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Fatima Jinnah and the 1965 Presidential Elections
Apr 26, 2007 4:09 AM
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Fatima Jinnah(1893-1967) was the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Pakistan became the first Muslim country to have a woman leader, when Benazir Bhutto was elected Prime Minister in 1988.
Pakistan could have earned this honour much earlier, when in 1965 Fatima Jinnah was denied victory through rigging in the Presidential election by Field Marshall Ayub Khan.
However, Fatima Jinnah did become the first Muslim woman to run for President.
Even Maududi, who was against women taking part in politics, supported and campaigned for the lady.
The Presidential Elections of 1965 were certainly a turning point for Muslim women.
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1965 Presidential Elections in Pakistan
Miss Fatima Jinnah, popularly acclaimed as the Madar-i-Millat, or "Mother of the Nation" for her role in the Freedom Movement, contested the 1965 elections at the age of 71.
She had not participated in politics since Independence.
After the imposition of Martial Law by Ayub Khan, she once wished the regime well. But after the Martial Law was lifted, she sympathized with the opposition as she was strongly in favor of democratic ideals.
Being the Quaid's sister, she was held in high esteem, and came to symbolize the democratic aspirations of the people.
Miss Fatima Jinnah decided to contest the elections for the President's office in 1965. She was challenging the incumbent President Ayub Khan in the indirect election, which Ayub Khan had himself instituted.
There were two major parties contesting the election. The Convention Muslim League and the Combined Opposition Parties. The Combined Opposition Parties consisted of five major opposition parties.
It was a shock for Ayub when the Combined Opposition Parties all agreed to Fatima Jinnah as their candidate.
The opposition complained throughout the election that the government was misusing official facilities, including the media, and the method of election was unfair.
Ayub Khan also gathered the support of the ulema who were of the view that Islam does not permit a woman to be the head of an Islamic state.
Elections were held on January 2, 1965.
Miss Jinnah's greatest advantage was that she was the sister of the Founder of Pakistan. She had detached herself from the political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the Founder's death.
The sight of this dynamic lady moving in the streets of big cities, and even in the rural areas of a Muslim country, was both moving and unique.
She proclaimed Ayub Khan to be a dictator.
Miss Jinnah's line of attack was that by coming to terms with India on the Indus Water dispute, Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers over to India.
Her campaign generated tremendous public enthusiasm. She drew enormous crowds in all cities of East and West Pakistan.
Miss Fatima Jinnah lost the election of 1965 and Ayub Khan was elected as the President of Pakistan.
The election infuriated the opposition who claimed it had been rigged, especially as the huge crowds who attended the opposition rallies had led them to believe in victory, in spite of the indirect election method.
It is believed that had the elections been held via direct ballot, Fatima Jinnah would have won. The Electoral College consisted of only 80,000 Basic Democrats, who were easily manipulated.
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-i-Islami led by Maulana Maududi, which had repeatedly declared that a woman could not hold the highest office of a Muslim country, modified their stance and supported the candidature of Miss Fatima Jinnah.
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.
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Fatima Jinnah addressing supporters in 1965
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_Jinnah
Fatima Jinnah died in Karachi on July 8, 1967. The official cause of death was heart failure, but rumours persist that she was murdered by the same group who killed Liaquat Ali Khan. In 2003, the nephew of the Quaid-i-Azam, Akbar Pirbhai, reignited the controversy by suggesting that she was assassinated
Fatima Jinnah's unfinished biography of the Jinnah, "My Brother", was published by the Quaid-i-Azam Academy in 1987.
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Her book "My Brother" can be read here: http://www.fatimajinnah.gov.pk/Books/My%20Brother_intro.htm
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"Religion is a candle inside a multicoloured lantern. Everyone looks through a particular colour, but the candle is always there."
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Edited by khushi at 04/26/2007 7:30 PM
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Posts:
1,567
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