Waheeda Begum Yaqub was a pioneering Indian journalist and social reformer active in the early 20th century, best known for her leadership of the influential Urdu women’s magazine Tehzeeb-e-Niswan. She was the daughter of Sayyid Mumtaz Ali Deobandi, a prominent Islamic scholar and social reformer, and was closely linked to a family that played a central role in India’s nascent Muslim women’s movement.
Born into a reformist family, her father founded Tehzeeb-e-Niswan in 1898 to promote women’s education and rights within an Islamic framework. Her stepmother, Muhammadi Begum, was the founding editor of the magazine and a key advocate for women’s issues. After Muhammadi Begum died in 1908, Waheeda Begam Yaqub assumed the editorship.
As editor, Waheeda Begum Yaqub continued Tehzeeb-e-Niswan’s progressive mission, publishing articles that advocated for women’s education, opposed purdah (veiling), and criticised harmful traditional practices such as polygamy. The magazine became one of the longest-running and most influential platforms for Urdu women writers and reformers, operating from Lahore until 1949. Under her stewardship, it maintained a critical role in advancing debates on women’s rights in Indian Muslim society.
Beyond journalism, Waheeda Begum Yaqub was deeply involved in women’s social reform. In 1914, she was elected vice president of the newly established Anjuman-i-Khawatin-i-Islam (All India Muslim Ladies Conference) at Aligarh. This organisation, co-founded by figures such as Sultan Jahan Begum of Bhopal, focused on improving Muslim women’s access to education and raising awareness of their religious and legal rights. The Conference quickly became an important platform for mobilising Muslim women, with its membership and influence expanding rapidly during its early years.
Waheeda Begum Yaqub’s leadership in journalism and social reform ensured the continuity of a feminist and educational agenda for Indian Muslim women at a time when their voices were often marginalised. Tehzeeb-e-Niswan provided a crucial space for women writers and activists to shape public discourse on gender, education, and legal reform. Her work with the All India Muslim Ladies Conference laid the foundations for organised women’s activism among Indian Muslims, influencing later generations of reformers and writers.