| Fathimath Saeed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 17 March 1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Bageechage, Fura Malé, Maldive Islands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death Place: | Athireege, Malé, Maldives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Poet, writer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children: | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives: | Ibrahim Shihab (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party: | Muthagaddim (1951–1953) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Module: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fathimath Saeed (17 March 1916), often referred to as The white rain lily garden of the Maldivian poetry, was a Maldivian poet and writer who served as the inaugural first lady of the Maldives from January 1953 to August 1953, as the wife of president Mohamed Amin Didi. While also serving as the first lady, she served as the spouse of the prime minister of the Maldives from April 1951 to August 1953.
Fathimath Saeed was born in Fura Malé. She was the daughter of the then–attorney general Hussain Salahuddine, the greatest poet and writer in the Maldivian history. At a very young age, she married Mohamed Amin Didi, the grandson of then–prime minister Ibrahim Dhoshimeynaa Kilegefaan. Their first two sons did not survive—one was stillborn, and the other died at six days old. Their third child, daughter Ameena was the only one who lived throughout Saeed's lifespan. Although her husband married two other women, Saeed remained as the most important of his wives. She became a widow in 1954 when Amin died from injuries sustained during an assassination attempt by a mob and to overthrow his government.
In her poetic career, Saeed was known as one of the greatest women poets in the Maldives, and was given the nickname "Dhivehi lhenverikamuge gulshanuge narugismaa" (The white rain lily garden of the Maldivian poetry).
Fathimath Saeed was born on 17 March 1916, to then–attorney attorney general Hussain Salahuddine and his wife Tuttu Goma. Born into a family of well–known poets, Saeed was the daughter of Salahuddine and the eldest child from his second wife Tuttu Goma. Saeed was the elder sister of influential poets and statesman Ibrahim Shihab, Adnan Hussain and Mariyam Saeed, who was the second wife of president Ibrahim Nasir.[1]
Saeed's only marriage was to Mohamed Amin Didi, whom later became the first president of the Maldives and prime minister. They married in 1930 and had three children.[2] Their first two sons did not survive—one was stillborn, and the other died at six days old. Their third child, and only daughter, Ameena Mohamed Amin, was the only one who survived.[3]
Known by her nickname white rain lily in her career, Saeed was one of the greatest women poets in the Maldivian history.[4] In 2022, the poets' day of Maldives was celebrated in memory of Saeed.[5]