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SARA
SULERI GOODYEAR
 Sara
Suleri Goodyear, the author of 'Meatless Days' and 'The Rhetoric
of English India' was born in Pakistan. She obtained her B.A. (
Honours) degree from Kinnaird College, Lahore and an Masters of
Arts degree in English from Punjab University, Lahore. In the
year 1983, she completed her Ph.D. from Indiana University.
Since then she has been teaching English at Yale University. At
Yale Suleri started the Yale Journal of Criticism and is
responsible for editing the same.
 Her
first literary work -'Meatless Days' depicts her childhood life
whereas her second book -'The Rhetoric of English India' deals
with representation of India in the British Empire from Edmund
Burke to post-colonial times. In 'The Rhetoric of English
India'Suleri reconstructs a diverse Anglo-India narrative in
which English and Indian idioms inevitably collude. According to
Jane Marcus, CUNY Graduate Center and the City University of New
York, " This is the most brilliant contribution to
postcolonial criticism since Edward Said's Orientalism. Sara
Suleri has written a masterpiece of calm, well-thought-out,
cogent, and inspiring analysis."
Her special
literary interests include postcolonial literatures and theory,
contemporary cultural criticism, literature and law. Her field
of study encompasses19th- and 20th-century English literature,
Postcolonial literatures, cultural criticism, and Urdu poetry.
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FEHMIDA
RIAZ
 Fehmida
Riaz the Pakistani poetess, novelist, and journalist, has
celebrated life and women in her writings spanning good forty
years. She is revered in literary circles for extra-ordinary
depth and charm that she imparts to her work be it poems or
prose.
Fehmida was born in the year 1946. In the mid
sixties she attended university and got involved in college
politics. She voiced her feelings over unheard themes of female
sexuality, sexual politics and Islam vis-a-vis women's position
in society. Her career has always been replete with
controversies for her views on women's issues and women's
sexuality. She was even charged with treason by Zia -Ul -Haq in
the 1980s for her views on co-existence with India and
Bangladesh.
The celebrated poetess started the first
women's publishing house in Pakistan. She also launched a
magazine "Awaz" which criticized the then Government
of Pakistan and bore the brunt of fury of powers that be who
filed 14 cases against her. For daring to speak her mind out she
had to leave Pakistan and live in India for several years.
Her
first collection of poems "Pattar ki zuban", published
in1967, talked about love, yearnings for a beloved and a muted
sexual awakening. Her second collection of poems titled "Badan
dareedah" published in1973 established Fahmida Riaz as a
creative artist, a literary force to reckon with in Urdu poetry,
and also as a writer dealing with feminist issues. Her third
collection of poems called " Dhoop" which saw the
light of the day in 1976 largely dealt with the issues of
culture, language and identity. During her years of exile in
India she brought out two collections; " Kiya tum pura
chaand na dehko gay" (1984) and "Apna jurm sabit hai"(1988).
"Aadmi ki zindagi" , (1999) is considered her most
beautiful, here she presents the human being and his/her life on
this earth as two characters: man and woman. She also
experimented with prose and translation of some literary master
pieces from English to Urdu.
Her creative work covers a
wide range of themes including human existence, loneliness,
disillusionment, sexual politics, female sexuality and
motherhood, to spirituality, religion and nature. Despite her
command over language, engaging expression, depth of emotions,
her creative genius and versatility Fehmida has not received due
credit for her outstanding literary contributions.
Women's
search for her self and a desire to live life on her own terms
are the issues dear to Fehmida. In her own words, "Concepts,
thoughts, feelings, reactions, associated with women are
considered unworthy, undesirable. Even the women who become
heads of the state are expected, and demanded, to 'act like
men'. 'Acting like a woman' is still considered to be a
derogatory term. Women's reactions are against bloodshed,
against conflict and brute force, but for these reactions women
are labeled as fearful, and coward. Compassion is still
associated with woman and considered foolish". She founded
Women and Development Organization (WADA) with the aim of
publishing material for women and children.
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BAPSI
SIDHWA
 The
author of four internationally acclaimed novel, Bapsi Sidhwa was
born in Karachi in Pakistan and was brought up in Lahore. She
had no formal education till the age of 15. She was taught at
home by a private tutor who gave her a novel Little Women to
read at the age of 11. She later graduated from the Kinnaird
College for Women in Lahore.
