Sarwar Sultana Begum or (Ulya (Ulli) Hazrat) (1875 – 1965), was an Afghan royal consort. She was married to

Habibullah Khan Habibullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his assassination in 1919 by Shuja-ud-Daula Ghourbandi. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by rig ...

(r. 1901–1919), and was the mother of king

Amanullah Khan Ghazi (warrior), Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 26 April 1960) was the head of state, sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emirate of Afghanistan, Emir and after 1926 as Kingdom of Afghanistan, King, until his abdic ...

(r. 1919–1929).

Life

Early life and marriage

She was the daughter of Loinab Sher Dil Khan of Shaghasi, Governor of

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

. Her sister, Tajawar Sultana married Sardar Mohammad Ali Khan Mohammadzai and they had two sons, Sardar Younus Khan and Sardar Mohammad Wali Jan. Her brother, Loinab Khush Dil Khan (born 1844) was the father of Loinab

Ali Ahmad Khan Amir Ali Ahmad Khan, ''Shaghasi'' (; 1883–1929) was an Afghan king from the Shaghasi family of the Barakzai tribe who was declared king of Afghanistan twice in 1929. He was first declared amir of Afghanistan by an influential cleric, Naqib Sahi ...

(1883-1929). He was married to Princess Sahira Begum Siraj Al Banat, Sarwar Sultana's daughter. She was one of the many wives of king

. Like his predecessors, Habibullah Khan had four official wives and a large number of unofficial wives as well as

slave concubines Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in the royal

Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

Sara palace complex in Kabul. Her husband was known to have even more wives than was common, having at least 44 official or unofficial wives, among them Ulya Janab, but Sarwar Sultana Begum was one of his four main wives. In 1919, her son succeeded to the throne, giving her a prominent position as the king's mother.

King's mother

She had an influential position at court during the reign of her son. Her son enacted a radical modernisation of the country, which included a reform in the position of women. This affected the royal court as well, as he dissolved the royal

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

and freed the enslaved bonds women of the Harem Sara palace complex. She was described by the Swedish memoir writer

Aurora Nilsson Aurora Nilsson, also known as ''Rora Asim Khan'' (1 January 1894 – 1972), was a Swedish writer who became known for her autobiographical depiction, ''Flykten från harem'' ("Escape from Harem"), about her experiences in Afghanistan during he ...

, who lived in Afghanistan with her Afghan husband in 1926–27. Nilsson visited the royal court in

Paghman Paghman (Dari/Pashto:پغمان) is a town in the hills near Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. It is the seat of the Paghman District (in the western part of Kabul Province) which has a population of about 120,000 (2002 official UNHCR est.), main ...

and Darullaman, and includes descriptions in her book of

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

Soraya Tarzi Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ثريا طرزی) (24 November 1899 – 20 April 1968) was Queen of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. As Queen, she became one of the most influential women in the world at the time. She played a majo ...

well as the mother of the king. With their encouragement, Nilsson talked to them about European customs.Rora Asim Khan (Aurora Nilsson): Anders Forsberg and Peter Hjukström: ''Flykten från harem'', Nykopia, Stockholm 1998. . Nilsson befriended the king's mother, whom she describes as influential and dominant, demonstrated dance and

gymnastic Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sho ...

s for her and acted as her photographer. Nilsson described the king's mother as supportive of his modernisation reforms, and eager to assist her daughter-in-law in her role as a role model for a new modern Afghan woman. Her daughters also notably adopted Western fashion. She was noted to be tall and strict.

Later life and death

Her son was deposed in 1929, and left the country. She died in exile in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 1965.

Issue

, king 1919–1929 # Princess Sahira Begum Siraj Al Banat (born 1902), married in 1919 to General H.E. Taj-i-Afghan ‘Ali Ahmad Jan Shaghasi. She was the co-founder of the

Anjuman-i Himayat-i-Niswan Anjuman-i Himayat-i-Niswan ('Association for the Protection of Women') was a women's organization in Afghanistan, founded in 1928.Julie Billaud: Kabul Carnival: Gender Politics in Postwar Afghanistan' It was the first women's organization in Afghan ...

(1928) and the general director of the Masturat Hospital (1924).
Afghanistan Quarterly Journal. Establishment 1946. Academic Publication of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan. Serial No: 32 & 33
' # Princess Safariya Samar Al-Siraj (born 1904), married in 1920 to Field Marshal H.R.H. Sardar Shah Wali Khan Ghazi. # Princess Razia Begum Noor Seraj (born 1909), married in 1927 to H.E. Sardar-i-Ala Muhammad Hasan Jan, GCVO (b. 1908), Court Chamberlain and Civil ADC to King Amanullah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarwar Sultana Begum 1875 births 1965 deaths Afghan royal consorts