Fatima Jinnah was a Pakistani dental surgeon, biographer, stateswoman and one of the leading founders of Pakistan. After obtaining a dental degree from University of Calcutta, she became a close associate and an adviser to her older brother Muhammad Ali Jinnah who later became the first Governor General of Pakistan. A strong critic of the British Raj, she emerged as a strong advocate of the two nation theory and a leading member of the All-India Muslim League. After the independence of Pakistan, Jinnah co-founded the Pakistan Women's Association which significantly played an integral role in the settlement of the migrants in the newly formed country. After the death of her brother, she continued to remain a prominent philanthropist,[1] but did not remain politically active until 1965 when she participated in the presidential election against military dictator Ayub Khan, only to lose the primary because of election rigging by the military. After battling a long illness, Jinnah died in Karachi on 9 July 1967.[1] She remains one of the most honoured leaders in Pakistan. Her legacy is associated with her support for civil rights, her struggle in Pakistan Movement and her devotion to her brother. Referred as Māder-e Millat ("Mother of the Nation") and Khātūn-e Pākistān (Urdu: — "Lady of Pakistan"), many institutions and public spaces have been named in her honour.
Early life and career
Fatima was born on 30 July 1893, the youngest of seven children[1] to Jinnahbhai Poonja and his wife Mithibai, in a rented apartment on the second floor of Wazir Mansion, Karachi[citation needed]. Fatima had seven siblings: Muhammad Ali, Ahmad Ali, Bunde Ali, Rahmat Ali, Maryam, Fatima and Shireen. Of a family of seven brothers and sisters, she was the closest to Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Her brother became her guardian upon the death of their father in 1901.[3] She joined the Bandra Convent in Bombay in 1902. In 1919, she was admitted to the highly competitive University of Calcutta where she attended the Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College. After she graduated, she opened a dental clinic in Bombay in 1923.[4]
Muhammad Ali Jinnah's companion
Fatima lived with her brother until 1918, when he married Rattanbai Petit.
Upon Rattanbai's death in February 1929, Fatima closed her clinic,
moved into her brother Muhammad Ali Jinnah's bungalow, and took charge
of his house. This began the lifelong companionship that lasted until
her brother's death on 11 September 1948. Paying tribute to his sister, Muhammad Ali Jinnah once said, "My
sister was like a bright ray of light and hope whenever I came back home
and met her. Anxieties would have been much greater and my health much
worse, but for the restraint imposed by her".
Political life
Fatima accompanied her brother to every public appearance that he made.[6] During the transfer of power in 1947, Jinnah formed the Women's Relief Committee, which later formed the nucleus for the All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA) founded by Rana Liaquat Ali Khan. She also played a significant role in the settlement of Muhajirs in the new state of Pakistan. In the 1960s, Fatima returned to the forefront of political life when
she ran for the presidency of Pakistan as a candidate for the Combined
Opposition Party of Pakistan (COPP).[8] She described her opponent, Ayub Khan, as a dictator.[citation needed] In her early rallies, nearly 250,000 people thronged to see her in Dhaka, and a million lined the 293-mile route from there to Chittagong.
Her train, called the Freedom Special, was 22 hours late because men at
each station pulled the emergency cord, and begged her to speak. The
crowds hailed her as Madr-e-Millat, (Mother of the Nation). In her rallies, Fatima argued that, by coming to terms with India on the Indus Water dispute,
Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers to India. Fatima lost the
election, but only narrowly, winning a majority in some provinces. The
election was rigged in favour of Ayub Khan, according to some
journalists and historians.
Presidential election 1965
Jinnah, popularly acclaimed as the Madr-e-Millat, or Mother of the Nation[3] for her role in the Freedom Movement, contested the 1965 elections at the age of 71.[citation needed] Except for her brief tour to East Pakistan
in 1954, she had not participated in politics since Independence. After
the imposition of Martial Law by Ayub Khan, she once wished the regime
well.[citation needed] Yet after Martial Law was lifted, she sympathised with the opposition as she was strongly in favour of democratic ideals.[citation needed]
Being sister of her beloved brother, she was held in high esteem, and
came to symbolise the democratic aspirations of the people. The
electoral landscape changed when Fatima decided to contest the elections
for the president's office in 1965. She was challenging the incumbent
President Ayub Khan in the indirect election, which Ayub Khan had
himself instituted.