She got married at the
age of 19 in Bombay and started living there. However, her
marriage did not last long and within 5 years Bapsi was back in
Pakistan. She remarried there and while on her second honeymoon
in the mountains, she came across a woman who had runaway from
her in-laws home. The tragedy that unfolded first person before
Bapsi shook her so much that she felt compelled to tell the
story of this woman in her words. Result was her first novel "
The Bride" . She started penning this story secretly and
could not find a publisher for a long time. Meanwhile she also
started working on her second novel " The Crow Eaters"
which she self published in 1978.
In 1983 she shifted
to America and since then has been associated with teaching and
writing. Her various teaching assignments include a stint at
Columbia University, University of Houston, and Mount Holyoke
College. She was the Fanny Hurst writer-in-residence at Brandeis
University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She also served on the
Board of Directors of INPRINT in Houston. She has conducted many
writing workshops in America.
Sidhwa has worked for
creating awareness among women about their rights and has been
on the Advisory Committee to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on
Women's Development till 1996. She has also been voluntary
secretary in the Destitute Women's and Children's Home in Lahore
for several years.
As a writer she has been appreciated
for her delicate and precise approach. In the literay world
Bapsi is regarded as a serious humorist in the tradition of
Heller, Dickens, and Waugh. She says, " My novels reflect
my natural inclination to see the strong element of humor even
in tragedies." Writing according to Bapsi, "has been
my savior, my hobby and my love. It has been my passion. It is
the music in the background of my life."
Honors
& Awards:
Held Bunting Fellowship at Radcliffe/Harvard at Mary Ingraham
Institute In 1987
Selected Fellow for the National Endowment for the Arts in 1987
Received Sitara-i-Imtiaz, the highest national honor in the
arts, Pakistan in 1991
Received the National Award for English Literature from the
Pakistan Academy of Letters in 1991
Received LiBeraturepreis for Ice-Candy-Man (Cracking India) in
Germany in 1991
Selected Visiting Scholar at Rockefeller Foundation Study
Center, Bellagio, Italy in 1991
Received Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award of $105,000
in 1993
Selected Chairperson (Eurasia) Commonwealth Writers' Prize in
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KAMILA
SHAMSIE
 Kamila
Shamsie was born and brought in Karachi amidst a creative
family. She, fortunately can boast of a literary lineage which
includes a journalist mother in Muneeza Shamsie, a writer
grandmother in, Jahanara Habibullah and last but not the least a
great -aunt in novelist Attiya Hussain. It is hardly a surprise
that Shamsie started writing at the age of 11.
Kamila
went to USA for her graduation and masters in creative writing.
The seeds of her first novel, "In the City by the Sea"
germinated at college only. She has won the Prime Minister's
Award for Literature in Pakistan in 1999 for her very first
novel. The novel also got short-listed for the John Llewelyn
Rhys/Mail on Sunday award in the U.K. As a novelist her strength
lies in the structure and lyricism she weaves through her
writing. Her light touch on her subject transforms a trite
treatise into a captivating one. She had mastered her craft with
her first publication.
About her second novel "Salt
and Safforn" Ammena Meer writes, "As a mystery -- and
the only book i've read which has a genuine love for Pakistan --
the narrative is compelling and the images beautiful."
Kamila
teaches creative writing at Hamilton College in New York.
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DR.
MALEEHA LODHI
 Dr.
Maleeha Lodhi, the controversial Ambassador of Pakistan to the
United States, has a strong academic and journalistic
background. Dr. Maleeha obtained her Ph.D. degree from London
School of Economics in 1980 and thereafter taught there for
about five years before embarking upon a remarkable career in
journalism at Pakistan.
During her journalistic career
spanning eight years she edited two of Pakistan's major
newspapers - The News International and The Muslim. She has the
rare distinction of being the first woman editor in whole of
Asia. She made her mark in the field of journalism with her
outspoken views and incisive analyses.
Apart from the
journalistic ventures she also authored two books - Pakistan's
Encounter with Democracy and The External Dimension. In December
1994, she was selected by Time magazine as one of the hundred
global pacesetters or young leaders who the magazine said would
help define the next century. She is the only one from Pakistan
who figures in this list.
Dr. Maleeha entered the
political world solely on the basis of her inner strength unlike
most women leaders in West Asia who are catapulted into politics
through inheritance from fathers or husbands. She had to work
really hard in initial years as Mrs. Lodhi recalls now how men
would treat her condescendingly and lightly dismiss her work She
feels it is easier for people to recognize her by surname if she
belongs to a feudal family but women from middle class families
have to strive hard.
