Who was Aino Bibi

In the year 1761, after gaining victory in the war of Panipat, the AfghanKing, Ahmad Shah Baba returned with his army from India towards Kandahar.  Upon reaching the outskirts of Kandahar, the King ordered his army to rest and announced that they will resume their journey in the morning.

In the middle of the night, one of the soldiers of Ahmad Shah Baba, whose house was near their camp, snuck out of the camp without permission.  Both his action of leaving the camp without permission and entering the city ahead of the King violated the law of the land, and went against the honor code of the Afghan culture.

When he arrived to his home, at the gate, his wife discovered that he had left the camp without permission and that he had returned ahead of the King and the other soldiers.

Refusing to open the gate, she immediately turned him away, reprimanding him for his actions.  Aino Bibi told her husband that his action not only violated the rules of the King, which was the law of the land, but also lack edvalor.

Upon returning to the camp, one of the King’s guards captured Aino’s husband. In the morning, King Ahmad Shah Baba learned of the capture and the story of the soldier’s wife who had forced her husband to return.

When the King arrived back to Kandahar, he asked that Aino be brought to the King’s court.

When Aino Bibi arrived, she congratulated Ahmad Shah Baba on the battle of Panipat.  She was asked to recount the events of the previous night and why she had forced her husband to return to the camp, leading to his capture.

Ahmad Shah Baba praised Aino Bibi for her actions of honor and abiding by the law of the land, even if it concerned the closest member of her family.

Ahmad Shah Baba was very impressed by Aino Bibi’s patriotism and awarded her a state-owned aqueduct which was of immense value.

This aqueduct is also called «Aino Kareez» in the Pashto language. Today, it is located in Daman district on the Kabul-Kandahar highway. In the same way, the grave of this brave and patriotic woman is also located on the small hill of Aino Kareez.

The following words are engraved on her tomb stone:

«This grave belongs to Aino, a Pashtoon woman from Kandahar, who is the daughter of Abdullah and the granddaughter of Saadullah Sadozai. In the year (1761) after the victory of the Maratha war, the great emperor Ahmed Shah Baba gave this aqueduct to Aino Bibi as a gift, honoring her for her national pride and great courage.

This aqueduct is still called by her name.

This monument was placed on her grave during the Republic period of president Muhammad Dawood Khan in 1975, by the order of the governor of Kandahar, Mr. Muhammad Ayub Aziz, and the attention of the manager of Information and Culture of Kandahar, Ghulam Muhyid din Ayubi.”