Begum

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Begum, Begüm or Baigum (Turkish: Begüm, Persian: بیگم) is a Turkic title given to female family members of a Baig or 'Beg', a higher official. The term Begum is derived from the word Beg, and means a female member of the Beg's family.

It is an honorific address and title given to women of rank in South Asia. It used to be conferred upon women of royalty or aristocracy and also to women with high ranking social status, and could also mean "Queen". Examples are (from as early as the 18th century): Zaynab Begum , Begum Hazrat Mahal - who later divorced Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Mughal princesses Jahanara Begum and Roshanara Begum, and Begum Inaara Aga Khan, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Begum Khaleda Zia, Begum Zarin Musharraf.

The term became well known in the West, especially in the French-speaking world, due to Jules Verne's 1879 novel The Begum's Millions (in French, Les Cinq cents millions de la Begum).

Colloquially, the term is also used in Pakistan and Bangladesh by Muslim men to refer to their own wives or as an honorific address to a married or widowed woman. For example, Begum Khaleda Zia.

In the United Kingdom, Begum has been increasingly used as a religious slur against headscarf-wearing Muslim women. It became associated with devout Islam and the practice of wearing the veil through the court case of Shabina Begum.^{[citation needed]}

Begumpet is one of the major commercial and residential suburbs in Hyderabad, India. The sixth Nizam's daughter married a Paigah noble and her wedding present from her father was the area that now makes up modern day Begumpet, from then onwards it was named after her.

Toronto's suburb Mississauga in Ontario, Canada is referred as Begumpura (Women's Town) by Pakistani community in Toronto. Mississauga has a large Pakistani immigrant community and many husbands work in the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia while their wives and children live in Mississauga.^[1]

[edit] See also

• Bey
• Mirza
• Begum of Bhopal
• Begumpura

[edit] References