Role
of Women in Safeguarding Hussaini Mission
By
Prof. Hena Zaheer
Women mourners (azadar)
are quite often portrayed as ‘partners of Hazrat Zainab’ for their pivotal role
in protecting and promoting the message of Karbala. They have earned this pious
honor by passionately and powerfully responding to the call of Lady Zainab
against all odds over the past thirteenth centuries. After the martyrdom of
Imam Hussain, Yazidi forces had cruelly plundered his camp, unveiled his female
relatives, forced them to march to Kufa and Damascus under scorching sun and
imprisoned them in most trying conditions. They also made every possible effort
to justify their barbaric actions at Karbala and martyrdom of Prophet’s beloved
grandson as an insignificant event by carrying out a high voltage false
propaganda against him. But Hazrat Zainab not only nullified their attempts but
also ensured women’s active and sustained participation in her mission to keep
alive memory of Imam Hussain’s sacrifice till the Day of Judgment.
She delivered fearless
speeches, wept and wailed to narrate what calamity struck on the family of the
Prophet at Karbala. “O ladies of Syria !You are unaware of the
terrible tragedy of Karbala….how Hussain, grandson of the holy Prophet along
with his kith and kin were massacred hungry and thirsty, how horses trampled
their bodies and were left even without a burial… how their heads were mounted
on spikes and carried along with us all
the way to Syria…. They took us to Kufa bareheaded, made us sit on camels
without saddles and the divinely commissioned Imam was in shackles and fetters
with a heavy rope around his neck….. Such a scene of horror is unimaginable and
you cannot visualize how terrible it was”.
Her heart-rending words
evoked the desired response. After learning how the grandson of Hazrat Muhammad
was slain with his small group of followers on the arid plains of Karbala and
how their bodies were left without burial, women literally went on what is
called in the modern world as strike. They refused to undertake any household work
until their men questioned the caliph about his role in the horrifying tales of
Karbala. Under their pressure when the men began asking Yazid difficult
questions about the killing of Imam, he succumbed to mounting public opinion
against him and set the captives free. Hazrat Zainab capitalized the freedom as
an opportunity to launch her mission as messenger of Karbala. So powerfully she
expressed her bereavement that women till date not only eulogize the martyrs of
Karbala but also strive to immortalize their message with utmost dedication and
sincerity.
Inspired by the example
of Hazrat Zainab, women don’t hesitate in assuming the leadership role in men’s
place if the situation happens to be against azadari. One such example was most
notable witnessed before the partition of India. Under the pretext of law and
order situation, the authorities had banned muhharam processions in Sialkot,
known as Faisalabad now in Pakistan. As a precautionary step, they also
arrested prominent male azadars, especially those belonging to the family of
the mourners’’ leader Syed Budhey Shah. On Yaum-e- Ashura, the colonial
authorities found themselves astonished to see women taking out Duldul
procession, beating their breasts and crying ‘Ya Hussain and Ya Hussain’.
Their courage prompted the authorities to reverse their decision and since then
muhharam processions have been a regular feature in the region.
Similarly, as Zakiras,
Marsiyakhwans, Nauhakhwans, organizers and participants of majalises and other
muhharam rituals, they make repeated attempts to transform Karbala into an
ongoing campaign against despotic forces. If the situation demands, they assume
leadership, act as change agent, raise funds for building Imam Bargahs and
religious institutions and develop networks to keep flag of Hussaini revolution
fluttering. No wonder, they are well represented as Zakiras,
Marsiyakhwans, Nauhakhwans, poets and organizers of Majalises (mourning
gatherings) in oral traditions and popular beliefs for their immense contribution to ‘azadari’. But somehow they seem to be
marginalized, overlooked and even ignored in the accounts of religious
historians. Diane D’Souza in her
pioneering works on female ‘azadars’
(mourners) has highlighted this issue. She writes “ I find it shocking , for
example’ to find no entry for Zainab on the Encyclopedia of Islam, a standard
reference work in the field of Islamic studies” .She has also expressed
surprise over the little space given to Imam Hussain’s courageous sister by
historians like John Norton Hollister in their
research works on Karbala. Diane has attributed the indifference of
western orientalists towards Karbala and women’s role in preserving its rituals through a multitude of
devotional practices to their greater
contact with Islamic monarchs. However, despite pro-imperialistic approach of
scholars, there are still historical accounts available to shed light on
women’s crucial role in the preservation of Karbala tragedy as an effective system
against despotic forces.
