Tengku Agung Syarifah Latifah

Tengku Agung Syarifah Latifah (1896 – 2 November 1929) was a queen consort of Syarif Kasim II and a prominent figure from Riau who advocated for women's emancipation and education. She was known as the founder of the first women's school in Riau.

Early life and education

Syarifah was born in 1896 in into a noble family. Her father, Tengku Pangeran Embung Jaya Setia, was a deputy of the Sultan of Langkat in Luhak Langkat Hilir, and her mother, Tengku Aisiah, was the sister of Sultan Musa Langkat.

She received her education at the Sultanate of Langkat Palace until she reached the age of maturity. Upon reaching maturity, she entered a period of seclusion, causing her to stop schooling and spend her time in isolation. On October 27, 1912, she married Sultan Syarif Kasim II in Tanjung Pura. After their marriage, she was appointed as the queen consort of the sultan. On March 3, 1915, Syarifah received the title of Tengku Agung when her husband was appointed as the Sultan of Siak.

Establishing school Syarifah often accompanied her husband during visits. On a visit to Medan, where her husband met East Sumatra Resident, Syarifah saw that women could work at government offices. This was vastly different in Siak, where women's activities were limited to cooking and serving their husbands.

Seeing the progress of women's rights in Medan, Syarifah initiated the establishment of women's schools to empower women's lives so that they could be equal to men. She founded a women's school named Sultanah Latifah School in 1927.

Legacies In 2007, the Siak Regency Government named the bridge Tengku Agung Sultanah Latifah Bridge as a form of high appreciation. Additionally, her name was also immortalized as the name of a palace in Siak.