Makhfi Badakhshani

Makhfi Badakhshani, Sayyida, Sayyidat al-Nisa’, daughter of Mir Mahmud Shah Khan Khulum. An Afghan poetess (b. 1963), better known as Pacha Jan. Born in the village of Qaraquz, Badakhshan, her father was the ruler of the region. Her father and two brothers, Mir Muhammad Shah and Mir Suhrab Shah, with the nom de plume Sawda, were poets and scholars. She lost her father at the age of one year and a half and she was eight years of age when her brothers were sent into exile to Qandahar and Kabul by ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan (1879-1901). She spent some years in exile with her brothers and later returned to her hometown. She never married. She learned Persian and Arabic literature in her exile years. She contributed her early poetry to periodicals. Her divan of poetry, running to about 5,000 couplets, comprises ghazals, qit’as, qasidas, quatrains, and mukhammas’. The leitmotifs of her poetry, imbued with love for life and human sentiments, mainly include lyricism, didacticism, and the ideals of the people inhabiting highland regions. Selections of her poetry appeared in Tajikistan.

Danishnama-yi Adab-i Farsi, Adab-i Farsi dar Afghanistan (3/ 34).