Zamina Begum

Princess
Zamina Begum
Princess Zamina Begum
1st First Lady of Afghanistan
	In role; 17 July 1973 – 28 April 1978
President	Mohammed Daoud Khan
Personal details
Born	11 January 1917; Kabul, Emirate of Afghanistan
Died	28 April 1978 (aged 61); Kabul, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Manner of death	Assassination
Resting place	Kabul
Spouse(s)	Mohammed Daoud Khan; (1934–1978)
Children	8
Parents	Mohammed Nadir Shah (father); Mah Parwar Begum (mother);
Relatives	Mohammed Zahir Shah (brother)

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, the first president of Afghanistan, and the brother of the last king of Afghanistan, Mohammed Zahir Shah.

She was killed along with her husband and family in the Saur Revolution 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.^[1] When this was met with no riots, the government decided it was time for the very controversial step of unveiling.^[1]

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.^[1] A group of Islamic clerics sent a letter of protest to the Prime Minister to protest and demand that the words of sharia be respected.^[1] The Prime Minister answered by inviting them to the capital and present proof to him that the holy scripture indeed demanded the chadri.^[1] 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.^[1] 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 and Masuma Esmati-Wardak, who is known as the first commoner pioneers.^[1]

Death

On 28 April 1978, Zamina Begum and her husband were killed during the Saur Revolution at the Arg.^{[citation needed]}

She was reburied in the Deh Sabz District in Kabul along with her husband and other family members in 2009.^[2]

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