Fatima Sughra Begum

Fatima Sughra Begum (born 1931/1932, Walled City, Lahore – died 25 September 2017), garnered fame as a teenager, when at age 14 in 1947, she ripped down the Union Jack from the Shikarpur, Sindh Civil Secretariat and replaced it with the All-India Muslim League flag.[1][2] 

According to her own account, "When I took down the British flag and replaced it with our Muslim League one, I don't think I really knew what I was doing. It wasn't planned. I was rebellious at that age, 14, and it seemed like a good idea. I was not prepared for it to become such a big symbol of independence. They even gave me a Gold Medal for Services to Pakistan. I was the first ever to receive one." (The Guardian, 2007).

She received a gold medal and a Life Achievement Award, from, respectively, the Pakistan Movements Workers Trust (for "Services to Pakistan") and the Government of Pakistan.[when?]

  1. ^ Notice of death, dailypakistan.com. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  2. ^ Xari Jalil (26 September 2017). "Fatima Sughra is no more". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 15 September 2021.