Fatima Jinnah
Fatima Jinnah was a Pakistani politician, stateswoman and one of the leading founders of Pakistan. She was the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder and the first Governor General of Pakistan. She supported her brother Muhammad Ali Jinnah whole heartedly throughout and later led the campaign for democracy against military dictatorship. Her legacy is associated with her support for civil rights, her struggle in the Pakistan Movement and her devotion to her brother. Referred to as Mäder-e Millat (“Mother of the Nation”) and Khätün-e Päkistan (“Lady of Pakistan”), many institutions and public spaces in Pakistan have been named in her honour. Fatima Jinnah remained extremely popular and is considered one of the greatest female figures Pakistan has produced. Jinnah is a source of the awakening of women’s rights in Pakistan, she rose to stand as Pakistan’s national symbol.
- Begum Ra’ana Liaqat Ali Khan (1905-1990)
Begum Ra’ana Liaqat Ali Khan known as Gul-i-Rana was the First Lady of Pakistan from 1947 to 1951. She was the wife of Liaquat Ali Khan who served as the 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan She was also the first female and tenth governor of Sindh. She was one of the leading women figures in the Pakistan Movement, a career economist and prominent stateswoman.
She served as the executive member of Pakistan Movement committee working under Muhammad Ali Jinnah. She also served as economic adviser to Jinnah’s Pakistan Movement Committee. As the First Lady of Pakistan, she launched programs for woman’s development in the newly founded country.
In the 1970s, Begum Raana joined hands with Zulfikar All Bhutto’s political movement and joined the socialist government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, elected prime minister at that time. She was one of the most trusted and close government and economical advisers to Bhutto and his government and had played influential role in many key economical decisions taken by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Zulfikar All Bhutto appointed Ra’ana as the Governor of Sindh Province in 1973. Begum Ra’ana was also the first woman Chancellor of University of Karachi.
She was awarded Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and Order of Orange-Nassau. She dedicated her life for the social and economic benefitof women of Pakistan till her death in 1990.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif (1973)
Maryam Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani politician, currently serving as the 20th Chief Minister of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, in office since 26 February 2024. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and spouse of Captain Ret Safdar. She is the first female Chief Minister in the entire history of Pakistan. Because of her excellent public and government policies she is very popular politician in Punjab among people of any age, children, young generation, women, old age people and her popularity is increasing day by day among the public of Punjab. Cuurenlty she has taken many stepts the first time in the history like establishment of virtual police station for women, pilot projects of electric buses, laptops for students, scholarships, air ambulance,interacting people face to face to inquire about their compaints etc.
She is the Future Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and for that she is being prepared and getting experienced by being the CM of Punjab.
Begum Nasim Wali Khan (1933-2021)
Begum Nasim Wali Khan was a female politician from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Nasim Wall Khan was the leader of Awami National Party. She was the former provincial president and parliamentary leader of the Awami National Party in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa. Born in 1933, she was one of the main leaders of the Pakistan National Alliance and made history in 1977 as the first woman being elected from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on a general seat in the 1977 elections.
Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007)
An ardent advocate for democracy and for the human rights of the most vulnerable sections of society, particularly women, children and religious minorities, Ms. Bhutto was twice elected prime minister of Pakistan. She holds the honour of becoming the First Woman Prime Minister of an Islamic State and at the age of 35 years, the youngest Chief Executive in the world. She became the first Asian Woman President of Oxford Union while she was pursuing her studies at the University of Oxford, UK.
Benazir Bhutto was born in Karachi in 1953, the daughter of one of Pakistan’s most popular Prime Ministers, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Her father was overthrown by a military coup in 1974 and subsequently hanged after a brief judicial trial Benazir and her mother were imprisoned.
