Educating the Nation's Mothers: The Gendered Vision and Educational Legacy of Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam Lahore in Colonial Punjab (1884–1947)

Authors

  • Razia Yasmin Assistant Professor. Department of Islamic Studies, Minhaj University Lahore
  • Nayyar Abbas Assistant Professor. Department of History, Institute of Global and Historical Studies, KSK Campus, GC University Lahore

Keywords:

Muslim Reform Movements, British Punjab, Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam, Muslim Women's Education, Female Empowerment

Abstract

This Paper examines the inspirational model of Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam Lahore (AHIL)in the education and empowerment of Muslim Women in Colonial Punjab between 1884and1947. Although Colonialism and missionary activities had brought in new models of female education, AHIL presented an Islamic and nationalist alternative to the exclusion of Muslim women from education. This research explores how AHIL deliberately established schools, colleges, orphanages, and vocational institutions to educate women intellectually, spiritually, and economically. Based on historical facts and institutional achievements, the article places AHIL's work in larger reformist and anti-colonial currents and contends its transformative function in reshaping Muslim womanhood in British India. This article suggests that the Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam (AHIL) in the colonial period revolutionized Muslim womanhood and education in Punjab. It set up Muslim girl orphanages, colleges, vocational training centers, and schools, acknowledging Muslim women as future mothers and guardians of Islamic values despite sociopolitical marginalization.

Published

2025-06-29

How to Cite

Yasmin, R., & Abbas, N. (2025). Educating the Nation’s Mothers: The Gendered Vision and Educational Legacy of Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam Lahore in Colonial Punjab (1884–1947). SADIQ Journal of Pakistan Studies, 5(1). Retrieved from https://journals.iub.edu.pk/index.php/sjps/article/view/3959