until his death. After his death,Fatima was prevented from addressing the nation until 1951;her 1951 radio address was interrupted,which many believed was an attempt by the Liaquat administration to censor her.[3] She wrote the book My Brother in 1955,but it was only published 32 years later,in 1987. Before publication,several pages were removed by Sharif al Mujahid of the Quaid-i-Azam Academy,as they were deemed to be against the "ideology of Pakistan."[4] Fatima came out of her self-imposed political retirement in 1965 to participate in the presidential election against President Ayub Khan. Despite winning the popular vote,Fatima lost the electoral college to Ayub Khan.
Fatima died in Karachi on 9 July 1967,sparking controversy with rumours of unnatural causes. Although her nephew,Akbar Pirbhai,called for an inquiry,no official report was issued. Nearly half a million people attended her funeral in Karachi.[5]
Fatima was born into the Jinnah family on 31 July 1893,the youngest of seven children to Jinnahbhai Poonja and his wife Mithibai,in Kathiawar,Gujarat,during the Bombay Presidency in British India.[8] Fatima had six siblings:Muhammad Ali,Ahmad Ali,Bunde Ali,Rahmat Ali,Maryam,and Shireen Jinnah.[9] Of her siblings she was the closest to Muhammad Ali who became her guardian upon the death of their father in 1901.[10] She joined the Bandra Convent in Bombay in 1902. In 1919,she was admitted to the highly competitive University of Calcutta where she attended the Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College. After she graduated,she opened a dental clinic in Bombay in 1923.[11]
Fatima lived with her brother until 1918,when he married Rattanbai Petit.[12] Upon Rattanbai's death in February 1929,she closed her clinic,moved into her brother Muhammad Ali's bungalow to care for her niece Dina Jinnah and took charge of his house. This transition began the lifelong companionship that lasted until her brother's death on 11 September 1948.[13][14]
Fatima accompanied her brother to every public appearance that he made.[15] She travelled to London,England in 1930,returned to Bombay for a year,and then went back to England in 1931,where she lived for four years.[16] After she moved back to India,Muhammad Ali sought to make an independent homeland for Indian Muslims. She actively supported and campaigned for that cause. Muhammad acknowledged her contribution,especially when she stood by him during difficult times,offering encouragement and care.[12] Although she never held political office,Fatima played an important role in supporting Muhammad Ali,particularly during his illness in 1943,which helped him continue his efforts toward the creation of Pakistan.[17] She supported the Two-nation theory,which subsequently played a crucial role in the creation of Pakistan in 1947.[18]
On 11 August 1947,Fatima attended the first session of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan from the visitor's gallery,symbolising her unwavering support for Muhammad Ali,who was elected its president.[19]
She also played a significant role in the settlement of Muhajirs in the new state of Pakistan.[20]
Role in women's movement
Fatima played a significant role in mobilising Muslim women during the Pakistan Movement. At a time when most Muslim women were confined to household work and not actively involved in politics,her leadership helped change this dynamic. A separate women's organisation within the All-India Muslim League was created for that purpose. The movement then was led by Fatima as she headed a procession of the Central Committee. She urged the Muslim women to join in the Pakistan Movement.[18]
She was leading a movement that brought thousands of women into the fold of the Muslim League;the movement came to be termed as women's movement. The women's movement was started by Fatima;she trained women for the forthcoming challenges and provided them training of National Guards,first aid training,etc.,and also opened some educational institutes for them. In 1947,during the Civil disobedience movement against the Unionist Government of Punjab Province,the women in Lahore,under her leadership,were involved in processions and courting arrests.[18]
Views
In 1949,during a visit to the North-West Frontier Province,where provincialism and separatist sentiments had long been a concern,Fatima addressed a public gathering in Peshawar. She urged them to "[e]schew all personal and factionalism recriminations . . . [to] strengthen the hands of the popular government in all their nation-building programs." Similarly,in the polarizing Punjab elections of 1951,her message to the public was to "vote fearlessly for the right person;do not be cowed down by threats or lured by promises. The vote is a sacred trust and not to be bought or sold." While she refrained from endorsing any specific side,her concerns grew later that year as defections from the Muslim League became increasingly visible. Speaking at a women's gathering in Multan in December 1951,she cautioned against provincialism,describing it as "the greatest danger to the stability of the state," and urged vigilance to prevent its spread.[21]
Her commitment to women's empowerment was evident in a speech delivered soon after the formation of the Punjab government under Mumtaz Daultana in 1951,where she proclaimed the "onward march towards emancipation and freedom of women" and noted their increasing participation in social,educational,and political activities,including roles as members of legislatures and the Constituent Assembly.[22]
Calls to enter active politics
In 1954,following the rout of the Muslim League in East Bengal's provincial elections,numerous appeals emerged urging Fatima to assume a leadership role. A man from Karachi wrote,"A disconsolate nation turns to you as to a mother for solace…You alone can galvanize us once more into action and lead us along during the second stage of our march." Similarly,a journalist from Dhaka implored her to accept the presidency of the Muslim League,calling her "the ablest person to lead and guide this organization."[23]
