A. Nabeesa Ummal (30 June 1931 – 6 May 2023) was an Indian academic, orator, social worker, and

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

politician from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. She was the first Muslim woman to pursue a postgraduate degree in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

. She was elected to

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...

from Kazhakoottam Assembly constituency in 1987 as an independent candidate with the support of

Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of Left-wing politics, left-wing political parties led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the current List of current Indian ruling and opposition parties, r ...

Biography

Nabeesa Ummal was born on 30 June 1931, in Kallanvila,

Attingal Attingal is a municipal town in Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, India. It was the location of the Attingal kingdom, under Travancore. It is the headquarters of Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, and th ...

, in present-day

Thiruvananthapuram district Thiruvananthapuram District () is the List of districts of Kerala, southernmost district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananth ...

of Kerala, as the youngest of five children of Asanummal, a native of Bhoothapandi, Tamil Nadu, and Khader Moideen, a police constable. After studying at Attingal Government Girls High school, Nabeesa Ummal obtained BA and MA degrees from Thiruvananthapuram Women's College, studying Economics, Politics, and History in

. She was the first Muslim woman to pursue a postgraduate degree in Malayalam. Ummal married Hussain Kunju, a soldier from

Nedumangad Nedumangad is a municipal town in the Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the headquarters of Nedumangad Tehsil and Nedumangad Revenue Division. It is a suburb of the extended metropolitan region of Thiruvanantha ...

, while pursuing her pre-university studies at the Thiruvananthapuram Women's College. The couple had six children.

Career

In 1955, after her studies, Nabeesa joined her alma mater as a third-grade junior lecturer. She then worked as a lecturer in seven colleges in five districts in Kerala and was later promoted to principal at the Government College Malappuram. Nabeesa then returned to the Women's College, where she became first a professor, then the head of the department of Malayalam, and then a principal. Nabeesa was the first woman principal from the Malayalam section at the college. She retired as principal of

University College, Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Pot ...

, in 1986. Nabeesa was an orator since she was in school.

E. M. S. Namboodiripad Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as E.M.S. Namboodiripad or simply by his initials E. M. S., was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of ...

invited her to contest the Kerala Legislative Assembly after listening to her speeches during the

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

controversy that time. She contested and was elected to

from Kazhakoottam Assembly constituency in 1987 as an independent candidate with support of

. But in the 1991 elections, she contested as Left Democratic Front candidate, and lost to M. V. Raghavan of the

Communist Marxist Party Communist Marxist Party (CMP) was a political party in Kerala. The party was founded in 1986 when M. V. Raghavan was expelled from the CPI(M) due to a grave difference of opinion regarding the formation of alliances with the IUML. His suppor ...

. In 1995, she was elected to the

Municipal Corporation and became chairperson. Nabeesa also served as a member of the State Planning Advisory Committee, IMG Governing Body, Examination Board of

and MG universities, Public Library Committee, Public Undertaking Committee, and Kerala PSC Question Making Committee.

Death

Ummal died at her residence in Nedumangad's Pathamkallu on 6 May 2023, at the age of 92.

Awards and honours

In 2000, she was awarded the Central Government Award for Women's Empowerment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nabeesa, Ummal 1931 births 2023 deaths Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala People from Thiruvananthapuram district Kerala MLAs 1987–1991 20th-century Indian women politicians