writing_womans_lives_symposium_paper_book_v2

and the female folk of the province could then better understand the message of Pakistan. It was
because of their affiliation with the idea of Pakistan that later their men urged their Nawabs to
decide in favour of Pakistan. The presence of Balochi Muslims outside the Jirga in which issue of
Balochistan’s affiliation was going to be decided, was clear evidence of this argument. All of them
were from the lower and lower middle classes. They were demanding their Sardars to cast their votes
in favour of Pakistan, while raising slogans for Pakistan. 29 Their wives at home were cooperating with
them and would tell them to go and put pressure on the Nawabs to decide in favour of Pakistan.
Conclusion
It was the radical approach of women of present Pakistani areas that, inspite of many difficulties,
played a vital role in the establishment of Pakistan. The participation of urban women and students
proved to be a role model for the downtrodden women. They gradually got political awareness and
became conscious of their nationhood. After establishing provincial branches of the Muslim Political
Organizations including branches of the Muslim Women League, Girls Muslims Students Federation
and branches of Muslim Girls National Guard, women leaders did the service to activate the
unemancipated women of lower and lower middle classes of various areas. Their role was significant
in the movement against British and Hindu subjugation. The effect of their effort was observed
during 1945‐46 elections when most of the women votes were cast in favour of the Muslim League.
They proved themselves to be more pro‐Muslim League and idea of Pakistan than the male
population of the Provinces. Their participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement in the Punjab
and NWFP was another evidence to prove the argument that without their radical and active
participation, achievement of Pakistan was a distant objective. They were the true spirit behind
popularizing the Muslim League with its objective of a separate Muslim homeland. The paper has
extended an effort to bring to light some of the omissions of women’s history of Pakistan Movement,
their resistance against the British government and the Hindu majority.
Keywords: Women, Radical, Pakistan movement, Present Pakistani areas, Documentary sources
Dr. Naumana KIRAN
Assistant Professor,
Department of History and Pakistan Studies,
University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
naumana.kiran@yahoo.com
naumana.history@pu.edu.pk
Notes
1
He was editor of Paisa Akhbar. Mohammad Anwar Ameen, Hayat‐i‐Mehboob (Urdu) (Lahore:
Paisa Akhbar Markaz, 2005), 84.
2
Hakim Aftab Ahmed Qurshi, Karwan‐i‐Shauq (Urdu) (Lahore: Idara Tehkiqat‐i‐Pakistan, 1984),
422.
3 Ibid., 226‐228.
4 Syed Salahuddin Aslam in interview with Professor Sardar Haider Jafar in Syed Salahuddin Aslam,
Bunn Ka Raha Pakistan (Islamabad: Gul publisher 1993), 306.
5
Syed Salahuddin Aslam in interview with Professor Sardar Haider Jaffer cited in bun Kai Raha
Pakistan, 306.
6 Files of Gold Medalists (FGM), 2004, F/126, Pakistan Movement Workers Trust (PMWT), Lahore.
7
Azra Asghar Ali, The Emergence of Feminism among Indian Muslim Women, 1920‐1947
((Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2000), xiv.
8 H. N. Mitra, ed., The Indian Annual Register Vol. I, 1942, (New Delhi: Gian Publishing House,
[1990]), 328‐329 and Interview with Sadiq Naseem, 2 April 2005, House No‐ 24, 7 th Avenue,
Islamabad, Sadiq Naseem was born in Taxila in 1923, did F.Sc in 1942 and joined PMSF.
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