Support also came from various organizations,such as the City Muslim League chapter of Hyderabad (Sindh),which declared in an open letter that Fatima was the only person "above personal jealousies and scruples" who commanded the "highest honour and regard of the masses." Calls for her leadership resurfaced in 1955,with the Karachi Bar Association passing a resolution urging her "to come forward and actively lead the nation," and again in 1958,after the death of Muslim League President Abdul Rab Nishtar,when prominent women from the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan requested her to assume the party's leadership.[24]
Several women from the newly formed Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan,including Jahanara Shahnawaz,wrote to Fatima requesting her to accept the presidency of the Pakistan Muslim League,with support from Muslim League chapters such as in Rahim Yar Khan. Additionally,a man from Lahore suggested Fatima organize a new party,criticizing the failure of existing political parties. A student from Rawalpindi,excited by the possibility of Fatima leading the Muslim League,urged her to reconsider her decision to decline the presidency for the sake of the country.[25]
In the 1960s,Fatima returned to the forefront of political life when she ran for the presidency of Pakistan as a candidate for the Combined Opposition Parties (COPP).[26] She described her opponent,Ayub,as a dictator.[27] In her early rallies,nearly 250,000 people thronged to see her in Dhaka,and a million lined the 293-mile route from there to Chittagong. Her train,called the Freedom Special,was 22 hours late because men at each station pulled the emergency cord,and begged her to speak. The crowds hailed her as Madar-e-Millat,(Mother of the Nation).[28]
In her speeches,she argued that by coming to terms with India on the Indus Water dispute,Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers to India. She narrowly lost the election,winning a majority in some provinces. The election did not involve direct democracy of the population,and some journalists and historians believe that if it had been a direct election she could have won.[29][30]
Fatima,popularly acclaimed as the Madr-e-Millat,or Mother of the Nation[28] for her role in the Freedom Movement,contested the 1965 elections at the age of 71.[27][failed verification] Except for her brief tour to East Pakistan in 1954,she had not participated in politics since Independence. After the imposition of martial law by Ayub,she once wished the regime well.[27][failed verification] Yet after martial law was lifted,she sympathized with the opposition as she was strongly in favor of democratic ideals.[27][failed verification] Being sister of her beloved brother,she was held in high esteem,and came to symbolize the democratic aspirations of the people. The electoral landscape changed when Fatima decided to contest the elections for the president's office in 1965. She was challenging the dictator and self-proclaimed "president" Ayub in the indirect election,which Ayub had himself instituted.[27][failed verification]
Presidential candidates for the vote of 1965 were announced before commencement of the Basic Democracy elections,which was to constitute the Electoral College for the Presidential and Assembly elections. There were two major parties contesting the election,the Convention Muslim League and the Combined Opposition Parties. The Combined Opposition Parties consisted of five major opposition parties. It had a nine-point program,which included restoration of direct elections,adult franchise and democratization of the 1962 Constitution. The opposition parties of Combined Opposition Parties were not united and did not possess any unity of thought and action. They were unable to select presidential candidates from amongst themselves;therefore they selected Fatima as their candidate.[27][failed verification]
Elections were held on 2 January 1965. There were four candidates:Ayub,Fatima,and two obscure persons with no party affiliation.[27][failed verification] There was a short campaigning period of one month,which was further restricted to nine projection meetings that were organized by the Election Commission and were attended only by the members of the Electoral College and members of the press. The public was barred from attending the projection meetings,which would have enhanced Fatima's image.[27][failed verification]
Ayub had a great advantage over the rest of the candidates. The Second Amendment to the Constitution confirmed him as president till the election of his successor. Armed with the wide-ranging constitutional powers of a President,he exercised complete control over all governmental machinery during elections. He utilized the state facilities as head of state,not as the President of the Convention Muslim League or a presidential candidate,and did not hesitate to legislate on electoral matters. Bureaucracy and business,the two beneficiaries of the Ayub regime,helped him in his election campaign. Taking advantage of political opportunities,he brought all the discontented elements together to support him;students were assured the revision of the University Ordinance and journalists the scrutiny of the Press Laws. Ayub also gathered the support of the Ulama who were of the view that Islam does not permit a woman to be the head of an Islamic state.[27][failed verification]
