Malalai Of Maiwand
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Malalai of Maiwand ( ps, د ميوند ملالۍ), also known as Malala ( ps, links=no, ملاله), or Malalai Anna ( ps, links=no, ملالۍ انا, meaning ''Malalai the "
Grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetics, ge ...
"'') is a
nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
al
folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; an ...
of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
who rallied
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
fighters during the
Battle of Maiwand The Battle of Maiwand (Dari: نبرد میوند, Pashto: د ميوند جگړه), fought on 27 July 1880, was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Under the leadership of Ayub Khan, the Afghan forces defeated a much smal ...
. She fought alongside
Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
and was responsible for the Afghan victory at the Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880, during the
Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
. She is also known as "The Afghan
Jeanne d'Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
" or as "The Afghan
Molly Pitcher Molly Pitcher is a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War. She is most often identified as Mary Hays (American Revolutionary War), Mary Ludwig Hays, who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. Ano ...
" to the Western world. There are many schools, hospitals, and other institutions named after her in Afghanistan. Her story is told in the Afghan school text books.


Biography

Malalai was born in 1861 in the village of Khig, about 3 miles southwest of
Maiwand Maiwand is a village in Afghanistan within the Maywand District of Kandahar Province. It is located 50 miles northwest of Kandahar, on the main Kandahar– Lashkargah road. The area is irrigated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority.
in the southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan. During the late 1880s, war broke out between
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, with the last war between the two states being in the 1840s. The British, along with their Indian forces, had launched a major expedition into Afghanistan from
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 ...
. The main
garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
of the British was located in
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
, which is the closest city to the town of Maiwand. The
military of Afghanistan ("The land belongs to Allah, the rule belongs to Allah") , founded = 1997 , current_form = , branches = * Afghan Army * Afghan Air Force , headquarters = Kabul , website = , commander-in-chief ...
was represented by commander
Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
, son of Afghan Emir
Sher Ali Khan Sher Ali Khan (); c. 1825 – 21 February 1879) was Amir of Afghanistan from 1863 to 1866 and from 1868 until his death in 1879. He was one of the sons of Dost Mohammed Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty in Afghanistan. Life Sher Ali Khan ...
. Malalai's father, who was a
shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
, and her
fiancé An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
joined with Ayub Khan's army in the large attack on the British-Indian forces in July 1880. Like many Afghan women, Malalai was there to help tend to the wounded or provide water and spare weapons. According to local sources, this was also supposed to be her wedding day. When the
Afghan army The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be t ...
was losing morale, despite their superior numbers, Malalai took the
Afghan flag The national flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان بیرغ; prs, پرچم افغانستان), also used as the flag of the Taliban, consists of a white field with a black ''Shahada''. It was adopted on 15 A ...
and shouted:Young love! If you do not fall in the battle of Maiwand, By God, someone is saving you as a symbol of shame! This inspired the Afghan fighters to redouble their efforts. When a lead flag-bearer was killed, Malalai went forward and held up the flag (some versions say she used her veil as a flag), singing a ''landai'' (a short folk-song sung by Afghan women): With a drop of my sweetheart's blood, Shed in defense of the Motherland, Will I put a beauty spot on my forehead, Such as would put to shame the rose in the garden! Malalai was herself struck down and killed by a British soldier. However, her words had spurred on her countrymen to victory. After the battle, Malalai was honored for her efforts and buried in her native village of Khig, where her grave remains today. She was 18 or 19 at the time of her death. She is buried in the village of Karez along with her father and fiancé, locals regard her grave as a shrine. The Pashtun poet Ajmal Khattak wrote the following lines about Malalai: My Malalai is living, and they praise others' beauty. Though they have eyes, they are blind.


Legacy

Malalai made an appearance in an animated opening scene of the documentary,
He Named Me Malala ''He Named Me Malala'' is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim. The film presents the young Pakistani female activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who has spoken out for the rights of girls, especiall ...
. Pakistan activist
Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
was named in honor of Malalai when she was born on July 12, 1997. Malala Maiwand, an Afghan journalist was also named to avoid the identity confusion with the Afghan Joan of Arc until her murder on December 10th, 2020.


Reception

The authenticity of the story and of Malalai has been questioned by many scholars. Even though she has become well received by the Afghan state and many believe it to be genuine, it seems to be more of a folklore than historical reality. No British historian of that time referred to or mentioned Malalai's name, even the local records are missing. The British author Howard Hensmen, in his book The Afghan War, does mention that one woman was found amongst the dead in Ahmad khel, but the battle of Ahmad khail occurred on 19 April 1880, while the battle of Maiwand was on 27 July 1880. Afghan historian Muhammad Siddiq Farhand wrote a three volume book "Afghanistan in the past five centuries" a very distinguished piece in afghan history, he also failed to mention such a character as Malalai. The first time Malalai's name was mentioned was 40–60 years after the battle of Maiwand. Many believe it was Abdul Hai Habibi who coined the story during the period of Pashto Tolana to support the national narrative and Pashtun nationalism. Habibi has previously been accused of forgery, in the case of
Pata Khazana Pata Khazāna ( ps, پټه خزانه, translation=The Hidden Treasure) is the title of a manuscript written in the Pashto language. According to its discoverer, the script contains an anthology of Pashto poetry, which precedes the earliest known w ...
.


See also

*
Nazo Tokhi Nāzo Tokhī (نازو توخۍ), commonly known as Nāzo Anā ( ps, نازو انا, "Nazo the grandmother"), was an Afghan poetess and a writer in the Pashto language. Mother of the famous early-18th century Afghan king Mirwais Hotak, she grew ...
, a 17th-century Afghan warrior *
Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
, the youngest and the first Pashtun Nobel Prize laureate, who was named after Malalai of Maiwand


References


External links


Afghan heroine Malalai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malalai of Maiwand Afghan activists 1861 births 1880 deaths Women in war in South Asia Women in 19th-century warfare Pashtun women 19th-century Afghan people hi:मलाला मैवंद