 To
quote the Colorado Republican, Sen. Hank Brown, "She's an
absolute dynamo. They [Pakistan] couldn't have picked anyone
with more energy and brighter mind. I am convinced much of the
improvements between the two countries-the United States and
Pakistan-is because of her and her incredible energy levels."
To
quote the Colorado Republican, Sen. Hank Brown, "She's an
absolute dynamo. They [Pakistan] couldn't have picked anyone
with more energy and brighter mind. I am convinced much of the
improvements between the two countries-the United States and
Pakistan-is because of her and her incredible energy levels."
However,
the kudos has not come to her without the brickbats. She is
alleged to be a corrupt, arrogant and inefficient diplomat, who
is not only an embarrassment to people from Pakistan but to many
Muslim nations represented in Washington, DC. Her questionable
reputation for her irresponsible style of living, heavy
drinking, chain smoking, merrymaking and involvement in some
scandals has led to her earning innumerable opponents.
In
Pakistani- American circles she is known as the prodigal
princess who lavishly spent state funds on futile and
unproductive lobbying firms and on her official tours. A
businessman Mr. Azam Mirza who owns a chain of 7-Eleven stores
in USAand is a prominent Pakistani-American community leader
commented, " Maleeha would be acceptable to vested
interests only"
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PERVEEN
SHAKIR
Undoubtedly
the most popular Urdu poetess of modern times, Perveen Shakir
immortalized her poetry by the beautiful tapestry of feminine
agony and irony. Perveen Shakir was born in Karachi, Pakistan,
in Nov 1952. She completed her studies from the University of
Karachi. She majored in English Literature & Linguistics and
later taught the same subjects to undergraduates at the
university.
A while after she joined the Civil Services
of Pakistan. Shakir had the rare distinction of being a
Fulbright Scholar in Residence for four institutions of the
Hartford Consortium for Higher Education. Her sensitive
throbbing mind has explored the uncharted terrains of a women's
mind. She put forward the feelings, the emotions and the paradox
that fills a women's life. Her poetry runs across all classes,
it tenderly depicts the pain and the distress that pervades a
woman's life.
From a young dreamy emotional girl
Shakir ripened into a sensitive, incisive, mature woman through
her poetry. She unveiled the deepest abyss of the female psyche
with amazing deftness. She is among the rare few Urdu poetesses
who dared to defy the tradition by expressing the female
experience. She had her four collections of poems published in
India and Pakistan.
According to Dehli Recorder, "
She has given the most beautiful female touch to Urdu Poetry".
In her tragic death in 1994 Urdu poetry has lost a great
aficionado.
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TAHIRA
NAQVI
 Tahira
Naqvi, a writer and professor, from Pakistan is now settled in
USA. She was born and educated at Lahore. She has been teaching
English and Urdu for some years at New York University and at
Columbia. An acclaimed short story writer, Tahira has also
translated the work of some great Indian authors from Urdu to
English.
Her own collection of short fiction Titled "titled
Attar of Roses and Other Stories of Pakistan" was published
in 1998. A second collection " Dying in a Strange Country"
rechristened " Amreeka Amreeka" followed two years
later. A novel is under progress, too. She is an insightful and
forceful writer. According to Tahira, " I am a great
believer of spontaneous writing so that when I'm not impelled I
don't push myself to write." Her descriptive and analytical
powers bring to fore the psychological dynamics of intricate
moments of a woman's life.
To put her writing in her
own words "For me everything that I write always begins
with a deeply compelling idea that may be disturbing or exciting
in some way. There have been instances when the idea comes with
its own format thus enabling me to proceed with relative ease.
At other times a character or two will accompany the idea and
once I start writing other shapes and forms will emerge in
relation to my involvement with my characters and their
relationship to each other. My work is also very
autobiographical and memory plays a very important role in
everything I write."
Often questioned about the
openness of sexual matters in her creative work, she asserts
that it is interwoven into the texture of the lives of the
characters is never introduced deliberately to derive any
extraneous utility.
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Lubna
Khalid
 The
Real Cosmetics - a company that created a line of cosmetics
specifically for the women of color - owes its existence to
Lubna Khalid, a Pakistani - American. The company has its
genesis in the childhood fancies of Lubna who hated her hair,
eye and skin color. She wanted to have blond hair and blue eyes.
