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{{Short description|Indian women's rights activist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Shahjehan Aapa
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1936}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|09|08|1936}}
| death_place =
| occupation = [[Women's rights activist]]
| known_for = [[Feminist activism]], Co-founding Shakti Shalini
| awards =
| website =
}}

'''Shahjehan Aapa''' (1936{{snd}}September 8, 2013) was a women’s rights activist from [[India]]. After one of her daughters was murdered in a [[dowry death]], Aapa was inspired to start a life of [[Feminism|feminist activism]], working alongside other Indian women and mothers to combat dowry murders, redress, and sexism in India. In 1987, Shahjehan Aapa co-founded the organization Shakti Shalini, which, centered in [[New Delhi]], works to combat [[gender-based violence]] and provide support to thousands of Indian women.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Frederick |first1=Jennifer K. |last2=Stewart |first2=Abigail J. |date=May 2018 |title="'I Became a Lioness': Pathways to Feminist Identity Among Women's Movement Activists" |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361684318771326 |journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly |language= |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=263–278 |doi=10.1177/0361684318771326 |issn=0361-6843 |via=Sage Journals|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Her life's work has been detailed by the [[University of Michigan]]'s [[Global Feminisms Project]], a series of oral history interviews with feminist activists and organizers.

== Early life and education ==
Shahjehan Aapa’s birth parents were killed during the [[Partition of India|1947 Partition of India]] when she was 11 years old.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Savaş |first1=Özge |last2=Caulfield |first2=Sueann |last3=Smith |first3=Hanna |last4=House |first4=Madeline |last5=Stewart |first5=Abigail J. |date=August 2023 |title=Vulnerability and empowerment on the ground: Activist perspectives from the global feminisms project |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09593535221139135 |journal=Feminism & Psychology |language= |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=429–446 |doi=10.1177/09593535221139135 |s2cid=259021476 |issn=0959-3535 |via=Sage Journals|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Along with her sister, she grew up in a rural, impoverished neighborhood in [[Mathura]], India with a foster family. Her foster parents allowed her to attend [[Madrasa|Madarsa]], a religious Muslim primary school where she received a basic education on the [[Quran|Koran]] and [[Urdu]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Kannadasan |first=Akila |date=July 13, 2013 |title=Finding Wings |language= |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/finding-wings/article4880790.ece |access-date=November 13, 2023 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

At age 14, she was married against her will to the son of her foster parents. She completed the majority of the household’s agrarian and domestic labor, including tending to the buffalo and cows on their property.<ref name=":3" /> If she ever refused to complete a chore, her husband would verbally abuse and physically assault Shahjehan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Savaş |first1=Özge |last2=Stewart |first2=Abigail J. |date=2019 |title="Alternative pathways to activism: Intersections of social and personal pasts in the narratives of women's rights activists." |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/qup0000117 |journal=Qualitative Psychology |language= |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=27–46 |doi=10.1037/qup0000117 |s2cid=158960705 |issn=2326-3598 |via=APA PsycNet|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In total, she had seven sons and two daughters with her husband before leaving the marriage.<ref name=":0" />

After their divorce, she moved to [[Delhi]] where her sister lived. She made enough to raise her children by doing needlework and stitching for a modest living.<ref name=":0" />

== Feminist activism ==

=== Daughter's death ===
Shahjehan’s feminist activism was ignited when her daughter, Noorjehan, was murdered in a dowry death in [[Nangloi Jat|Nangloi]], Delhi in 1979. For months prior, Noorjehan had informed Shahjehan that her in-laws would cease their harassment if they were paid sufficient funding. When Shahjehan could not come up with the money, Noorjehan was beaten, doused in kerosene, and ignited on fire inside her home.<ref name=":2" />

In the immediate aftermath, Shahjehan demanded the family be imprisoned. Shahjehan and local members of the community even staged a rally in front of the local police station on the matter.<ref name=":2" /> The local police insisted a report had been filed, yet upon reading the file she was horrified to find out the report claimed Noorjehan was suffering from clinical depression and likely committed suicide.<ref name=":2" /> Similar to the experience of many before her, neither the police nor the judiciary system addressed her grievances in a sufficient manner. She spent three years attempting to have the [[Judiciary of India|criminal court]] try her case, but due to widespread [[Law enforcement in India|corruption]] in the police department, it was never successful.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Stewart |first1=Abigail J. |last2=Lal |first2=Jayati |last3=McGuire |first3=Kristin |date=June 2011 |title=Expanding the Archives of Global Feminisms: Narratives of Feminism and Activism |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/658683 |journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society |language= |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=889–914 |doi=10.1086/658683 |s2cid=144600334 |issn=0097-9740 |via=University of Chicago Press|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The overwhelming grief she experienced, in combination with the failures of the justice system, encouraged her to step out of the domestic sphere and enter feminist organizing, specifically focused on mitigating [[domestic violence]].<ref name=":1" />

