Begum Zaffar Ali, née Sahibzaadi Syeda Fatima, was an Indian

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist and the first woman matriculate of the Indian state of Kashmir and Jammu who went on to become Inspector of Schools in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. She was an educationist, women's liberation activist, Deputy Director of education and later a legislator in the Indian state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. She was associated with the activities of the

All India Women’s Conference The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Delhi. It was founded in 1927 by Margaret Cousins in order to improve educational efforts for women and children and has expanded its scope to also tackle ...

and was its secretary before partition, but a chance meeting with

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

and his sister,

Fatima Jinnah Fatima Jinnah ( ur, ; 31 July 1893 – 9 July 1967), widely known as Māder-e Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), was a Pakistani stateswoman, politician, dental surgeon and one of the leading founders of Pakistan. She was the younger sister of ...

, who would later visit the family for banquets, influenced her and she left the conference to concentrate her efforts in women's liberation movements in the pre-independent India.› History
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Biography

Begum Ali was born in 1901 to Khan Bahadur Aga Syed Hussain Thakur, Home and Judicial Minister during Maharaja

Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, followi ...

's rule. ibasapp.pakkapapita.com/?p=5452/ref> She began her career as a teacher in 1925 at the Girls' Mission High School(present day

Mallinson Girls School Mallinson Girls School is located in the heart of Srinagar, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The school was founded by Ms Fitze Mallinson in 1912 at Fateh Kadal and later shifted to Sheikh Bagh in the Lal Chowk area of Srina ...

). A staunch believer in women’s rights, she went door to door to raise awareness regarding girls’ education in the Valley and persevered to empower them through education. Her speeches at Public events inspired adulation among the women who started sending their girls to schools. Begum was married to Agha Zaffar Ali Qizilbash, a scion of an aristocratic

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

family

settled A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

in the

region of India. The couple had three sons, Agha Nasir Ali-IAS, a civil servant who retired as Labour Secretary of India in 1977, Agha Shaukat Ali, who joined civil services of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

during the partition of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1947. Begum's youngest son is Agha Ashraf Ali, an academician who retired as Commissioner of Higher Education in

''The Veiled Suite: The Collected Poem'', an anthology written by her grandson

Agha Shahid Ali Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949 – 8 December 2001) was an Indian-born poet who immigrated to the United States, and became affiliated with the literary movement known as New Formalism in American poetry. His collections include ''A Walk T ...

, a noted Kashmiri-American poet, features a poem in memory of her. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1987. Later in a

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

interview, she announced to return the award in protest against the undemocratic policies of the Government. She moved to the United States in the 1990s and lived there with her son Agha Shaukat Ali until her death in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaffar Ali, Begum Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Kashmiri people Indian women activists Indian women educational theorists Writers from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Indian women's rights activists Indian feminist writers Women writers from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian educational theorists Activists from Jammu and Kashmir Women educators from Jammu and Kashmir Educators from Jammu and Kashmir 1901 births 1999 deaths 20th-century women educators

Biography

See also

References