Fatima had detached herself from the political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the founder's death. The sight of her moving through the streets of big cities,and even in the rural areas of a Muslim country,added to her popularity. She proclaimed Ayub to be a dictator. Fatima's line of attack was that by coming to terms with the Republic of India on the Indus Water dispute,Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers over to India. Her campaign generated tremendous public enthusiasm. She drew enormous crowds in all cities of East and West Pakistan. The campaign however suffered from several drawbacks. An unfair and unequal election campaign,poor finances,and indirect elections through the Basic Democracy System were some of the basic problems she faced.[27][failed verification] She was backed by a consortium of political parties and won two of Pakistan's largest cities,Karachi and Dhaka.[31] The U.S. magazine,Time,while reporting on the 1965 election campaign,wrote that Fatima faced attacks on her modesty and patriotism by Ayub and his allies.[32][33]
Fatima won the popular vote in the presidential election of 1965. However through post-election rigging,coercion,and manipulation of the electoral college,Ayub got himself elected as the President of Pakistan.[31] It is believed that had the elections been held via direct ballot,she would have won. The Electoral College consisted of only 80,000 Basic Democrats,who were easily manipulated. The importance of this election lay in the fact that a woman was contesting the highest political office of the country. The orthodox religious political parties,including the Jamaat-e-Islami led by Maulana Maududi,which had repeatedly declared that a woman could not hold the highest office in a Muslim country,modified their stance and supported the candidature of Fatima. The election showed that the people had no prejudice against women holding high offices,and they could be key players in politics of the country.[34][35]
During a lawsuit,Matloobul Hassan Syed deposed that during Fatima's election campaign against Ayub,when some local Shia leaders told her that they would vote for Ayub,she contended that she could represent them better as she was a Shia.[36] According to Liaquat H. Merchant,"the Court was inclined to repose more trust in the avowed non-sectarian public stance of the Quaid and his sister".[36] Both Muhammad Ali and his sister "carefully avoided a sectarian label."[36]
Personal life
Fatima Jinnah never married and stayed childless. Her unfinished biography on her brother Muhammad Ali Jinnah,My Brother,was published by the Quaid-i-Azam Academy in 1987.[citation needed]
Death
Tomb of Fatima Jinnah in Karachi
Jinnah died in Karachi on 9 July 1967. Her death became the subject of controversy,with rumors suggesting unnatural causes,including suspicions of murder. Despite these claims,there was no hard evidence to support them. Her nephew,Akbar Pirbhai,requested an inquiry,but after the provincial government took over the investigation,no official report was ever produced or made public. Rumors persisted,leading to a citizen's appeal for a judicial inquiry in 1972,which resulted in no further action.[37] Her private last rites were performed according to Shia guidelines and the state-sponsored burial followed it.[38][39] She is buried next to her brother,Muhammad Ali Jinnah,at Mazar-e-Quaid,Karachi.
During her funeral,common people were prevented from approaching her body,and no one was allowed to see her face before burial. Those who attempted to do so were met with force,including baton charges and tear gas. Rumors circulated that visible wounds were present on her body,leading to concerns about her death. Newspapers and editorials also raised questions about the circumstances of her death.[40]
Honours and legacy
A monument in Fatima Jinnah Park containing a commemorative plaque. At this park,the government built a shiny tin statue of Jinnah.
Jinnah remained extremely popular and is considered one of the greatest female figures Pakistan has produced.[41] Jinnah is a source of the awakening of women's rights.[42]
In Pakistan,she rose to stand as Pakistan's national symbol,and unlike Ayub Khan who died in poor health and yet no honours were given him,Jinnah received tremendous honours from the society after her death.[43]
Several eponymous entities have been named in her honor. The notable ones are:[42]
Mohammad Ayub Khan was a Pakistani politician and military officer who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation in 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, serving from 1951 to 1958. Khan rose to prominence after his 1958 Pakistani military coup which ousted President Iskandar Ali Mirza. Khan's presidency ended in 1969 when he resigned amid the 1968–1969 Pakistan protests.
Liaquat Ali Khan was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan from 1947 until his assassination in 1951. He was as pivotal to the consolidation of Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was central to the creation of Pakistan. He was one of the leading figures of the Pakistan Movement and is revered as Quaid-e-Millat and later on as "Shaheed e Millat".
The Pakistan Movement emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British India. It was rooted in the two-nation theory, which asserted that Indian Muslims were fundamentally and irreconcilably distinct from Indian Hindus and would therefore require separate self-determination upon the decolonization of India. The idea was largely realized when the All-India Muslim League ratified the Lahore Resolution on 23 March 1940, calling for the Muslim-majority regions of the Indian subcontinent to be "grouped to constitute independent states" that would be "autonomous and sovereign" with the aim of securing Muslim socio-political interests vis-à-vis the Hindu majority. It was in the aftermath of the Lahore Resolution that, under the aegis of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the cause of "Pakistan" became widely popular among the Muslims of the Indian independence movement.
