Malalai was born in
Noorzai tribe in 1861 in the village of Khig, about 3 miles southwest of the then village of
Maiwand in the southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan. During the late 1880s, war broke out between
Afghanistan and
Britain, with the
last war between the two states being in the 1840s. The British, along with their
Indian forces, had launched a major expedition into Afghanistan from
India. The main
garrison of the British was located in
Kandahar, which is the closest city to the town of Maiwand. The
military of Afghanistan was represented by commander
Ayub Khan, son of
Afghan Emir Sher Ali Khan. Malalai's father, who was a
shepherd, and her
fiancé joined with Ayub Khan's army in the large attack on the British-Indian forces in July 1880. Like many Afghan women, Malalai was there to help tend to the wounded or provide water and spare weapons. According to local sources, this was also supposed to be her wedding day. on 2 September 1880, about a month after their victory at the
Battle of Maiwand. When the Afghan army was losing morale, despite their superior numbers, Malalai allegedly took the
Afghan flag and shouted: This inspired the Afghan fighters to redouble their efforts. When a lead
flag-bearer was killed, Malalai went forward and held up the flag (some versions say she used her veil as a flag), singing a
landai (a short folk-song sung by Afghan women): Although Malalai was killed in the battle, "the Afghans followed her lead and attacked the British invaders with renewed vigor." After the battle, Malalai was honored for her efforts and buried in her native village of Khig, where her grave remains today. She was 18 or 19 at the time of her death. The Pashtun poet
Ajmal Khattak wrote the following lines about Malalai: ==Legacy==