Forgotten and Overlooked No More

March is Women’s History Month. A month dedicated to highlighting and celebrating the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Which is why I have decided to write about musician, author, and British spy Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan. Some of you may have heard about her. Maybe you’ve seen her story from the 2019 film, A Call to Spy, or perhaps you’re a Doctor Who fan like me who learned about her from the Spyfall episodes (Season 12 episode 1 and 2, 2020). Or maybe this is your first time seeing the name Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan. Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan was a “wartime British secret agent of Indian descent who was the first female radio operator sent into Nazi-occupied France by the Special Operations Executive (SOE).” ^[1] Her work was crucial to the war effort, helping airmen escape and allowing important deliveries to come in. She was eventually arrested and executed by the Gestapo (official secret police of Nazi Germany) in 1944. And for her courage, she was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1949.

Noor was born on January 1, 1914, in Moscow to an Indian father and an American mother. She was a Muslim and a direct descendant of Tipu Sultan, the 18^th century ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. Noor’s father, Inayat Khan, was a musician and Sufi teacher. Their family moved to England shortly after World War I broke out that year. However, due to his family facing increased surveillance from the British for his criticism of the British rule over India and his pro-India views, Inayat relocated his family to Paris in 1920.^[2] In 1927, when Noor was just 13 years old, Inayat died during a trip to India, and so Noor, being the eldest, helped her mother raise her younger siblings.^[2] Noor grew to have a successful career as a children’s writer, contributing regularly to French radio and children’s magazines. In 1939 she published Twenty Jataka Tales, a collection of stories inspired by early Buddhist literature. Noor had lived in Paris with her three younger siblings until the age of 26, when the Nazis captured France in 1940 and they were forced to flee to Britain.

Noor had been raised a pacifist, however she decided that simply opposing fascism was not enough and felt morally obligated to play a more active role without having to take a life. She joined the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force). Though there were many who weren’t completely convinced about her suitability. As a passionate believer in Indian independence, she was questioned about her views on the British rule over India during her initial interview with the WAAF and she responded that “after the war, she might feel obliged to fight for India against the British.” ^[3] In late 1942, she was recruited to join SOE (Special Operations Executive) as a radio operator. The SOE was a secret British organization created during World War II. “Following the fall of France in June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill tasked Hugh Dalton with forming SOE with the instruction to ‘set Europe ablaze’ by helping local resistance movements and conducting espionage and sabotage in enemy-held territories.” ^[4] By 1945, the SOE was a major organization with agent networks across Occupied Europe and the Far East, having over 13,000 men and women in its ranks.

On June 17, 1943, Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan became the first woman agent to be sent behind enemy lines in France. Under the codename “Madeleine” she was sent to Paris to become the radio operator for the “Prosper” resistance network there. Her job was a dangerous one. As a radio operator she had to maintain radio contact between Britain and the resistance forces in Paris. Radio equipment was bulky, hard to conceal, and staying on air for too long risked detection by the enemy. The average lifespan of a field agent was just 6 weeks. Within days of her deployment, all of the high-ranking Prosper agents were captured by the Nazis, and their wireless sets seized. Noor was contacted to return as it was too dangerous, but she refused realizing that she was the last radio link left between London and Paris. For the next three months she ended up doing the work of six radio operators. She frequently changed her place of transmission, kept her transmissions short, and even changed her appearance by dyeing her hair. Her work was crucial to the war effort.

In October 1943, Noor was betrayed and arrested by the Gestapo. She escaped but was caught a few hours later. Regarded as a particularly dangerous prisoner, she was sent to Pforzheim prison in Germany where she was kept in chains and solitary confinement. Despite repeated torture, she refused to reveal any information. In September 1944, Noor and three other female SOE agents were transferred to Dachau concentration camp and on September 13, 1944, they were executed. Her last reported word was “Liberté”. She was only 30 years old when she was killed.

On January 16, 1946, the French awarded her the Croix de Guerre, the highest civilian honor and three years later in 1949, England awarded her the George Cross. Unfortunately, for a long time Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan was one of the many women whose sacrifices and courage were forgotten by history. However, in the 21^st century, there has been a growing recognition for her and her story. Shrabani Basu, author of Noor’s biography “Spy Princess” began a campaign for a permanent memorial to Noor in the Gordon Square garden in Bloomsbury. On November 8, 2012, Noor’s statue, sculpted by Karen Newman, was unveiled by Princess Anne in Gordon Square. Noor’s presence in Gordon Square remains a testament to the courage of an extraordinary woman.

There is clearly so much more work to be done to acknowledge and highlight the contributions of women in the past and in the present. From the countless forgotten women throughout history to the women in your lives today. It is important to share stories like Noor’s and to make sure they are not forgotten. Noor died fighting against fascism, to build a better and more inclusive world for us all. Fighting for inclusivity and diversity everywhere is an important fight and that fight for rights and equality is still ongoing.

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