Afia Begum

1982–4

Afia Begum was mother to Asma and wife to Abdul Hamid, a Bangladeshi migrant who had been living in the East End of London for twelve years. She was made a widow on 15 March 1982 when her husband died in a house fire, caused by a wax heater he used in the absence of central heating. This was a common problem in London’s slum tenements that housed residents of South Asian and African-Caribbean descent. Their daughter Asma was 18 months old at the time.

At 19 years old Afia Begum became one of the major faces of Britain's anti-racist and feminist movements. Her decision to go into hiding for over a year following several deportation warrants was regarded as an act of bravery against a racist government. Her first encounter with deportation forces was at Heathrow Airport in June 1982, where she was told that her right to enter as a British citizen was invalidated by her husband’s recent death. Prior to his death, Afia Begum had applied for citizenship as was her right as the wife of Abdul Hamid. Her father and other members of her family also lived in England, but she had stayed in Bangladesh to look after her baby. This exemplified how female immigrants were often reduced to dependants despite their ability to work and responsibilities to other family members in the UK. Afia Begum was unaware that her widowhood invalidated her legal right to citizenship when she flew to London in June 1982. Afia Begum now faced a dilemma in which her nationality was rooted neither in Bangladesh nor Britain, where she identified as a legal citizen whilst the Home Office told her otherwise. There was also a rise of racial tensions in Brixton, following the 1981 riots, with clashes between communities and police brutality. It was perhaps these rising racial tensions that pushed the Home Office to continue with Afia Begum’s deportation.

Afia Begum’s case was taken up by the Sari Squad, who established an Afia Begum Campaign Centre in 114A Brick Lane. The Sari Squad engaged in a memorable demonstration outside the office of the Home Secretary where they tied themselves to the railings and chanted against the racist and sexist decision taken by immigration forces. A meeting was also held at the House of Commons by the Labour MP Harry Cohen in resistance to the unjust immigration laws. Conservative MP David Waddington, Minister of State for the Home Office, remained steadfast in the decision to invalidate Afia Begum’s right to British citizenship.

During this time, Afia Begum was found hiding in a council estate in east London after a mass police raid that lasted over a year. Accompanying her on the journey to Heathrow Airport, to finally be deported, were over 200 protesters. Socialist politician Jeremy Corbyn also devoted major efforts to persuading the Home Office to drop her deportation case on the basis of unconstitutionality. To reduce a woman’s citizenship right to her husband’s status was a feminist cause that triggered unity between feminist and anti-racist organizations across Britain.

On 24 May 1984 her case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights where 71 to 58 councillors voted in favour that the Home Office’s decision to deport Afia Begum was unconstitutional, and 70 to 67 votes argued it was indeed rooted in racism and sexism. However, Afia Begum had been deported on 8 May 1984 and remained a figurehead for feminist movements.