Few years after the exile, Ms. Bhutto became extremely active in opposing the military dictatorship of General Zia ul Haq in 1986, she returned as a charismatic political leader and chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
As leader of Pakistan’s opposition she was arrested on numerous occasions and spent nearly six years in prison or under detention. Her goal throughout her struggle was to transform Pakistani society by focusing attention on programs for health, social welfare, and education for the. Underprivileged. She received the Bruno Kreisky Award for Human Rights in 1988 and UN Prize in the field of Human Rights on 60tn Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights She struggled for the democratic rights of the people of Pakistan against the military dictatorship. Seeking to advance women’s rights, in her second term Ms. Bhutto signed Pakistan to the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. She was also a founding member of the Council of Women World Leaders, a group established in 1996. M.s Bhutto oversaw the creation of a women’s division in the government, headed by a senior female civil servant, as well as a women’s bank and first women judges were appointed to the High Court(s). After returning to Pakistan in 2007, following years in exile, Ms. Bhutto was assassinated in an attack in Rawalpindi The international community expressed great sadness as she was seen as a beacon of hope for a struggling democracy.
Noor Jehan (1926-2000)
Noor Jehan also known by her title Malika-e-Tarannum (the queen of melody), was a Pakistanı playback singer and actress who worked first in British India and then in the cinema of Pakistan. Her career spanned more than six decades (the 1930s-1990s). Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential singers of all time especially in South Asia, she was given the title of Malika-e-Tarannum in Pakistan. She had a command of Hindustani classical music as well as other music genres. Along with Ahmed Rushdi, she holds the record for having given voice to the largest number of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema. She is estimated to have made more than 40 films and sung. around 20,000 numbers during a career which lasted more than half a century. She is thought to be one of the most prolific singers of all time. She is also considered to be the first female Pakistani film director. She received Sitara-e-Imtiaz and was awarded President’s Pride of Performance for her singing and acting capabilities. Her inspirational songs during the Pak-India 1965 war played a vital role to inspire the Pakistani soldiers.
Mehnaz Begum (1958-2013)
Mehnaz Begum was born at Mahmudabad, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1958. Her family migrated to Pakistan in the late 1950s. She received her initial training in music from her mother Kajjan Begum who was also a singer She started her career as a playback singer in the early 1970s. Saleem Gilani, the director general of Radio Pakistan, Karachi, first spotted her doing a concert at her college and helped her. Mehdi Hassan and his elder brother Pandit Ghulam Qadir trained her at this radio station for about a month. Her melodious voice, musical training and control over her voice made her popular among the Pakistani film music directors. She is thirteen times winner of the prestigious Nigar Award (Film Awards) for best playback singer. She sang a variety of genres but specialized in ghazal. thumri, dadra, khayal, drupad and reciting salam, noha and marsiya.
Malika Pukharaj (1912-2004)
Malika Pükharaj was a highly popular Ghazal and folk singer of Pakistan. She specialized in Dogri Folk music of Jammu and Kashmir.Malika Pukhraj was born in Hamirpur Sidhar to a family of professional musicians. She was given the name “Malika” at birth by Baba Roti Ram Majzoob’, a spiritualist. Malika Pukhraj received her traditional musical training from Ustad All Baksh Kasuri, the father of legendary singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
She was awarded Legend of Voice Award by All India Radio in 1977 and also received the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1980.
Iqbal Bano (1935-2009)
Iqbal Bano was a ghazal and film singer. She was known for per semi-classical Urdu ghazal, songs, Thumris and Nazms. In 1974, she became the recipient of the President’s Medal for the Pride of Performance Award. Born in 1937, Iqbal Bano spent her childhood learning music from Ustad Chaand Khan in Delhi. The ghazal queen, equally comfortable singing the traditional and modern forms, lent her voice to All India Radio and later, after Partition, to a number of Pakistani films.
Reshma (1947-2013)
Reshma was a Pakistani folk singer. Awarded with Sitara-i- Imtiaz in 2008, the third highest honour, she is also the recepient of the highest civilian award in Pakistan, the Pride of Performance in 1982. She is remembered for folk songs and her powerful singing voice.