Presidential candidates for the elections of 1965 were announced
before commencement of the Basic Democracy elections, which was to
constitute the Electoral College for the Presidential and Assembly
elections. There were two major parties contesting the election. The
Convention Muslim League and the Combined Opposition Parties. The
Combined Opposition Parties consisted of five major opposition parties.
It had a nine-point program, which included restoration of direct
elections, adult franchise and democratisation of the 1962 Constitution.
The opposition parties of Combined Opposition Parties were not united
and did not possess any unity of thought and action. They were unable to
select presidential candidates from amongst themselves; therefore they
selected Jinnah as their candidate.
Elections were held on 2 January 1965. There were four candidates:
Ayub Khan, Fatima Jinnah and two obscure persons with no party
affiliation.[citation needed]
There was a short campaigning period of one month, which was further
restricted to nine projection meetings that were organised by the
Election Commission and were attended only by the members of the
Electoral College and members of the press. The public was barred from
attending the projection meetings, which would have enhanced Fatima's
image.[citation needed]
Ayub Khan had a great advantage over the rest of the candidates. The
Second Amendment of the Constitution confirmed him as President till the
election of his successor. Armed with the wide-ranging constitutional
powers of a President, he exercised complete control over all
governmental machinery during elections. He utilised the state
facilities as head of state, not as the President of the Convention
Muslim League or a presidential candidate, and did not even hesitate to
legislate on electoral maters. Bureaucracy and business, the two
beneficiaries of the Ayub Khan regime, helped him in his election
campaign. Being a political opportunist, he brought all the discontented
elements together to support him; students were assured the revision of
the University Ordinance and journalists the scrutiny of the Press
Laws. Ayub Khan also gathered the support of the ulema who were of the
view that Islam does not permit a woman to be the head of an Islamic state.
Fatima's greatest advantage was that she was the sister of the
founder of Pakistan. She had detached herself from the political
conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the founder's death. The sight
of this dynamic lady moving in the streets of big cities, and even in
the rural areas of a Muslim country, was both moving and unique. She
proclaimed Ayub Khan to be a dictator. Fatima's line of attack was that
by coming to terms with the Republic of India
on the Indus Water dispute, Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers
over to India. Her campaign generated tremendous public enthusiasm. She
drew enormous crowds in all cities of East and West Pakistan. The
campaign however suffered from a number of drawbacks. An unfair and
unequal election campaign, poor finances, and indirect elections through
the Basic Democracy System were some of the basic problems she faced.
Jinnah won the popular vote in the presidential election of 1965.
However through post election rigging, coercion and manipulation of the
electoral college, Ayub Khan got himself elected as the President of Pakistan.[citation needed]
It is believed that had the elections been held via direct ballot, she
would have won. The Electoral College consisted of only 80,000 Basic
Democrats, who were easily manipulated. The importance of this election
lay in the fact that a woman was contesting the highest political office
of the country. The orthodox religious political parties, including the
Jamaat-e-Islami led by Maulana Maududi,
which had repeatedly declared that a woman could not hold the highest
office of a Muslim country, modified their stance and supported the
candidature of Jinnah. The election showed that the people had no
prejudice against women holding high offices, and they could be key
players in politics of the country.
During a lawsuit, Matloobul Hassan Syed deposed that during Jinnah's
election campaign against General Ayub Khan, when some local Shia
leaders told her that they would vote for Ayub, she contended that she
could represent them better as she was a Shia.[11]
According to Liaquat H. Merchant, "the Court was inclined to repose
more trust in the avowed non-sectarian public stance of the Quaid and
his sister".[11] Both Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his sister "carefully avoided a sectarian label."
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