=== Shakti Shalini ===
Shahjehan initially pursued political activism through her work in Basti, a government panel, where she aided homeless women seeking legal aid. This was frustrating work, as Shahjehan was often unable to help the women resolve their specific dowry or abuse cases. Her fellow coworker, [[Satya Rani Chadha]], informed Shahjehan that 25 women were organizing a gathering to advocate for legal action in these cases and raise funds for the victims' medical expenses.<ref name=":4" /> This group began regularly meeting under the name Parents Association of Dowry Victims, but soon developed into Shakti Shalini, a [[non-governmental organization]] (NGO) that was co-founded by Shahjehan and Satya in January 1987 in Delhi.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Teays |first=Wanda |date=1991 |title=The Burning Bride: The Dowry Problem in India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25002154 |journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=29–52 |jstor=25002154 |issn=8755-4178}}</ref> The NGO was named after Shahjehan's work in a memorable case of a woman from [[Rajasthan]] named Shanti, who had been thrown off the third floor of a building by her partner. Shahjehan's investment in this case was so profound that she missed her own hearing, causing her personal case to be terminated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jamshed |first=Nida |date=2022 |title=Women activists' resistance and social change in India. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pac0000596 |journal= Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology|volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=413–428 |doi=10.1037/pac0000596 |s2cid=247125757 |issn=1532-7949|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The group began by campaigning for legislation to protect victims of domestic violence, demanding institutional adjustments. However, the focal point of the organization's advocacy quickly developed more generally into ensuring proper housing for women, educating exploited women, and promoting gender equality.<ref name=":5" /> This shift was due to Shahjehan's perspective that institutions, such as the judicial system, would not create worthwhile change but only perpetuate it. Instead, Shakti Shalini took a highly individualized approach to their advocacy by holding discussions, workshops, and demonstrations to improve the articulation of victims' rights and stories.<ref name=":2" />

The group's first [[Women's shelter|shelter]] was opened in July 1987 with Shahjehan overseeing operations as the NGO's founder and president.<ref name=":6" /> The shelter began offering 90+ days of safe haven for victims and their children, eventually becoming a place where the local police referred women to. To this day, Shakti Shalini focuses on combating gender-based violence and community activism, specifically prioritizing providing assistance to women and younger girls in the form of shelter, counseling, legal aid, education, and vocational training.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Shakti Shalini – Promoting gender equality, individual choice and dignity since 1987 |url=https://shaktishalini.org/ |access-date=2023-11-17 |language=en-US}}</ref> The group organizes jobs for women as they finish schooling, or helps them prepare for their exams if they are still in school (many in secondary school or college). The NGO continues to stay in touch with the women for years after their initial job placement, even aiding the children of these women and offering educational courses or shelter to them, when necessary. These courses are not only academically beneficial, but also contain feminist ideology to promote independence. Some women are brought to Shakti Shalini who don’t want to work, so the NGO also arranges marriages to appropriate families.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kumari |first=Upasha |date=2023-07-15 |title=Exploring the Role of NGOs in Addressing Gender-Based Violence Against Women |journal=Journal of Advanced Research in Women's Studies |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=38–52 |doi=10.33422/jarws.v1i1.413 |issn=2783-7122 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The organization receives government grants for food and shelter, and donations specifically for education, to fund its operations. According to their website, Shakti Shalini has aided over 15,000+ individuals over the course of 36 years, with the organization having placements in at least 5 marginalized communities within New Delhi.<ref name=":5" />

== Death ==
On September 28, 2013, Shahjehan Aapa died at the age of 77. On the way to a mahila panchayat, a women’s community initiative to end violence and provide redress, Shahjehan was struck by a motor vehicle and killed in the accident.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Shahjahan Apa (India) {{!}} WikiPeaceWomen – English |url=https://wikipeacewomen.org/wpworg/en/?page_id=2476 |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=wikipeacewomen.org}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aapa, Shahjehan}}
[[Category:1930s births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian women's rights activists]]
[[Category:Indian feminists]]

Shahjehan Aapa - Revision history

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