Bibi (title)

Bibi, also spelled Bebe, is frequently used as a respectful title for Muslim, Christian and Sikh women in South Asia when added to the given name.^[1][2]

Portrait of a Bibi, Lucknow (Oudh State) 1785

Bibi, like Begum, is used as a surname by many women in the region.^[3]

In Anglo-Indian, the term bibi came to be seen as a synonym for mistress.^[2]

Etymology

The word "Bibi", which made its way into the Pashto and Urdu language, was originally borrowed from Classical Persian (بی‌بی bī-bī). It was translated as "grandma" (chiefly in Pashto, Dari, Tajik). Besides this it was also used as respectful title to address senior women.^[4]

Notable people known by this title

• Aisha Bibi, 12th-century noble woman, after whom a memorial and village are named in modern Kazakhstan
• Bibi Mubarika, 16th a Yusufzai Pashtun Empress consort in Mughal empire. She was a wife of first Mughal emperor Babur.
• Bibi Ambha, the Hindu origin mother of Sikandar Lodi^[5]
• Asia Bibi, a Catholic Christian worker accused of blasphemy in Pakistan
• Bushra Bibi, wife of Imran Khan and First Lady of Pakistan
• Sultana Chand Bibi (1550–1599 CE), also known as Chand Khatun or Chand Sultana, Indian Muslim woman warrior
• Islam Bibi, (1974–2013), Afghan policewoman and human right activist.
• Noorjahan Kakon Bibi, female freedom fighter in Bangladesh
• Mukhtaran Bibi (born c. 1972, now known as Mukhtār Mā'ī), survivor of a gang rape in Pakistan
• Pari Bibi, noblewomen of Mughal Empire buried in Lalbagh Fort, Dhaka
• Taramon Bibi, female freedom fighter in Bangladesh
• Taj Bibi, Empress consort of Emperor Jahangir and mother of Emperor Shah Jahan.

References

1. Nevile, Pran (2000). "Bibis and mistresses". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 October 2018.^{[dead link‍]}
2. Hyam, Ronald (1990). Empire and Sexuality: The British Experience. Manchester University Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780719025044. Retrieved 31 October 2018. Bibi is a Hindustani word meaning 'high-class woman', which in Hobson-Jobson 'Anglo-Indian' parlance came to mean native mistress.
3. A. R. Gatrad; Aziz Sheikh (2001). "Muslim birth customs". Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition. 84 (1). Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed2001;84:F6-F8 doi:10.1136/fn.84.1.F6: 6F–8. doi:10.1136/fn.84.1.F6. PMC 1721205. PMID 11124915. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05.
4. "بی‌بی", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2023-08-31, retrieved 2023-11-13
5. Pant, Poonam (2001). Role of Women in Medieval Indian Politics, 1236-1627. Tarun Prakashan. p. 123. Retrieved 31 October 2018. Bibi Ambha, a Hindu beauty who enamoured Bahlol Lodi displayed a Machiavellian diplomacy.