Princess Bilqis Begum (born 17 April 1932) is a former Afghan princess. She was the daughter of king

Mohammed Zahir Shah Mohammad Zāhir Shāh (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since t ...

and queen

Humaira Begum Humaira Begum (; 24 July 1918 – 26 June 2002) was the wife and first cousin of King Mohammed Zahir Shah and the last Queen of Afghanistan. Marriage Humaira Begum was the daughter of ''Sardar'' Ahmad Shah Khan, brother of the royal consort ...

. In 1951, she married

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

Abdul Wali Khan (1925–2008). She was educated at Malali School, Kabul. In 1959, she and her mother the queen supported the call by the Prime minister

Mohammed Daoud Khan Mohammad Daoud Khan (Dari/) also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan; 18July 190928April 1978) was an Afghan head of state, military officer and politician who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 19 ...

for women to voluntary remove their

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

by removing their own. This was a big event in the history of women in Afghanistan, and it was also an intentional part of the women's emancipation policy of the Daoud Government at that time.Tamim Ansary (2012
Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan
/ref> The step was carefully prepared by introducing women workers at the Radio Kabul in 1957, sending women delegates to the Asian Women's Conference in Kairo, and employing forty girls to the government pottery factory in 1958. When this was met with no riots, the government decided it was time for the very controversial step of unveiling. In August 1959 therefore, on the second day of the festival of Jeshyn, Queen Humaira and Princess Bilqis appeared in the royal box at the military parade unveiled, alongside the Prime Minister's wife,

Zamina Begum Zamina Begum (11 January 1917 – 28 April 1978), also known as Zainab Begum, was an Afghan princess who was the First Lady of Afghanistan from 1973 until her assassination in 1978. She was the wife of Mohammed Daoud Khan, the first president of ...

(her paternal aunt). After this point onward, Princess Bilqis Begum participated in public royal representational duties unveiled, and attended many public functions in Afghanistan as well as abroad. In 1971, she attended the

2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire The 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire, officially known as the 2,500-year celebration of the Empire of Iran (), was hosted by the Pahlavi dynasty in the Imperial State of Iran in October 1971. Concentrated at Persepolis, it consisted ...

, where she represented the Afghan royal family with her spouse. Her father was deposed in 1973.

Issue

#Princess Humaira Begum #Princess Wana Begum #Princess Mayana Khanum

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilqis Begum 1932 births Afghan princesses Barakzai dynasty Living people Daughters of kings