The account of Mrs.
Meer Hasan Ali is worth mentioning here. In her work titled as ‘Observation of
the Mussulmans of India (1917), she has given ethnographic details about
mourning gatherings and public processions in Oudh kingdom. Similarly, Mary
Hegland has described women’s contemporary mourning gatherings in Peshawar-
Northwest frontier city of Pakistan infamous for frequent attacks on mourners
by fanatics. Ursula Sagaster has carried out a similar study on female mourners
of Baltistan. Most of the research has been carried out on the role of ‘zakiras’(female
orators) and the impact of their addresses in ‘majlises’ (remembrance gatherings)
.The Urdu word ‘majlis’ means assembly or meeting but in the context of
Karbala, it is considered to be an assembly to remember the martyrs ,
especially Imam Hussain.
There is dearth of
documentation of female marsiya poet even though they have been regularly
performing at majalis in Indian sub- continent. In her work, Amy Bard of Columbia University has mentioned only
three female marsiya poets, namely Begum
Fatima Zaidi, Shohrat Begum and Tasvir Fatima. Born in Panipat in 1900, Begam Zaidi hailed from a respected
family and was a great-granddaughter of Urdu critic and poet Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali. Begam Shohrat
belonged to Hyderabad Deccan while Tasvir Fatima is based at Karachi. The former two are
remembered for rendering the heart –wrenching details of Karbala tragedy in classical
style
.Tasvir Fatima is however different in style and dwells on contemporary issues
like leadership and insight as is indicated by the first line of her marsiya
i.e. “Rahbari Tauq-o-salasil mein safar karti
hai” (“leadership makes its journey in shackle and
chains”). Even in the
otherwise praiseworthy work of Diane D’Souza, there is no mention of Begum
Hayat Bakshi who is credited with establishing the practice of Hussaini Langer
during Qutb Shahi regime as Queen mother. She has however well -compensated her
mistake by highlighting the touching story behind the construction of
Yadgar-e-Hussaini- India’s first ‘Ashurkhana’ built by women for their
exclusive use. The scholar has also rightly expressed surprise over the
frequent use of feminine characters such as Janab-e-Fatima, Zainab, Rabab or
Sakina by male orators for ‘masaib’ in their ‘majlises’
but make no attempt to urge the audience to treat their female counterparts in
terms of respect and honorarium despite the equal role of ‘zakiras’ in spreading and
defending the Hussaini mission.
Likewise, the historians too have also overlooked the immense
contribution of Bahu Begam, Badshah Begam, Wilayati Mahal, Malika-e-Zamani and
Malika Afaq of Awadh kingdom to azadari as builders of Imambaras, Dargahs and Karbalas.
They did it deliberately or unintentionally could be debatable but they have surely
failed to perceive Karbala as a symbol of what women can do in crisis and how
can they ignite flame to reduce to ashes a vast empire built on falsehood? In
view of their key role in protecting the principles of Karbala as true
followers of Hazrat Zainab, it is necessary to initiate campaign, preferably by
women themselves being more educated, enlightened and affluent now as compared
to the past, for researching and documenting the devotional practices of female
mourners to remove the apathy exhibited towards them by male scholars and
historians so far. (The contributor is a prominent Zakira Ahlebait
and works as Professor at College of Management Studies- Kanpur. She also runs
an NGO- Pahal Foundation as its General Secretary). Heritage Guru writes : This article of Prof.Hena Zaheer has been uploaded with her consent in view of its contents that propels Imami Community to ponder over the issues raised by the authoress.The views expressed in the article are her own and blogger claims no responsibility of the contents.
