Muhammadi Begum
Indian writer (1878–1908)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Muhammadi Begum (also known as Sayyidah Muhammadi Begum; 22 May 1878 – 2 November 1908) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, Urdu writer and an advocate of women education. She co-founded the Islamic weekly magazine Tehzeeb-e-Niswan, and was its founding editor. She is known as the first woman who edited an Urdu magazine. She was the wife of Sayyid Mumtaz Ali Deobandi.
.jpg)
Muhammadi Begum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 22 May 1878 |
| Died | 2 November 1908 (aged 30) Shimla, British India |
| Spouse | Sayyid Mumtaz Ali |
| Children | Imtiaz Ali Taj (son) |
| Notable work(s) | Tehzeeb-e-Niswan |
| Relatives | Yasmeen Tahir (granddaughter) Naeem Tahir (grandson) Faran Tahir (great-grandson) Ali Tahir (great-grandson) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni Islam |
Biography
Muhammadi Begum was born on 22 May 1878 in Shahpur in Delhi.[1] She learned Urdu and she became a Hafiz as she memorized the Quran. She learned to write letters to remain in touch with her elder sister after she got married in 1886.[2]
In 1897, she became the second wife of Sayyid Mumtaz Ali Deobandi, an Islamic scholar and an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband.[3][4] She learned Arabic and Persian from her new husband and was privately educated in English, Hindi and mathematics.[5]
On 1 July 1898, the couple started a weekly magazine for women called Tehzeeb-e-Niswan, which is regarded as one of the pioneering works on women rights in Islam.[6] The magazine published radical ideas about divorce with enforced alimony and to end purdah and polygamy as it existed. She has been considered as India's first Muslim feminist woman[7] and the first woman who ever edited an Urdu magazine.[4] She edited Tehzeeb-e-Niswan until her death in 1908.[8]
Literary works
Death and legacy
Aged 30, Muhammadi Begum died at Shimla on 2 November 1908.[4] Her grandson Naeem Tahir compiled a biography Sayyidah Muhammadi Begum awr Unka Khandan (transl. Sayyidah Muhammadi Begum and her family).[10] Her son was Imtiaz Ali Taj who was born in 1900. She nicknamed him "Mera Taj" (My crown) and in time he would become a leading playwright and adopt her pet name for him, "Taj", as part of his own name.[11] Her daughter, Waheeda Begum, became the editor of her magazine after she died and after a few years Imtiaz Ali Taj took over.[12]