Born in Rajasthan, India in a nomadic Banjara household in 1947, her family rehabilitated to Karachi after the Partition of India. Discovered by a local producer at the age of 12 while singing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandarin Sehwan, Sindh, Reshma went on to record various folk songs for such labels as the Pakistan Radio. Her first project with the company “Laal Meri” was an instant hit and she was catapulted to fame with several television appearances in the 1960s.
Mai Bhagi (1920-1986)
Nazia Hassan (1965-2000)
Nazia Hassan was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist, referred to as the Queen of South Asian pop, she is regarded as one of the most influential singers across Indian subcontinent. She introduced and established a trend of pop music in Pakistan. During the 1980s, she, along with her brother Zoheb Hassan, went on to sell over 65 million records worldwide.
Her debut album Disco Deewane was a huge hit. The album Charted in fourteen countries worldwide and also became the best-selling Asian poprecor bof all time. Her other albums created the same amount of buzz as her first alburn. Nazia Started her music career at the young age of ten years, made her singing debut in Bollywood with the song Aap Jaisa Kol in film Qurbani.
During her singing career, Nazia received numerous awards. At the age of just 15, she became the first Pakistani to win the Filmfare Award. She was also a recipient of President’s Award for Pride of Performance.
Bano Qudsia (1928-2017)
Bano Qudsia was an eminent novelist, short story writer and playwright of Urdu. Her novel “Raja Gidh is considered as one of the most famous novels of Foot Aatish Zair-i-Paa, Amarbaill, Aasy Paasy, Bazghasht, Footpath Ki Ghaas, Hasil Ghaat, Samaan-i- Wajood and Shehr-i-Bay Misaal are some of her other significant works. Bano Qudsia also wrote Urdu and Punjabi plays for radio and television. Qudsia was born in 1928 in Ferozpur, Punjab. She migrated to Lahore with her family during the tumultuous partition of the Asian subcontinent and later graduated from Kinnaird College. She then joined Government College, Lahore for Master in Urdu Literature, where she met Ashfaq Ahmad, another giant of Urdu literature and later got married to him. In 1986, she was given the Taj Award for Best Playwright. The government acknowledged her contributions to literature and was bestowed with Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1983 and the Hilal- e-Imtiaz in 2010. Pakistan Academy of Letters honoured the renowned author by awarding her with Kamal-e-Fun Award in 2010.Qudsia was an inspirational figure for the youth. Her generosity, kindness and love guided the young and helped many budding writers.
Parveen Shakir (1952-1994)
Parveen Shakir is one the most famous poets of Urdu Parveen Shakir is famed for expressing feminine sentiments. Love, separation and solitude are basic metaphors of her poetry. She also remained associated with Radio and TV for literary programs. Khushbo, Sad Barg. Khud Kalaami, Inkaar, Mah-i-Tamaam (Collection) and Kaf-i-Aainaare her poetry collections.
In her literary services she was presented with the Adamjee Literary Award in 1976 and the Pride of Performance by the Government of Pakistan in 1990.
Fahmida Riaz (1946-2018)
Fahmida Riaz is a prominent poetess, short story writer, lovelist and translator. She holds a niche among the feminist writers of Pakistan. Badan Dareeda, Pathar Ki Zuban, Khat-i-Marmooz, Dhoop, Qila Faramoshi and Tum Kabeer are her major works. She also translated the Sindhi books of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and Sheikh Ayaz into Urdu. Fahmida Riaz, in recognition of her literary services, received the Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan. Born in what is now the Indian city of Meerut, on 26 July 1946, she was raised in the Pakistani city of Hyderabad where her father was posted around the time of the Partition of India in 1947. The family stayed in Pakistan but her literature would later cross the divide between the two countries. Unlike other women poets of her time, Riaz had a political side which influenced her work. Her political consciousness began with a students’ movement that opposed a ban on student unions imposed by the first military regime of Ayub Khan in the 1960s. In 1998, Ms. Fahmida received Hellman/Hammett Grant by Human Rights Watch. She also received the Pride of Performance Award in 2010 and Kamal-e-Fun Award in 2014.
