Fatima Jinnah was one of the iconic figures in the history of Pakistan. She was a classical manifestation of women empowerment, which was not even a recognised concept in subcontinent, back then. She also remained the closest confidant of her brother until his death.
Fatima Jinnah was born on 31st July 1893 and departed from this world on 9th July 1967. Along with her significant role in politics, she also managed to acquire a professional degree. She graduated from Dr. Ahmed’s Dental College in Calcutta in 1923, after which she opened her own dental clinic in Bombay.
One should keep this in mind, that, this was a time when acquiring education had severe negative connotations attached with it, for men, let alone women. Women in this era were confined to homes, and at a time when muslim women were all clad in veil, Ms Jinnah managed to stand for herself and made herself independent of male dependency.
Jinnah had complete faith in her and he always made her accompany him in public gatherings, which was something unusual at that time. Seems like they were both pioneers of feminism in the subcontinent and in Pakistan as it came into being.
She remained the most loyal companion of her brother and stayed with him in the last years of his life. After his death she was also keen to get a biography written on the life of Jinnah, his efforts and his political works.
She was also certainly the first women to be nominated for presidential elections against General Ayub Khan. Having a fear of failure, as everyone was well aware of popularity of Ms Jinnah, Ayub Khan monopolised the elections by introducing the system of basic democracy. In this system, only the basic democrats, which were around 80,000 at that time, could vote. And she became victim of manipulative political manoeuvres of the opponent.
She was engaged in various social activities, and kept promoting women education, took measures to ensure women health, and made certain that women do not lag behind in political arena. She was a women activist in real terms.
54th death anniversary of the iron lady of Pakistan is being observed today. She was indeed Madar-e-millat (Mother of the Nation) for Pakistani nation.
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