Concept
Fatima Jinnah
Overview
Fatima Jinnah (31 July 1893 – 9 July 1967) was a Pakistani politician, stateswoman, author, and activist. She was the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder and first governor-general of Pakistan.
After obtaining a dental degree from the University of Calcutta in 1923, she became the first woman to qualify as a dentist in British India. She was a close associate and adviser to her brother, accompanying him throughout the Pakistan Movement and participating in the activities of the All-India Muslim League. After the independence of Pakistan, she assisted in the settlement of Muhajirs and established the Women's Relief Committee, which later evolved into the All Pakistan Women's Association. 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 Ali Khan government to censor her. She wrote the book My Brother in 1955, but it was only published 32 years later, in 1987. According to journalist Akhtar Baloch, before its publication, Sharif al Mujahid removed several pages, stating that they were "against the ideology of Pakistan".
In 1964–65, Fatima accepted the nomination of the Combined Opposition Parties (COP) to contest the 1965 presidential election against President Ayub Khan. During her campaign, she criticised Ayub's military rule and called for the restoration of democracy and civil rights. Although Ayub won through the Basic democracy electoral college system, Fatima received strong support in East Pakistan and urban centres, and the opposition alleged widespread electoral malpractice. Following the election, she largely withdrew from public life and spent her remaining years at Mohatta Palace in Karachi.
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. According to Akbar Ahmed, her legacy is associated with her opposition to military rule and her role as a symbol of democratic Pakistan. She is commonly known as Madar-e-Millat ("Mother of the Nation") and Khatun-e-Pakistan ("Lady of Pakistan"), and numerous institutions and public spaces in Pakistan have been named in her honour.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
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And if we have only developed national consciousness, if we have developed sufficient regard for our religion, we shall have developed power of suffering in the national and religious field. Considered in these terms the first stage in Non-co-operation is the simplest and the easiest state. If the title-holders of India consider that India is suffering from a grievous wrong both as regards the Punjab and the…
Mahatma Gandhi, Freedom's Battle Being a Comprehensive Collection of Writings and Speeches on the Present Situation
States what Fatima Jinnah is.
A free country which attempts to govern a distant dependency, inhabited by a dissimilar people, by means of a branch of its own executive, will almost inevitably fail. The only mode which has any chance of tolerable success is to govern through a delegated body of a comparatively permanent character, allowing only a right of inspection and a negative voice to the changeable administration of the state. Such a body…
John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government
Close in meaning to Fatima Jinnah; the term itself is not named.
The laws, always more concerned about property than about people, since their object is not virtue but peace, the laws give too little authority to the mother. Yet her position is more certain than that of the father, her duties are more trying; the right ordering of the family depends more upon her, and she is usually fonder of her children.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile
Close in meaning to Fatima Jinnah; the term itself is not named.
Related ideas
- Pakistan Movement
- London
- Presidencies and provinces of British India
- Delhi
- Islamabad
- University of Calcutta
- Gujarat
- Peshawar
- Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan
- Kashmiris
- Bengalis
Place in the tradition
Part of History of philosophy in Pakistan.