Saadat Bano: One Of The Leading Women Thinkers In India
By
Saquib Salim, New Age Islam
22 May 2023
Qudsia Bano
once remarked that in a family led by a towering personality, the other members
will always remain dwarfs. She failed to add that if the other family member is
a woman, her stature will diminish further.
Saadat Bano Kitchlew with a foreigner (Courtesy Heritage Times)
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This is so
true about many women including Saadat Bano, who was the wife of the well-known
freedom fighter Saifuddin Kitchlew. It was against his arrest that the people
were protesting at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar when Dyer fired upon them,
killing 379 and injuring more than 1200 people. Not many would remember Saadat
Bano since our patriarchal society teaches us “Saadat was married to Saifuddin”
and not that “Saifuddin was the husband of Saadat”.
Seldom do
we find any mention of Saadat Bano in our history textbooks as an independent
woman or for her work.
Should
Saadat be only remembered as the wife of a great man? Especially when she was a
published writer and women's rights activist even before she married Kitchlew.
She was an excellent orator on social and political issues.
Born in
1893 in Amritsar, Saadat was home-tutored in Urdu, Persian, and English. At a
very young age, she started writing in leading magazines of the early 20th
century like Deccan Review, Tehzeeb e Niswaan, and Khatoon. With
a series of articles by the title of Hurriyat e Niswaan (Freedom of Women)
published in Tehzeeb e Niswaan at 16, she became one of the leading women
thinkers in India. Her writings were not limited to women's issues; she wrote
about the educational reforms of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the politics of Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad, fashion, etc.
Years
before marrying the Cambridge-educated
Saifuddin Kitchlew in 1915, she also had a name as a poet. She composed
poems on nationalism and humanism. One of the couplets from a poem, “Pyare Watan
Ke Naam Pe Jaaun Nisaar Main, Ujde Chaman Mai Dekhun Ilahi Bahaar Main” (I
wish to sacrifice my life for my country and bring back its lost glory), bears
testimony to her emotions.
After her
marriage at the age of 22, she became more active in public life. Saifuddin was
a prominent leader. After her marriage to a leading nationalist leader, Sadaar
could write without fear. When Lala Lajpat Rai returned to Punjab after a long
exile, Saadat welcomed him with an emotional poem. She wrote, “even when
thousands are oblivious of the national duty, Lajpat has kept the honour of the
nation”.
In 1919,
Saifuddin was jailed for agitating against the Rowlett Act. People organised a
public meeting at Jallianwala Bagh to register a protest against it. What
happened at Jallianwala Bagh is history, but not many know that Saadat was
supposed to be there addressing the protesters. People had gathered to listen
to Saadat but she could not reach the venue in time.
When
Saifuddin was in jail, Saadat addressed meetings, met political leaders,
attended Congress sessions, wrote in newspapers, and participated in All India
Women Conference activities. She was a good orator.
Saadat
along with Saifuddin was one of the most severe critics of Jinnah’s demand for
Pakistan. When most of the Muslims from Amritsar fled to Pakistan the couple
left Delhi. After India gained freedom, Saadat remained active with Women's
organisations and Peace Conference till her last day - 18 August 1970.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/saadat-bano-thinkers-india/d/129821
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