14 Facts About Abida Sultan

Abida Sultan Begum Sahiba was born on 28 August 1913, the daughter of Hamidullah Khan, the Nawab of Bhopal and Begum Maimoona Sultan.

Abida Sultan was the eldest of three children; she had two younger sisters Sajida Sultan, and Rabia Sultan.

The Begum of Bhopal, Sultan Jahan, was her grandmother, and her predecessor Shah Jahan Begum was her great-grandmother.

Abida Sultan's grandmother brought her up, and her own mother "had nothing to do with [her]".

Abida Sultan's grandmother, who was nearly 70 when Abida was born, brought her up very strictly.

Abida Sultan had to rise at 4am to read the Quran, and had to do menial duties such as sweeping the floor.

Abida Sultan was allowed to do all the same activities as the boys did, including sports, music, and horse riding.

Abida Sultan then managed her father's cabinet from 1935 until 1949, when Bhopal was merged with the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Abida Sultan had been completely unprepared for her wedding day, and her marriage broke up after around 10 years.

Abida Sultan later wrote that she had not realized that the consummation of her marriage would leave her "so horrified, numbed and feeling unchaste".

Abida Sultan moved back to Bhopal, and an ugly custody dispute over the couple's son, Shaharyar Khan, ensued.

Abida Sultan gave up her right to the throne and in 1950 emigrated to the newly-formed Pakistan, aged 37, with her young son.

Abida Sultan spent the greater part of her life in Malir District in Karachi.

Abida Sultan wrote an autobiography, Memoirs of a Rebel Princess, which was published posthumously in 2004.