Malalai of Maiwand

Who is Malalai of Maiwand?

Malalai of Maiwand is remembered in Afghan national memory as the young woman who rallied Afghan fighters to victory at the Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. According to the traditional account, she was a shepherd's daughter from a village near Maiwand whose father and fiance were fighting in the army of Ayub Khan against invading British and Indian forces. When the battle standard-bearer fell and Afghan morale wavered despite the army's numerical advantage, Malalai is said to have picked up the fallen flag, removed her veil to use as a new banner, and called out verses urging the fighters onward, inspiring a final charge that helped rout the British-Indian force. The Afghan victory at Maiwand became one of the most celebrated moments in nineteenth-century Afghan military history. It is important to note honestly that professional historians have found no contemporary British account naming Malalai, and many scholars treat her story as folklore that crystallized after the battle rather than a strictly documented contemporary record; nonetheless she is embraced throughout Afghanistan as a symbol of courage, and numerous schools and institutions across the country are named in her honor.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Malalai of Maiwand" and "Battle of Maiwand" · Garen Ewing, "Malalai - Afghan heroine of Maiwand" (garenewing.co.uk, Anglo-Afghan War history site) · Afghanistan Online, "Biography of Malalai" (afghan-web.com)