Begum Ra'ana Liaqat Ali Khan was the First Lady of Pakistan from 1947 to 1951 as the wife of Liaquat Ali Khan who served as the 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan. She was also the first female governor in Pakistan, serving Sindh. She was one of the leading woman figures in the Pakistan Movement, and a career economist, and prominent stateswoman from the start of the cold war till the fall and the end of the Cold War.
Dina Wadia was the only child and daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, and Rattanbai Petit.
Wazir Mansion, officially known as Quaid-e-Azam Birthplace Museum is a former family home in the Kharadar district South at Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan which is considered the birthplace of the country's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Mazar-e-Quaid, also known as Jinnah Mausoleum or the National Mausoleum, is the final resting place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Designed in a 1960s modernist style, it was completed in 1971, and is an iconic symbol of Karachi as well as one of the most popular tourist sites in the city. The mausoleum complex also contains the tomb of Jinnah's sister, Māder-e Millat Fatima Jinnah, as well as those of Liaquat Ali Khan and Nurul Amin, the first and eighth Prime Ministers of Pakistan respectively. The tomb of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, a stalwart of the Muslim League from Peshawar, is also located there.
Ziauddin Ahmad Suleri, best known as Z. A. Suleri, was a Pakistani political journalist, conservative writer, author, and Pakistan Movement activist. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of print journalism in Pakistan, and authored various history and political books on Pakistan as well as Islam in the South Asian subcontinent.
Naseer Ahmad Malhi was a Pakistani politician, known for playing a pivotal role in the formation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Malhi is recognised as one of the nation's activists of the Pakistan Movement.
Pakistan's first presidential elections were held on 2 January 1965. The voting was to be indirect, as the President had to be elected by the 80,000 "basic democrats", who made up the Electoral College. These Basic Democrats were democratically elected public representatives who served in the Divisional, District, Tehsil or Union councils. There have been multiple accusations of Pakistan’s military establishment rigging the election in favor of General Ayub Khan.
Rahil Begum Sherwani was the founder of the All India Women's Muslim League. The AIWML was the women's wing of the All India Muslim League. It was inaugurated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Aligarh in 1938. She was the younger sister of the famous Indian scholar Haroon Khan Sherwani and the daughter of Haji Musa Khan Sherwani.
The Muslim League was the original successor of the All-India Muslim League that led the Pakistan Movement to achieve an independent nation. Five of the country's Prime Ministers have been affiliated with this party, namely Liaquat Ali Khan, Khwaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, and Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar. The Muslim League was defeated in the 1955 elections to the Constituent Assembly by a political alliance known as the United Front. However, Prime Minister Chaudhry Mohammad Ali and later Prime Minister Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar were appointed to lead a minority government. The party was dissolved in 1958 after the declaration of Martial Law by General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army.
Fatima Begum is a revered woman of the Pakistan Movement.
The Jinnah family was a political family of Pakistan. It has played an important role in the Pakistan Movement for creation of Pakistan, a separate country for Muslims of India. The family held the leadership of All-India Muslim League, and its successor, Muslim League, until it was dissolved in 1958 by martial law.
The family of head of state and government in Pakistan is an unofficial title for the family of the head of state or head of government of a country. In Pakistan, the term First Family usually refers to the head of state or head of government, and their immediate family which comprises their spouse and their descendants. In the wider context, the First Family may comprise the head of state or head of government's parents, siblings and extended relatives.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947 and then as Pakistan's first governor-general until his death.
Akhundzada Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi was a Muslim theologian, jurist, and scholar of ahadith in Pakistan. He was active in the Pakistan movement, and served as a member of Council of Islamic Ideology. He was the companion of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and was active in the independence movement of Pakistan against the British Raj. He was a Sufi of the Chishti Sufi order and the founding member of the religious Barelvi Sunni strain political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP). He became its president in 1948. He was also a political figure in Pakistan and was the first recipient of Nishan-e-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan. He was also the chairman of Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat, an organisation opposed to the Ahmadiyya Movement that waged a campaign against Mirza Ghulam Ahmed's claim of prophethood.
Pir Syed Jamaat Ali Shah was a Pakistani author, Islamic scholar and Sufi saint of the Naqshbandi Order. He presided over the All India Sunni Conference and led the Movement for Shaheed Ganj Mosque. He was a contemporary of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, the founder of Barelvi movement.
Abd al-Ḥāmid al-Qādirī al-Badāyūnī, also known as Mujahid-e-Millat, was a Pakistani Islamic scholar, Sufi, poet, and leader from Pakistan. He was the founder of the Islamic college Jamia-Talimat-e-Islamiya located in Karachi.
The Combined Opposition Parties (COP) was a Pakistani coalition of 6-13 political parties founded in 1965, to run in the 1965 presidential, and general election against field marshal Ayub Khan and his authoritarian regime.
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