Dr. Begum Ashraf Abbasi
Ashraf Abbasi was a Pakistani politician and the first female Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan. She was a close supporter of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its leaders Zulfiqar All Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. She was also a member of the west Pakistan Assembly from 1962 until 1965. She joined the PPP and won from her constituency in 1970. She did her secondary education from the D.J. College Sindh in 1940 and got admission in the Lady Hardinge Medical College for Girls in Delhi.
As the first woman deputy speaker of the National Assembly she held the position till 1977 and again from 1988 to 1990. In 1977, she won a Sindh Assembly seat and was made the minister for local government. She took active part in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) and remained incarcerated in Sukkur jail for 14 months. She had been under house arrest four times during the ppp movement against martial law. She was nominated as a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.Begum Ashraf established the Mothers’ Trust in 1996 to serve poor women and headed it till her death.
Arfa Karim (1995-2012)
Arfa Karim Randhawa was a student from Faisalabad in Pakistan, who in 2004 at the age of 9 years, became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in the world, a title she kept until 2008. She was invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in the USA. Arfa Karim received the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology, presented by the Prime Minister of Pakistan at that time. She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award again in August 2005 by the President of Pakistan. Arfa Karim is also the recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. This is a very high-level Civil Award granted to people who have shown excellence in their respective fields over a long period of time.
Marium Mukhtiar (1992-2015)
Marium Mukhtiar was a Pakistani fighter pilot. She embraced martyrdom when a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) FT-7PG aircraft crashed near Kundian in Mianwali District, northwestern Punjab, Pakistan on November 24, 2015. She was the first female Pakistani fighter pilot to be martyred in the line of duty. Marium Mukhtiar was among about 20 female fighter pilots in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which only began inducting women in combat roles in 2006. Marium was bestowed Tamgha-e-Basalat (Medal of Good Conduct by Pakistan Air Force).
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai became an international symbol of the fight for girls’ education after she was shot in 2012 for opposing Taliban restrictions on female education in her hometown Swat, Pakistan. In 2009, Malala had begun writing a blog under a pseudonym Gul Makai about the increasing military activity in her home town and about fears that her school would be attacked. After her identity was revealed. Malala and her father Ziauddin continued to speak out for the right to education. The Taliban’s attack on Malala on 9 October 2012 as she was returning home from school with her friends received worldwide condemnation. In Pakistan, over 2 milion people signed a right to education petition, and the National Assembly ratified Pakistan’s first Right to Free and Compulsory Education bill.
In 2013, Malala and her father co-founded the Malala Fund to bring awareness to the social and economic impact of education of girls and to empower girls to demand charge. In December 2014, she became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres designated Malala as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2017 to help raise awareness of the importance of girl’s education. With various national and international recognitions, she is also the recipient of Sitara-e-Shujaat, Pakistan’s second. highest civilian award for bravery, in 2012.
Samina Baig (1990)
Mountaineer Samina Baig is the first Pakistani woman to climb K2- the second highest mountain in the world in 2021 Earlier, Samina became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest – the highest mountain in the world – in 2013. The 31-year-old also holds the honour of scaling the seven highest peaks in the world, known as the Seven Summits. Baig comes from Shimshal Village in Hunza Gojal, Gilgit- Baltistan, Pakistan, and was trained in mountaineering from the age of 15 by her brother, Mirza Ali. Samina Baig has emerged as a symbol of Pakistani women’s determination, courage, and bravery.
