Fatima Sughra Begum (born 1931/1932, Walled City, Lahore – died 25 September 2017), garnered fame as a teenager, when at age 14 in 1947, she ripped down the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

from the

Shikarpur, Sindh Shikarpur (; ') is a city and the capital of Shikarpur District in Sindh province of Pakistan. It is situated about 29 km west of the right bank of the Indus River, Indus, with a railway station, 37 km north-west of Sukkur. It is the Li ...

Civil Secretariat and replaced it with the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

flag.Notice of death
dailypakistan.com. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021. According to her own account, ''"When I took down the British flag and replaced it with our Muslim League one, I don't think I really knew what I was doing. It wasn't planned. I was rebellious at that age, 14, and it seemed like a good idea. I was not prepared for it to become such a big symbol of independence. They even gave me a Gold Medal for Services to Pakistan. I was the first ever to receive one."'' (''The Guardian'', 2007). She received a gold medal and a Life Achievement Award, from, respectively, the Pakistan Movements Workers Trust (for "Services to Pakistan") and the Government of Pakistan.

Death

Fatima Sughra Begum died on 25 September 2017 and was laid to rest at

Miani Sahib graveyard The Miani Sahib Graveyard ( Punjabi, ) is the largest graveyard in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. It is in the centre of Lahore. Its origins date back to the Mughal era, making it one of the oldest graveyards in the region. Miani Sahib Graveyard ...

in her native Lahore."Renowned Pakistan Movement activist Sughra Fatima dies
''The Express Tribune'' (newspaper), 26 September 2017.(Associated Press of Pakistan
Pakistan movement veteran Notice of death of Fatima Sughra
thenews.com.pk. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021.

Conflation

Due to the similarity of her name to that of Sughra Begum, Lady Hidayatullah (also known as Begum Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Begum Hidayatullah, and Lady Hidayatullah),Independence Day special: The women brigade of freedom fight (scroll down to read profile of Sughra Begum, Lady Hidayatullah, the woman with whom Fatima Sughra Begum has been conflated)
arynews.tv. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2021.—the wife of diplomat and activist Sir

Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah Khan Bahadur Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah KCSI (; January 1879 – 4 October 1948) was a colonial Indian and Pakistani politician from Sindh. He held several offices in Sindh including 1st Chief Minister (1937–1938) and being re-elected ...

, a prominent Sindhi political leader—the latter woman (born 1904), who was almost thirty years older than Fatima, and presumably present at the same event, was conflated in certain elements of the media as the author of the Union Jack removal from the Civil Secretariat Lahore in 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Fatima Sughra 1930s births Date of birth missing 2017 deaths Activists from Lahore Pakistan Movement activists Pakistani women activists