• SPY for Britain during World War II
• Descended from Indian royalty
• Earned two college degrees: one in child psychobiology, and one in harp
• Wrote children's stories that taught the ideals of pacifism
• Joined the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force and became a wireless operator
• Wanted to serve as an example of how Indians were worthy of distinction and respect
• Fluent in French, she entered a training program in the Special Operations Executive and was sent to occupied France to operate covert communications
• Less than a month after her arrival, German forces arrested almost all of her British undercover contacts
• She continued her work despite being essentially isolated for nearly four months, dyeing her hair and moving between safe houses to communicate crucial encoded information to her counterparts in England
• One of the top names on the German most wanted list, she was hunted relentlessly
• Participated in many missions, including helping thirty airmen who had been shot down
• Caught in October 1943 by the Germans, but refused to tell them anything about herself or her mission
• Imprisoned for a year -- much of which she spent in solitary confinement because she tried to escape twice -- and then executed
• Posthumously awarded Britain's George Cross, and France's Croix de Guerre with gilt star
• In 2012 she became the FIRST Muslim and FIRST Asian woman to have a memorial in Britain when a bronze bust of her was installed in George Square Gardens in London

Public Domain Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Maggs, Sam. Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2016. Print.

---

Support this organization dedicated to preserving her story:

Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust

Books by this Awesome Woman

Research

Spread the word!

Meet more Awesome Women like this

Please note that while Awesome Women Library tries to include links only to media from reputable sources, we cannot attest to the quality or content of any media listed on this website. Our mission is to introduce you to these Awesome Women and give you a wide array of resources for learning more. We haven't read everything listed and are not a recommendation site, nor is this meant to be an exhaustive catalog of every book related to this woman -- there's just too much out there! Happy reading!!