Known for Women's liberation Name Begum Ali | Children Agha Showkat Ali Spouse(s) Syed Zaffar Ali Role Indian legislator | |
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Occupation Women's liberation activist | ||
Begum Zaffar Ali, née Malka Begum, was an Indian women's liberation activist, legislator and Deputy Director of Schools in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. She was associated with the activities of the All India Women’s Conference, but a chance meeting with Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his sister, Fatima Jinnah, influenced her and she left the conference to concentrate her efforts in women's liberation movements in the pre-independent India.
Begum Ali was married to Syed Zaffar Ali and the couple had a son, Agha Showkat Ali. The Veiled Suite: The Collected Poem, an anthology written by her grandson Shahid Ali Agha, a noted Kashmiri-American poet, features a poem in memory of her. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1987.