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Fatima Jinnah (31 July 18939 July 1967) was a Pakistani politician, stateswoman, author, and Activism. She was the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder and first governor-general of Pakistan.
After obtaining a dental degree from the University of Calcutta in 1923, she became the first female dentist in undivided India. She was a close associate and adviser to her brother, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. After the independence of Pakistan, she co-founded the All Pakistan Women's Association, which played an integral role in the settlement of women migrants in the newly formed country. She remained the closest confidant of her brother until his death. After his death, Fatima was prevented from addressing the nation until 1951; her 1951 radio address was interrupted, which many believed was an attempt by the Liaquat administration to censor her. She wrote the book My Brother in 1955, but it was only published 32 years later, in 1987. Before publication, several pages were removed by Sharif al Mujahid of the Quaid-i-Azam Academy, as they were deemed to be against the "ideology of Pakistan." Fatima came out of her self-imposed political retirement in 1965 to participate in the presidential election against President Ayub Khan. Despite winning the popular vote, Fatima lost the electoral college to Ayub Khan.
Fatima died in Karachi on 9 July 1967, sparking controversy with rumours of unnatural causes. Although her nephew, Akbar Pirbhai, called for an inquiry, no official report was issued. Nearly half a million people attended her funeral in Karachi.
Her legacy is associated with her support for civil rights. She is commonly known as Madar-e-Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), and Khatun-e-Pakistan ("Lady of Pakistan"), many institutions and public spaces in Pakistan have been named in her honour.
Fatima lived with her brother until 1918, when he married Rattanbai Petit. Upon Rattanbai's death in February 1929, she closed her clinic, moved into her brother Muhammad Ali's bungalow to care for her niece Dina Jinnah and took charge of his house. This transition began the lifelong companionship that lasted until her brother's death on 11 September 1948.
On 11 August 1947, Fatima attended the first session of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan from the visitor's gallery, symbolising her unwavering support for Muhammad Ali, who was elected its president.
During the transfer of power in 1947, Fatima formed the Women's Relief Committee, which later formed the nucleus for the All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA).
She also played a significant role in the settlement of Muhajir Urdu in the new state of Pakistan.
She was leading a movement that brought thousands of women into the fold of the Muslim League; the movement came to be termed as women's movement. The women's movement was started by Fatima; she trained women for the forthcoming challenges and provided them training of National Guards, first aid training, etc., and also opened some educational institutes for them. In 1947, during the Civil disobedience movement against the Unionist Government of Punjab Province, the women in Lahore, under her leadership, were involved in processions and courting arrests.
Her commitment to women's empowerment was evident in a speech delivered soon after the formation of the Punjab government under Mumtaz Daultana in 1951, where she proclaimed the "onward march towards emancipation and freedom of women" and noted their increasing participation in social, educational, and political activities, including roles as members of legislatures and the Constituent Assembly.
In a 1953 Radio Pakistan broadcast on the death anniversary of Muhammad Ali, Fatima addressed the Kashmir issue, stating that "Under the leadership of the Quaid-i-Azam, 80 million got freedom from the clutches of two of the most powerful forces British. Four million Mussalmans of Kashmir are now yearning for the taste of that freedom for themselves and for the right of self-determination." She questioned whether it should have been so difficult for Pakistan, as an established state, to assist Kashmiris in achieving their objectives.
In the same broadcast, Fatima criticised the delays in drafting Pakistan's constitution and urged the Constituent Assembly to resolve not to disperse until its work was completed. She also highlighted "sectarianism" and "provincialism" as key obstacles to Pakistan's progress, calling for their eradication. This speech followed the anti-Ahmadi violence earlier that year.
In another message to the nation on Muhammad Ali's birthday in 1953, she addressed the people of East Bengal, urging them to safeguard unity and avoid disunity during the upcoming elections. She encouraged them to reorganize and revitalize the Muslim League, emphasizing its historic foundation in Dacca in 1906. Fatima publicly endorsed the Muslim League for the first time during the 1954 provincial elections in East Bengal. She toured the region, urging people to vote for the party. However, her endorsement failed to resonate with the electorate, as the Muslim League faced significant resentment in Bengal, particularly due to the national language controversy and the underrepresentation of Bengalis in civil and military institutions. The Awami League's victory in the election highlighted the widespread discontent with the Muslim League's leadership in the region.
Support also came from various organizations, such as the City Muslim League chapter of Hyderabad (Sindh), which declared in an open letter that Fatima was the only person "above personal jealousies and scruples" who commanded the "highest honour and regard of the masses." Calls for her leadership resurfaced in 1955, with the Karachi Bar Association passing a resolution urging her "to come forward and actively lead the nation," and again in 1958, after the death of Muslim League President Abdul Rab Nishtar, when prominent women from the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan requested her to assume the party's leadership.
Several women from the newly formed Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan, including Jahanara Shahnawaz, wrote to Fatima requesting her to accept the presidency of the Pakistan Muslim League, with support from Muslim League chapters such as in Rahim Yar Khan. Additionally, a man from Lahore suggested Fatima organize a new party, criticizing the failure of existing political parties. A student from Rawalpindi, excited by the possibility of Fatima leading the Muslim League, urged her to reconsider her decision to decline the presidency for the sake of the country.
