Begum Mahmooda Salim Khan (; May 1913 – June 2007) was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

, early political figure and a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

for education during President Ayub Khan's regime.

Background

Begum Salim Khan was born in 1913, at

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, then

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. She was the eldest daughter of the renowned Unionist Party statesman,

Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan '' Khan Bahadur'' Major Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written Sikandar Hyat-Khan or Sikandar Hyat Khan, was an Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab who served as the Premier of the Punjab, among ...

of Wah from his first wife, Begum Zubaida Khanum. After her mother's death in 1919, she was raised by her aunt and educated at

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

School for

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Women and Queen Mary's College,

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. In 1934, she was married to

Abdus Salim Khan Abdus Salim Khan, also known as Khan Sahib (28 December 1907 – 12/13 July 1957) was an Indian Civil Servant who later joined Pakistani Civil Service to become a diplomat. He served as an ambassador to several countries representing Pakistan. ...

a Civil Servant from Talokar Haripur. who was the eldest son of an aristocrat

Abdul Majid Khan Tarin Abdul Majid Khan Tarin (also spelt Abdul Majeed Khan) (1877–1939), Khan-Sahib, OBE, was a magistrate, MLA and philanthropist of the North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955), North West Frontier Province of former British India. Early life ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. Her husband served the Government of

and later served the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

of the newly created state of Pakistan from 1947 onwards. In initial years of her married life she focussed primarily on looking after household and raising her children like any Pakistani housewife. However, she gradually, involved herself in helping the people through welfare activities, and got socially more active. Her endeavors in this regard were multifaceted and added much to the benefit of the Pakistani society.

Philanthropy

On her husband's death in 1957, Begum Salim Khan moved to the town of

Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...

, Pakistan, where she became increasingly involved in various social and charitable works over the years, in close collaboration with other well-known women social workers such as Lady Viqar un Nisa Noon, Begum Zari Sarfaraz, Begum Kulsum Saifullah Khan Dr

Attiya Inayatullah Attiya Inayatullah is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan between 1985 and 2013. Early life and education She holds master's degree in Sociology from Boston University and obtained her PhD degree fro ...

and Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah; and also served as Chief Executive of organizations such as the Family Planning Association of Pakistan, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Lok Virsa Museum, National Crafts Council of Pakistan, Anti TB Association of Pakistan, the

SOS Children's Villages SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to families facing difficultie ...

, Pakistan and others. She also remained patron-president of the National Youth Council of Pakistan and received the Adelaide Ristori Award, Italy, in 1980, for her work in promoting cultural activities among Pakistani youth. She also received several other national and international awards for social welfare activities.

Political career

Back in 1960s, she was sworn in as the first ever woman Provincial Minister in West Pakistan's Cabinet, during General

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

government, serving as Minister of Education in 1962-1967. But her stay in politics was brief and she resumed her welfare activities which she continued till her demise. She had passion for gardening and was very fond of flowers. She died peacefully at her home in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2007, at the age of 94 years.News obituary, The Nawai Waqt, Islamabad ed, 18 June 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Begum Mahmooda Salim 1913 births 2007 deaths Pakistani social workers 20th-century Pakistani women politicians Politicians from Amritsar People from Amritsar Hayat Khattar family Queen Mary College, Lahore alumni Women federal ministers of Pakistan