Women: The partition in 1947 is usually remembered through the lens of men — politicians signing agreements, leaders making speeches, and mobs fighting on the streets. But history is incomplete if told only in half. Women, too, were at the frontlines: not just as victims of violence, but as visionaries, organisers, writers, and fighters. They carried nations on their shoulders while carving their own place in a world being torn apart. To speak of Partition without them is to silence some of its most powerful voices.
Where Were the Women
Fatima Jinnah:
Madar-e-Millat, Fatima Jinnah, does not require an introduction. As Quaid’s sister and biggest supporter, she played a vital role in Pakistan’s Independence, leading women in the Pakistan Movement. She worked tirelessly for refugees in the newly established state and founded the Women’s Relief Committee. She is remembered as one of the pioneers of the Pakistan Movement, a humanitarian, and a symbol of female involvement in politics in Pakistan’s later years, speaking against military dictatorship.
Saeeda Bano:
Often described as a feminist even before the ideology made its way into the region, Bano walked out of an unhappy marriage and arrived in Delhi when all the soil knew was chaos and bloodshed, almost fell victim to a violent mob if it hadn’t been for her Hindu neighbours to save her, and went on to become India’s first female urdu newsreader, reading the news on All India Radio before and after the day of independence. Her memoir, Dagar Se Hat Kar, sheds light on her experiences, along with the challenges she faced as a single working muslim woman (so many labels!), receiving proposals from admirers or letters telling her to go back to Pakistan. She is remembered as an epitome of resilience and breaking stereotypes in one of the most violent eras against women.
Subhadra Joshi:
An active participant in the 1942 “Quit India Movement”, Subhandra Joshi played a significant role in maintaining peace during the chaos that unfolded during partition. She founded “Shanti Dal” in 1947, a volunteer organisation to work for the relief and rehabilitation of refugees. As a true upholder of peace, she was known for her direct intervention in preventing forced evacuations of Muslims from areas around Delhi.
Anis Kidwai:
Coming from a family that already faced persecution due to political activism in pre-partition India, Kidwai lost her husband to the communal violence of 1947 before she arrived in Delhi to join Subhadra Joshi in tending to people she shared a common wound with. In her book “Azadi ki Chaon Mein” (In Freedom’s Shade), she recorded the events that she witnessed during partition, from the plight of refugees to rehabilitating a woman and the subsequent
emotional turmoil inflicted on her as she understood the complexity of government measures as straight forward as recovering abducted women, who had adjusted themselves to their new lives and were reluctant to go back.
Fatima Sughra:
A young yet active participant of the Pakistan movement, Fatima Sughra, is remembered as the teenager who replaced the Union Jack with the Muslim League flag at the Civil Secretariat Lahore gate in 1947, an act which symbolised the power and passion of young women in the struggle for independence.
Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan:
Another prominent name from the Pakistani movement, given the title “Madar e Pakistan,” Begum Ra’ana was also involved in providing relief to refugees during partition — especially women. She created a women’s welfare home, shelters for abducted women and a lost and found bureau. An incarnation of support for the desolate who entered the newly born state empty-handed, her efforts and unwavering strength are an example for women in the present day.
Zaib-un-Nisa Hamidullah:
Hailing from a literary family in Calcutta, Begum Hamidullah was a gifted writer and poet who grew up to be a regular writer for Indian newspapers before independence and also a published poet. During partition, she, along with her husband, aided the refugees who fled the violence. She was Pakistan’s first female columnist (in English), editor, publisher and political
commentator, at a time when patriarchy had made working women, and that too in the field of journalism, an anomaly.
Amrita Pritam:
Popular among Gen Z for her poem “Main Tenu Phir Milangi” (I will meet you again), Amrita Pritam is a celebrated Indian poet and writer. Having witnessed the gruesome events of partition, she penned another famous poem, “Aj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu” (I Call upon Waris Shah, today), which reflected her misery upon seeing her beloved Punjab, the land of five rivers, become a place full of bloodshed and death. Her partition-era novel, Pinjar, revolves around the partition-eradicated Hindu woman while also portraying the societal conditions of India during partition. A true pioneer of the Punjabi language and Indian history and culture, her legacy lives on in the form of her writings today.
Mumtaz Shahnawaz:
Mumtaz Shahnawaz, referred to as the “spiritual adopted daughter” of Sarojini Naidu by the legend herself, was raised in a literary and politically active environment. As the daughter of Jahanara Shahnawaz and Sir Mian Shahnawaz, both of them being pioneers of the Pakistan movement, Mumtaz Shahnawaz also grew up to join the struggle for freedom. After partition,
she went on to write the first draft of the partition-era novel “The Heart Divided” while also working for the rehabilitation of refugees and founding the Women’s Volunteer Service. Her novel explores the lives of families in pre-partition India and the ideological clashes that emerged with the passage of time. Her sudden and early death was a great loss for the nation and is still seen as a tragedy today.
Krishna Sobti:
Born in Gujrat, Pakistan, and eventually forced to migrate to the other side of the border, Sobti experienced partition with its emotional baggage and witnessed the gruesome events that unfolded along with it. Apart from many short stories and essays she wrote on partition, her semi-autobiographical novel “Gujarat Pakistan Se Gujarat Hindustan”, written in the final years of her life, recounts her struggles as a refugee when she was determined to make the Indian town of Sirohi her new home while also giving a raw image of the ironic state of matters during partition, for instance, how refugees living in awful conditions were instructed to tidy themselves up to make the conditions appear otherwise to Lady Mountbatten and Rameshwari Nehru, who were expected to visit. This novel is often viewed as a feminist anthem, given the strength and determination of the main character as she navigates through life while also commenting on the social and political conditions of her time.
Attia Hosain:
With a literary and political family background, Attia had firsthand exposure to the nationalism growing in the region at the time. She grew up to become a distinguished writer, famous for her feminist and progressive ideas. In her novel “Shikasta Satun Par Dhup” (Sunlight on a Broken Column), Attia Hosain explored partition through the story of a young muslim girl named Laila, caught between tradition and the chaotic socio-political scenario of partition. She softly tugged at the hollow patriarchal values using the protagonist, a strong-willed girl, finding a place for herself in a strong-willed society that had allowed her a selected degree of independence.
These women — whether hoisting flags, writing verses of grief, leading relief efforts, or daring to defy patriarchy — stood as witnesses and warriors in one of history’s darkest hours. Their stories remind us that womanhood in 1947 was not confined to victimhood; it was a force of resilience, intellect, and defiance. To remember them is to reclaim a fuller, truer history of Partition — one where women were not in the margins but at the very heart of change.
