Ms Zahida Mushtaq was born in 1935 in Sialkot and was an active participant in the Pakistan Movement. In conversation with The Citizens Archive of Pakistan, she recalled:

“We used to go to demonstrations before partition. Begum Tassadiq Hussain would tell us that women will go to a rally on such and such day. While men and women would go to demonstrations together — and the men would be around us to protect us — the biggest rally that I was a part of went to the Civil Secretariat in Lahore. There too, men surrounded the women for protection. Begum Shahnawaz was there too, at the front, and we were accompanying her. When we got to the Secretariat, we encouraged each other to climb the gate, because it was very tall. My older sister, Shamim, along with a number of other girls, climbed over the gate and then got onto the roof of the Secretariat with the help of the men. I was still climbing the gate when Shamim hoisted the Pakistani flag onto the flagpole of the Secretariat. Once we got down, we were arrested by the British.”

Ms Khurshid Niazi was born in Mianwali in 1922 and was in the Girl Guide Association for eight years during her childhood. She was a teenager when she saw an entire nation be divided in two and then picked further apart by conflict and unrest. Ms Niazi migrated to Pakistan from Ambala by way of a military convoy, leaving behind all that she knew and, therefore, has vivid memories of the struggle and passion for her homeland. “Women were very active, very very active. In Ambala in 1946-47, Ms Fatima [Jinnah] would take her companions and find places where she could gather them, like a school or even a mosque. There, women were told about Pakistan and how it would provide us freedom. If women hadn’t participated in rallies, [Pakistan’s creation] would have never happened. And the men gave their women permission to participate. These women would leave their houses wearing burqas and, although they weren’t educated, they would nonetheless participate in demonstrations. They took it upon themselves, like a mission.”

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When talking of the Pakistan Movement we always speak about the men who lead from the front and whose names are enshrined in our history books; but here we present stories of the unsung heroes, the less known women who played an extraordinary role in creating Pakistan

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Ms Shaukat Ara was born in 1926 in Lahore and was a very active participant of the Independence Movement between 1945 and 1947. She took part in numerous gatherings of female Muslim League members and also gathered support for the party. Ms Ara’s most permanent memories, however, are her harrowing experiences from the refugee camp at Walton, Lahore, where she volunteered tirelessly.

“There are a few things [about the Walton camp] that I can never forget. It was awful. There was a train car that they didn’t stop at the railway station and was, instead, brought straight to Walton. And what I saw in it … severed limbs, dead people, injured people hidden beneath dead bodies. I was assigned to the dispensary with three other girls, because my father was a doctor and I knew basic first aid and such. So, the four of us — me, my younger sister, my cousin and another volunteer — we would work around the clock, never feeling that we could get tired.”

Ms Khalida Chughtai was born in 1926 in Gurdaspur, India. She was amongst the countless women who, in the lead up to partition, took to the streets and demonstrated in support for Pakistan. Due to her active political support of partition and her opposition of the British, she was also among those who drew the ire of the establishment.

“I was a student of the Islamia College for Women and the college was often visited by female leaders of the Muslim League who made the student body aware of the objectives of the party. They would come and start discussions and I would join them to help them, because the girls often didn’t listen to them. But, being their class fellow, I was able to get through to them. So, our Principal, Mrs Thakurdas, said that no girl would go and participate in the civil disobedience movement that was taking place. Her orders were strict and final, but us girls, we decided that we will participate in the processions of the civil disobedience movement at all costs, so that the Pakistan Movement gets the help it needs. So, we took out processions and were opposed by the government. We were charged with Section 144 but we persisted and continued with our demonstrations, peacefully chanting slogans in support of Pakistan. After three days of demonstrating, we were arrested by the police.”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 17th, 2014

Photos: F. E. Chaudhry/The Citizens Archive of Pakistan. "The images and interviews used in this feature were made possible from the material obtained from The Citizens Archive of Pakistan"