As we all know that Shaikh Abdullah (Papa Mian) founded Women's College in 1906. During his struggle for women's college or women's education, he also founded Female Education Association in 1904. Begum Sultan Jahan, Lady Porter, Nafees Dulhan (wife of Maulana Habibur Rahman Khan Sherwani), Z.K.S. (daughter of Nawab Muzammilullah Khan) and Sughra Humayun Mirza, Begum Zahra Faizi (Murood-Janjeerah Bombay) and many others were associated with this organisation and helped Shaikh Abdullah to realize his dream of Women's College. The organization is active and supporting the cause of Female Education.

Here is something about Female Education Association by its present Secretary, Prof. Zakia Siddiqi, Former Principal, Women's College of Aligarh Muslim University.

1. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Padma Bhushan, the pioneer of women’s education in India, established the Female Education Association (FEA) in 1904. Sheikh Sahib was a visionary and a man of iron will, who restored the dignity of women and encouraged them to rise against oppression and discrimination. He guided the FEA throughout his life and remained its President till his demise. The FEA is a voluntary, non-profit organization meant for the upliftment of women through education. The vision of Sheikh Abdullah is the guiding force of the FEA. Through this body Sheikh Sahib organized meetings in Aligarh and other parts of the country with a view to change the mindset of people on the issue of women’s education.

2. Hundreds of women in general and Muslim women in particular would not have had the opportunity to receive education and make a mark for themselves in the country without the ceaseless efforts of Sheikh Abdullah. FEA is the parent body through which education of girls was popularised and eventually a boarding-cum-day school was started which later on became the Girls High School and in due course of time developed into the present Women’s College, A.M.U. During the same time Sheikh Abdullah started an Urdu magazine called ‘Khatoon’ and through articles published in this magazine he was able to convey the importance of girls’ education to the masses and persuaded them to educate their daughters. Sheikh Sahib was a prolific writer. He had written numerous articles on educational and sociological problems, his autobiography, his wife’s biography; he had translated many books from the English literature.

3. The FEA has been an active organization through out its existence, trying to promote education and empowerment of women through social and economic upliftment. The aims and objectives of FEA are to foster education among girls, to provide monetary help to needy female students to complete their education and awards scholarships to those who excel in their studies, irrespective of caste, creed and religion and collects funds through donations for various activities of the association. The FEA also provides financial support to Sheikh Abdullah Memorial School meant for under-privileged children and established by Sheikh Sahib during his lifetime.

4. Besides these activities, the FEA has been instrumental in organizing Seminars and Symposia on women-related issues. In 1998 the FEA organized a seminar on “Women’s Education and Challenges of 21st Century.” More recently in 2001 the FEA organized an international Seminar on “Sheikh Abdullah-His Contribution to Women’s Education.” The Chairman, UGC, inaugurated the seminar. A proposal for the establishment of a Centre for Women’s Studies was submitted and duly approved by the UGC with a generous grant. Thus through the efforts of FEA, a Centre for Women’s Studies at A.M.U. became a reality in 2002. This is one of the major contributions of FEA towards the cause of women’s education and empowerment in recent years.

5. Still we have a long way to go. There is tremendous competition in every walk of life. Women should accept the challenges of modern times and make a place for themselves in society by proving their worth. Emphasis should be given to vocational training so that women can become economically independent and are not a burden and liability on the society. At a time when intolerance and communalism are out to destroy the unity and integrity of the country, a positive thinking and broad-based movement has to be launched. The need of the hour is not only to propagate literacy but also to educate the minds of masses to dispel communalism, casteism, indifference to atrocities on weaker sections of society, girl-child abuse, over-population, which are quite commonly prevalent in our society even today. The number of girls desiring qualitative education has increased with time so much that we have to find some other ways to generate more money for this association in order to provide them better facilities and opportunity for self-reliance by being self-employed.

6. The relevance of FEA has not diminished with the passage of time. It is our duty to popularise this movement with the same dedication and zest so that we can face the challenges of the 21st century and join the main stream without losing our individuality and identity, which are deep-rooted in the Indian ethos and value system.

Prof. Zakia Siddiqi

Secretary

Female Education Association of Aligarh

ADDRESS: AIMUN, SIR SYED NAGAR, ALIGARH 202002

e-Mail: zakia@sancharnet.in Phone: 0571-2401756

Mobile: +919927206327