Malalai of Maiwand". Who Was Malala Of Maiwand. Info blog

"Malalai of Maiwand". Who Was Malala Of Maiwand. Info blog

Malala or Malalai Anna is a national folk hero of Afghanistan who rallied Pashtun fighters during the Battle of Maiwand.

She fought alongside Ayub Khan and was responsible for the Afghan victory at the Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

In battlefield there were gunshots and swords all around. During war there was an occasion when the Pashtuns began to lose hearts and it was quite possible that they would leave the battlefield and run away and admit their defeat. That a beautiful Pashtun girl "Malalai" suddenly appeared on the battlefield, waved a flag and recited these historical Pashto lyrics:

که په میوند کې شهید نه شوے

خدایږو لالیه بې ننګی ته دې ساتینه.

If not martyred in Maiwand

They keeps you for dishonour only.

خال به د يار له وينو كښيږدم

چې شينكي باغ كې ګل ګلاب و شرموينه.

When this voice of Malalai reached the ears of Pashtuns, a new zeal and enthusiasm to fight arose in them and they fell like lions on the British army, due to which the British army was defeated and fled from the battlefield.

Finally Pashtuns won the battle of Maiwand, but she lost her life during the fight.

Malalai is also known as "The Afghan Jeanne or as "The Afghan Molly Pitcher" to the Western world. 

There are many schools, hospitals, and other institutions named after her in Afghanistan.

Artwork: Oun

Translation: Nasir Waziri