The COP announced a nine-point programme on 24 July 1964, which called for a democratic constitution based on adult franchise, the release of political prisoners, repeal of repressive laws, economic and administrative reforms to address disparities between East and West Pakistan, minority rights, a plebiscite-based resolution of the Kashmir dispute, a nonaligned foreign policy, amendment of family laws, and promotion of unity between the two wings of the country. Fatima distanced herself from the COP's Nine-Point program during her presidential campaign. While she supported adult franchise, she did not endorse the rest of the agenda. When questioned directly—such as during a meeting with tribal leaders in Peshawar on 10 December 1964—she responded that she was "no dictator" and believed that such issues, including the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, should be decided democratically in accordance with the will of the people.
During the campaign, she and her supporters openly referred to Ayub as a dictator. In her speeches, Fatima strongly criticised Ayub's dictatorial regime and called for a restoration of democracy and civil rights, which she framed as the unfulfilled goals of the Pakistan Movement. In her rallies in East Pakistan, nearly 300,000 people thronged to see her in Dhaka, and a million greeted her in Chittagong after a nearly thirty-hour train journey covering just 200 miles—delayed as crowds swarmed the tracks at every station, compelling her to appear so they could catch a glimpse of her. Addressing in Dhaka, she said: "On the one side is the road to dictatorship, on the other side there is freedom and human dignity . . . On the one side your destinies are in the pocket of one individual, on the other your destinies are in your own hands."
The U.S. magazine, Time, while reporting on the 1965 election campaign, wrote that Fatima faced attacks on her modesty and patriotism by Ayub and his allies. Ayub declared that a woman was not fit to rule and secured the backing of sections of the Barelvi ulama, while the Deobandi ulama and pro-Islamic parties—despite their general hostility to women in public life—reluctantly supported Fatima for pragmatic reasons.
Fatima criticised the Indus Waters Treaty signed between Pakistan and India in 1960 under Ayub. Speaking at a large public meeting in Jhelum on 19 November 1964, she warned that the treaty could have long-term environmental consequences for West Pakistan. Fatima said that the bunds constructed as part of the water-sharing arrangements would become choked with silt within 50 years and that the diversion of river water could eventually leave West Pakistan barren. She questioned the legitimacy of the agreement, accusing the President of having "sold away" the future interests of the country without the people's consent.
The election was conducted through an indirect system of basic democracy rather than by a direct vote of the population. Between 31 October and 19 November 1964, elections were held to select 80,000 Basic Democrats, who were not affiliated with political parties but were actively courted by both Ayub and Fatima's camps. They were tasked with voting in the presidential election scheduled for 2 January 1965. These individuals were intended to serve as the electoral college and represent the people's choice; however, in practice, they were handpicked by local civil and military officials for their loyalty and could be trusted to vote as directed by the regime.
Fatima had detached herself from the political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the founder's death. The sight of her moving through the streets of big cities, and even in the rural areas of a Muslim country, added to her popularity. Her campaign generated tremendous public enthusiasm. She drew enormous crowds in all cities of East and West Pakistan. The campaign however suffered from several drawbacks. An unfair and unequal election campaign, poor finances, and indirect elections through the Basic Democracy System were some of the basic problems she faced. She won two of Pakistan's largest cities, Karachi and Dhaka.
The election resulted in Ayub's victory, though Fatima received strong support in East Pakistan and urban centres such as Karachi and Dhaka. Widespread allegations of rigging and electoral manipulation were reported by her supporters. The entire administrative machinery was mobilised in support of Ayub, and the process was marred by blatant financial irregularities, misuse of government resources, and widespread electoral malpractice. Ayub secured a comfortable majority of 49,951 votes (63.3%) from the 80,000-member Basic Democrats electoral college, while Fatima received 28,691 votes (36.4%). Opposition claimed that if the elections had been held on the basis of adult franchise, Fatima would have won by an overwhelming majority. Dismissing the election as a farce, Fatima declared that the "so‑called victory of Mr. Ayub Khan" would ultimately be "his greatest defeat."
The importance of this election lay in the fact that a woman was contesting the highest political office of the country. The orthodox religious political parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami led by Maulana Maududi, which had repeatedly declared that a woman could not hold the highest office in a Muslim country, modified their stance and supported the candidature of Fatima. The election showed that the people had no prejudice against women holding high offices, and they could be key players in politics of the country.
During her funeral, common people were prevented from approaching her body, and no one was allowed to see her face before burial. Those who attempted to do so were met with force, including baton charges and tear gas. Rumors circulated that visible wounds were present on her body, leading to concerns about her death. Newspapers and editorials also raised questions about the circumstances of her death.
In Pakistan, she rose to stand as Pakistan's national symbol, and unlike Ayub Khan who died in poor health and yet no honours were given him, Jinnah received tremendous honours from the society after her death.
Several eponymous entities have been named in her honor. The notable ones are:
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