Gulzar Bano (1927)
Gulzar was the first Female Secretary, Federal Government. Pakistan. She was in her Master’s course (English literature) at Government College, Lahore, when she took the CSS examination in 1950 and topped the list of successful candidates. Born in 1927 in one of the Bastis of Jalandhar district, Gulzar Bano spent her childhood in Uttar Pradesh, where her father was an officer in the Indian Forest Service. Sent to Lahore soon after independence she did BA honours from the Kinnaird College. With that success began her experience of society’s anti-woman biases. She always felt that her relegation to the second position in the final list of CSS qualifiers was due to the viva voce board’s lack of confidence in women’s talents. A greater shock was the discovery that women were barred from joining foreign service, police and the elite CSP cadre. So she had to be contented with Audit and Accounts Service. Far more serious was her male colleagues and superiors’ reluctance to reconcile to her presence and her right to promotion. Several attempts were made by her seniors to persuade her to abandon her job and take up work appropriate for women, such as teaching, but she stuck to her rights and rose to be the first woman federal secretary. Gulzar Bano started writing poetry quite early in her life, and continued doing so till the end. In 2005 she launched a book of her poems, “Lost Found, Found Lost”, which was appreciated by several critics.
Mohini Hameed (1922-2009)
Mohini Hameed better known as Apa Shamim, was first Pakistani radio broadcaster, anchor and actress. On 14 August 1947, when Pakistan gained independence, Mohini became the first woman broadcaster of Pakistan. In May 2009 when she died, Lahore studio of Radio Pakistan was named after her as ‘Mohini Hameed Studio”. She was the mother of journalist and first television presenter of Pakistan Television Kanwal Naseer. Mohini joined All-India Radio Lahore in 1939 at the age of 17. Soon Mohini became a major female Urdu-language voice. She voiced almost every major radio play, or special announcement during her time at All-India Radio Lahore When Pakistan gained freedom from the British, Mohini opted for Pakistan as her home. Mohini Hameed worked at Radio Pakistan for 35 years. Mohini Hameed was awarded numerous national awards, including Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Fourth-highest civilian award of Pakistan. She was given Lifetime Achievement Award’ by the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation in 1999.
Mahjabin Qazalbash (1958-2020)
Mahjabin was a Pashto singer from Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She also sang in other languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Hindko, Sindhi, Seraiki, Persian and Turkish. She earned the title of Bulbul-i-Sarhad for her melodious voice and was recipient of numerous awards, including President’s Medal for the Pride of Performance. She also worked in Pashto plays, but focused on her singing.
Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau (1929-2017)
Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau was a German-Pakistani Catholic nun of the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, and a physician. She moved from Germany to Pakistan in 1961 and devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan. Pfau was honoured with the Hilal-i-Pakistan, Hilal- i-Imtiaz-, Nishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam-, and the Sitara-i-Quaid-i- Azam award. Pfau contributed to the establishment of 157 leprosy clinics across Pakistan that treated over 56,780 people. Fazaia Ruth Pfau Medical College and Dr. Ruth Pfau Hospital are named after her in Karachi. Dr. Ruth Pfau was born on 9 September 1929, in Leipzig Germany was fourth of five daughters. During World War II as a teenager she barely survived the Allied bombing which destroyed her home. She was fond of becoming a doctor and in 1948 she escaped from the Soviet Occupation Zone and followed her father to Wiesbaden in West Germany to study medicine at the University of Mainz and in Marburg. After graduation she joined the Daughters of the Heart of Mary Society, when she was 29 the society sent her to India but due to some visa issues she landed in Karachi. In 1960, Dr Ruth witnessed the devastation caused by Leprosy in Pakistan and decided to dedicate the rest of her life for people afflicted by Leprosy.
Bacha Zareen Jan (1942-2012)
Zareen Jan known by her pen name Bibi Gul, also by the honorary title “Queen of Pashto Ghazals” was a Pashto multilingual Pakistani gazal singer, lyricist and musician who primarily sung songs in different languages such as Persian, Hindko, Punjabi, Seraiki, Urdu and predominantly in Pashto language.
