"No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men."
-Muhammad Ali Jinnah
"We appointed a committee of ladies at the Patna session. It is of very great importance to us, because I believe that it is absolutely essential for us to give every opportunity to our women to participate in our struggle of life and death. Women can do a great deal within their homes, even under purdah. We appointed this committee with a view to enable them to participate in the work of the League. The objects of this central committee were: (1) to organize provincial and district women's sub-committees under the provincial and district Muslim Leagues: (2) to enlist a larger number of women to the membership of the Muslim League: (3) to carry on an intensive propaganda amongst Muslim women throughout India in order to create in them a sense of a greater political consciousness -- because if political consciousness is awakened amongst our women, remember your children will not have much to worry about: (4) to advise and guide them in all such matters as mainly rest on them for the uplift of Muslim society."
-Muhammad Ali Jinnah- Presidential Address to the Muslim League in Lahore, 1940
"Countrymen! Give up the way of life of these foreigners. Stick to the traditional way of life of your ancestors. Serve not these foreigners, nor accept honours from them."
-Bi Amma
-Bi Amma
Fatima Ali Jinnah's Role
"Fatima Jinnah also joined the Muslim League, becoming a leader in the organization and protesting against the conservative position the organization took against women. She led the All-India Muslim Women’s Committee when it was formed in 1938. Buoyed by her position and by her natural charisma, Fatima Jinnah made a tour of India, forming branches of the committee, student federations, women’s educational cooperatives, and the Fatima Jinnah Women’s Medical College. The All-India Muslim Women’s Committee sought educational opportunities for women, access to health care, and an end to child marriages. They bolstered women’s political involvement by getting women to the polling place at elections (women were granted the right to vote by provincial assemblies in 1919). The All-India Muslim Women’s Committee also supported the demand for a separate Pakistan." |
The Dedication of Begum Rana
"She was not only the wife of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan but also a great leader in her own regard. She encouraged political workers and brought about a great change for women by bringing them to the forefront to obtain the rightful status in society...In 1947, when the refugees began to pour in from across the border, she organized women to come forward with supplies and medical aid." |
The Women of the Pakistan Movement
Many people are unaware of the pivotal role the Muslim women played in the fight for Pakistan's independence. This is a very significant feature of the Pakistan Movement because it is really the first time women are given a political platform, and allowed to publicly take a political stance. Pakistan, a new nation that emerged in part due these women dedication is a major turning point and gives women this honorable opportunity, an opportunity that is still not properly offered to women of today's modern world.