Military Defence

Mai Bhago

In this Grateful4Her tribute message, Dr. Kiran Gill celebrates the bravery and commitment of Mai Bhago, a Sikh woman in North India who led Sikh soldiers against the Mughals in 1705. She killed several enemy soldiers on the battlefield and stood up to terrorist attacks from the Mughals in order to save her right to be as a woman and practice her faith of choosing.

Tribute Message

“For me the women who have inspired me in my life. Mai Bhago. She was a Sikh woman as part of North India. She was the first woman to fight in battle. And in north India was going through a lot of terrorism. They said either you give up your faith and join us or we will kill you.

The Mughal Empire was very big and many men backed down. She was the first woman to stand up. And she started a movement and all these women who were so inspired that they were no longer just stayed in their house cooking and cleaning, they also were out on the battlefield, fighting.

The moguls used their babies as a way to hurt them. The mothers stood up and said they would not give up their freedom their rights to be a woman. And that is me. Whenever I am faced with a consequence the bravery for that woman to watch her baby be killed/dismantled in front of her for freedom. That is what I look up to and I am grateful for that.

I am so lucky to be here today.”

~ Dr. Kiran Gill.