Born in 1942 to a family of musicians in Mardan, Jan had a flair for singing. Her father Ustad Abdur Rahim Khan was a tabla nawaz who groomed his daughter and brought her to the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) Peshawar as a young child. After she passed the auditions, Shad Amritsari introduced her into the music scene, where she soon carved a niche for herself. During Pakistan’s war with India in 1965 and 1971, Jan sang Inspirational songs in Urdu and Pashto to boost the morale of the Pakistani soldiers, for which she was gifted a sword and pistol from President Ayub Khan. In recognition of her works, she received the Pride of Performance Award and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan.
Zarina Baloch
Zarina Baloch was a Pakistani folk music singer, vocalist and composer She was also an actress, Radio and TV artist, and writer, teacher for over 30 years, political activist and social worker. She was born on 29th December 1934 in Allahdad Chand Village, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan her mother, Gulroz Jalalani, died in 1940 when Zarina was six years old. Shestudied with Mohammad Juman, who was also a Sindhi singer. Baloch joined Radio Hyderabad in 1960 and received her First Music Award in 1961. In 1967, she became a teacher at the Model School Sindh University She received President’s Award for Pride of Performance and awards by Pakistan Television Corporation.
Kanwal Naseer (1943-2021)
Kanwal Naseer was a Pakistani journalist at Pakistan Television Network, having the honor of being Pakistan’s first female news presenter and anchor. She made her first appearance for PTV on 26th November. 1964. Kanwal made her media debut at the age of 6 or 7 on radio. She worked for state-run Pakistan Television Corporation for nearly 50 years. Kanwal Naseer received the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2015. Her mother Mohni Hameed was also an artist and the first woman Radio Broadcaster and was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
Ada Jafri (1924-2015)
Ada Jafri was a Pakistani poet who is regarded as the first major female Urdu poet to be published and has been called “The First Lady of Urdu Poetry”. She was also an author and was considered a prominent figure in contemporary Urdu literature. She received awards from the Government of Pakistan, the Pakistan Writers’ Guild, and literary societies of North America and Europe in recognition of her efforts. Ada Jafri was part of a traditionally conservative society where women were not allowed to think and express independently. Despite having traditions ingrained in her personality, she took part in modern art. As early as 1950, she was recognized as the First Lady of Urdu Poetry. She is recipient of various awards including Adamjee Literary Award in 1967, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) in 1981 and the Pride of Performance Award in 2003.
Fatima Sughra Begum
Fatima also known as Begum Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Fatima Sughra Begum, Begum Hidayatullah and Lady Hidayatullah. Sughra was a Pakistan Movement activist and figure in Pakistani politics. She was the wife of Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah. She became known when she pulled off the Union Jack from the civil secretariat Lahore, and replaced it with the flag of All-India Muslim League at the age of 14. This act made her a hero in the eyes of the muslims of subcontinent. In an interview with The Guardian in 2007, Fatima Sughra describes herself a ‘rebellious’. When I took down the British flag and replaced it with our Muslim League one, I don’t think I really knew what I was doing. It wasn’t planned. I was rebellious at that age, 14. and it seemed like a good idea. I was not prepared for it to become such a big symbol of independence. They even gave me a Gold Medal for Services to Pakistan. I was the first ever to receive one.
Asma Jilani Jahangir (1952-2018)
She was a leading Pakistani lawyer. Born in Lahore, she was an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and a human rights activist who worked both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation of children. She won several international awards for her activism including the Right Livelihood Award and the Four Freedoms Award in 2010 for promoting Religious Freedom. She was imprisoned in 1983 and put under house arrest in 2007. She worked closely with her sister Hina Jilani on many of her endeavors. In recognition of her contributions to protect the rights of women and minorities, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
Roshan Ara Begum (1917-1982)
Roshan Ara Begum was a vocalist belonging to the Kirana gharana of Hindustani classical music. Born in the Indian city of Kolkata in undivided India. Roshan Ara Begum visited Lahore during her teens to participate in musical soirées held at the residences of affluent citizens of Chun Peer in Mohalla Peer Gillaanian at Mochi Gate, Lahore. She received pride of performance and Sitara-e-Imtiaz from the government of Pakistan for her contributions. She sang the genres, ghazal, dadra and thumri. She also sang light classical pieces and has to her credit nearly four hundred songs trained by stalwarts like Mohammad Khan, Abdul Waheed Khan of Lahore. She finally became a disciple of Ustad Jhande Khan. She received President’s Award for Pride of Performance and Sitara-e-Imtiaz from the government of Pakistan for her contributions.
