“Long live women who make up half of the nation and take an equal part in the education of future generations! Women are the mothers of the people! " - Rabiga concluded her speech.
The audience was confused. A heated discussion began. Despite the fact that many, especially religious leaders, were against it, the majority supported Rabiga's proposals, and clauses on gender equality were included in the resolution.
Now the girl began to be called "Mother of the Nation" - someone said it mockingly, and someone with respect.
When, inspired by the victory, Rabiga returned home, her father kicked her out of the house. Rabiga left for Orenburg, where she entered a madrasah to study and continued to teach. Soon, at the age of eighteen, she met her chosen one - Vali. The newlyweds moved to Sterlitamak, but lived together only a little more than two years, before Vali died.
In Sterlitamak, Rabiga was actively involved in social activities. She was the head of the women's affairs department. She was responsible for orphans in orphanages and educational institutions. Rabiga participated in the organization of the first congress of workers and peasants' women. In 1921 the newspaper “Azat Katyn” (“Free Woman”) began to be published, and Rabiga became its editor-in-chief.
In the same year, Rabiga was elected a delegate to the IX All-Russian Congress of Soviets. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin himself received the delegation from Bashkortostan. Rabiga, again the only woman among them, appeared in a national costume. Vladimir Ilyich was impressed and devoted a few minutes to the conversation with the young Bashkir woman.
In 1922, Rabiga went to an amateur concert, where the military commissar Hafiz Kushaev performed a song. Rabiga married him, and in the same year the Kushaevs moved to Ufa, as Hafiz was appointed chairman of the Bashkir Central Executive Committee.
This is how Rabiga became the first lady of the young republic. Their family became the center of attraction for the Bashkir intelligentsia; delegates of the congresses were constantly visiting them. Rabiga continued her active social activities - she participated in the organization of the 1st All-Bashkir Congress of Workers 'and Peasants' Women, then the All-Bashkir Congress of Women. But she herself still strived to work with children, and soon got appointed a director of the orphanage.
In 1929, Hafiz Kushaev was transferred to Moscow, and Rabiga left with him. There she worked as an inspector of the department for orphanages at the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR under the direction of Nadezhda Krupskaya.
In the summer of 1937, returning from another business trip around the country, Rabiga Kushaeva was shot dead by unknown assailants. In the same year, her husband Hafiz Kushaev and uncle Haris Yumagulov were repressed and shot.
Rabiga had three children. The eldest Minsylu died in infancy, the second daughter Tansylu became a famous ballerina - for twenty years she was prima of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater. The youngest child - son Irek - was only five years old, when his parents died. He was sent to an orphanage. Later the relatives tried to find Irek, but the search did not give any results.
Bashkortostan keeps the memory of Rabiga. Historians write about her, lectures are given at feminist festivals. In 2017, the Society of Bashkir Women established a medal named after Rabiga Kushaeva: "Woman - Mother of the Nation", which is awarded to active public figures.