Hazrat Zainab's Partners Awaiting Due Recognition

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.