Nigar Ahmad (1945-2017)
Nigar Ahmed was a Pakistani women’s rights activist who founded the Women’s Action Forum and Aurat Foundation. Ahmed was born in Lahore in 1945, to Riazuddin Ahmad and Akhtar. She got her early education from the Convent of Jesus and Mary. She did her Masters in Economics Government College Lahore. She was a member of the Government College Dramatics Club and later editor of the famous magazine Ravi. Later she went to New Hall, Cambridge, on a Commonwealth scholarship. After coming back, she taught Economics in Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. Through Aurat Foundation, Nigar mobilised women candidates for national and local government elections to generating debate across the country about women’s political and economic empowerment and worked on issues relating to peace and democracy.
She was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2005.
Anna Molka Ahmed (1917-1994)
Anna Molka Ahmed was a Pakistani artist and a pioneer of Fine arts education in the country after its independence in 1947. Anna Molka Ahmed was born Molly Bridger to Jewish parents, in London, England on 13 August 1917 She converted to Islam at the age of 18 in 1935, before marrying Sheikh Ahmed in October 1939, who was then studying in London. Ahmed moved to Lahore in 1940 and, besides painting. taught fine arts at the University of the Punjab. Professor Emeritus Anna Molka Ahmed set up the Department of Fine Arts now called the College of Arts and Design at the University of the Punjab, which she headed until 1978. She studied painting, sculpture and design at St. Martin School of Arts in London, and received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Art. She was awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 1963 and President’s Award for Pride of Performance in 1969.
Fatima Surayya Bajia (1930-2016)
Baijia was an Urdu novelist and playwright from Pakistan. She was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2013 and Pride of Performance Award in 1996. She also received Japan’s highest civil award in recognition of her works. Bajia remained Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh province in Pakistan, and was a member of the managing committee of the Arts Council of Pakistan. She died on 10 February 2016 in Karachi, aged 85. A well-known personality in social welfare, literary Radio, TV and Stage, Bajia wrote for PTV Centres Islamabad and Lahore since the launch of those television channels. She wrote her first long play Mehman. Her plays were known to be culturally elaborate and focused on familial ties. She made a major contribution to the development of modern drama.
Sabiha Khanum (1935-2020)
Sabiha Khanum was a Pakistani film actress. She was also referred to as the “First Lady of Pakistani Cinema”. The recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance and Nigar Awards, she debuted in Lollywood films with Beli (1950), and also appeared in various television dramas. Khanum ruled the Pakistani cinema in 1950s and ’60s with super hit movies, including Kaneez, Mukhra, Anokha, Tehzeeb and many others. There are some excellent television dramas to her credit also. In most of her movies, Sabiha played the lead roles along with her husband, late Santosh Kumar (Syed Musa Raza). playing the lead role opposite her.
Tahira Qazi (1951-2014)
Tahira Qazi was an educationist and principal of Army Public School and College, Peshawar. She was killed in the Peshawar school attack on 16th December 2014 while protecting the school children. Tahira Qazi was born on 1st July, 1951 in Mardan, Pakistan where she attended her primary school. She completed her master’s degree in English from University of Peshawar and started her teaching career in the 1970s. Tahira took charge as the principal of Army Public School, Peshawar in 2006 and was set to retire in May 2015. On the fateful day of the Peshawar School Attack incident, she chose to stay back in the school which was under attack and tried to save her students. Qazi was posthumously awarded Sitara-e-Shujaat (Star of Bravery) in 2015
Abrar Ishaq Rana