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 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 ...

, the first

president of Afghanistan The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces. Eligibility and selection process A ...

, and the brother of the last

king of Afghanistan The Emir of Afghanistan or also later the King of Afghanistan was the monarch and head of state of Afghanistan from the establishment of the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate in the 18th century until the monarchy was abolished in 1973. The title ...

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 ...

. She was killed along with her husband and family in the

Saur Revolution The Saur Revolution (; ), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was a violent coup d'état and uprising staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which overthrew President of Afghan ...

in 1978.

Life

Zamina Begum was the daughter of King Mohammed Nadir Shah and Mah Parwar Begum, and the sister of King Zahir. Her brother succeeded her father in November 1933. She married Daoud in September 1934. Zamina Begum famously played a role in the women's emancipation policy of her husband's government, notably by appearing unveiled in public. The Prime Minister prepared women's emancipation carefully and gradually. He began by introducing women workers at the Radio Kabul in 1957, by sending women delegates to the Asian Women's Conference in Kairo, and by employing forty girls to the government pottery factory in 1958.Tamim Ansary (2012
Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan
/ref> When this was met with no riots, the government decided it was time for the very controversial step of unveiling. In August 1959, on the second day of the festival of Jashn-e-Esteqlal ( Afghan Independence Day), Princess Zamina appeared unveiled alongside Queen Humaira and Princess Bilqis in the Royal Box at the military parade. A group of Islamic clerics sent a letter of protest to the Prime Minister to protest and demand that the words of

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'' ...

be respected. The Prime Minister answered by inviting them to the capital and present proof to him that the holy scripture indeed demanded the chadri. When the clerics could not find such a passage, the Prime Minister declared that the female members of the Royal Family would no longer wear veils, because the Islamic law did not demand it. While the chadri was never banned, the example of the Queen and the Prime Minister's wife was followed by the wives and daughters of government officials as well as by other urban women of the upperclass and middle class, with

Kubra Noorzai Kubra Noorzai (1932–1986) was an Afghan politician. She was the first woman to become a government minister in the country, serving as Minister of Public Health between 1965 and 1969. Biography Noorzai was born in Kabul, one of nine children. ...

and

Masuma Esmati-Wardak Masuma Esmati-Wardak (born 1930), was an Afghan writer and politician. She was jointly one of the first women to serve in the Afghan parliament in 1965, and served as Minister of Education in 1990-1992. Life and career In 1953 she graduated from ...

, who is known as the first commoner pioneers.

Death

On 28 April 1978, Zamina Begum and her husband were killed during the

at the Arg. She was reburied in the

Deh Sabz District Deh Sabz District, also romanized Dih Sabz District, (the name translating to 'Green Village') is situated northeast of Kabul city in Afghanistan. It has a population of 100,136 people (2002 UNHCR estimate), about 70% of it Pashtun and 30% Tajiks ...

in Kabul along with her husband and other family members in 2009.

Family

The couple had four sons and four daughters: *1. Zarlasht Daoud Khan *2. Khalid Daoud Khan (1947–1978). Had a son: **Tariq Daoud Khan *3. Wais Daoud Khan (1947–1978). Had four children: ** Turan Daoud Khan (1972-) ** Ares Daoud Khan (1973 – k. 1978) ** Waygal Daoud Khan (1975 – k. 1978) ** Zahra Khanum (1970-) *4. Muhammad Umar Daoud Khan (k. 1978). Had two daughters: ** Hila Khanum (1961 – k. 1978) ** Ghazala Khanum (1964 – k. 1978) *5. Dorkhanai Begum *6. Zarlasht Begum (k. 1978) *7. Shinkay Begum (k. 1978). Had two daughters: ** Ariane Heila Khanum Ghazi (1961-) ** Hawa Khanum Ghazi (1963-) *8. Torpekay Begum. Had three children: ** Shah Mahmud Khan Ghazi ** Daud Khan Ghazi ** Zahra Khanum Ghazi

Ancestry

References

External links

Zamina's grave on Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Zamina 1917 births 1978 deaths First ladies of Afghanistan People from Kabul Afghan princesses Daughters of kings Hijab