Born
and brought up in New Jersey by parents of Pakistani origin
Lubna, started modeling right at high school and worked for such
names as Calvin Klein and Jill Sander for sometime before
obtaining a degree in business administration. As a fashion
model she experienced not only problems of limited opportunities
but also of limited cosmetic choices /make-up options for women
of color. It is then she went on to found a company that creates
cosmetics specifically for women of colour. Her founding partner
is Anna Hernandez, a first generation Maxican - American.
Together
they created a line to fill in this gap existing in the cosmetic
market and to widen the narrow concept of beauty by fashioning
positive images of women of color. Lubna says, "Real
Cosmetics is different from other cosmetics lines not only
because it targets women of color, says Khalid, but also because
it targets the full-range of women of color, rather than
specifically the African-American consumer. Secondly, our
products are all natural. And lastly we are a socially conscious
line that cares about and comes from the community that it is
trying to represent."
Real Cosmetics offers
foundation, powder and lipstick which according to Khalid are
the main cosmetic concerns of women of color. At present the
products are available online and the company is working towards
distributing them to retail stores particularly the high- end
stores. Khalid believed that cosmetic needs of a major section
of population (30% of women in America) were being ignored by
mainline cosmetic companies which sought to perpetuate the
narrow outlook of viewing only a certain type of body, figure
and features as beautiful and provide make-up solutions for
them.
The company is growing by word of mouth. The
marketing strategy of the company involves direct approach to
the communities and women it is targeting and this is giving
them an opportunity to know the customer directly and understand
their real needs. Out of her sheer grit and imagination a new
concept of beauty solutions has taken birth. For her it is a
passion to empower women of color through positive self- images.
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JUGNU
MOHSIN
 The
women in focus Jugnu Mohsin is a journalist heroine from
Pakistan .Jugnu Mohsin, co-founder, publisher and managing
director of the Friday Times, has fought many a battle with the
government of Pakistan for the freedom of the Press in her
country along with her husband Najm Sethi. They had also born
the brunt of political vendetta in their pursuit to assert the
freedom of expression.
In May 1999, when her husband
was dragged from his bedroom in the middle of the night and
imprisoned without any charge, Jugnu refused to be intimidated
by the official oppression. She continued her battle with the
pen while simultaneously waging a campaign to learn his
whereabouts and secure his release. Their paper has angered
almost all governments since its inception by calling on them to
answer the corruption charges. The Committee to Protect
Journalists presented the husband -wife team its 1999
International Press Freedom Award along with three other
journalists for their courage and independence in reporting the
news.
Jugnu received her Bachelor's degree from
Cambridge University. Before joining hands with her husband
Jugnu was practicing as a lawyer. She is also a member of
Women's Action Forum of Pakistan.
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SURINA
KHAN
 Surina
Khan, a lesbian and gay rights activist from Pakistan, was born
in Karachi in 1967 to Muhajir parents. Her parents shifted to
USA when she was barely 5. She came out in open about her sexual
preferences in 1989. Surina was a research analyst at Political
Research Associates, (PRA), a national progressive think-tank
based in Massachusetts, before she joined IGLHRC in May 2000.
At
PRA, Surina handled analysis of the US political right as well
as the ex-gay movement in the US and abroad. She is a renowned
spokesperson for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
movement. Her writings have been widely published and well read.
She is also co-chair of the board of directors of the Funding
Exchange, a national network of progressive community
foundations, and has served on the boards of several other
educational, funding, and advocacy organizations.
Among
her famous creative pieces are included essays such as "Calculated
Compassion: How the Ex-Gay Movement Serves the Right's Attack on
Democracy," an in-depth report co-published by PRA, the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and Equal Partners in
Faith. She passionately feel about the issues concerning LGBT
people and speaks ly about the ill-treatment they face in the
hands of law- enforcing agencies throughout the world.
She
has deep regard for her parents "Who" she says, "
Taught me to live by the courage of my convictions with
integrity and dignity; who encouraged me to be ambitious and
independent. And above all who cared for our education not just
about the boys". |
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ZUBAIDA
JALAL
( 29th October -- 4th November 2001 )
Zubaida Jalal the Minister for Education, Women
development, Social Welfare and Special Education of Pakistan
was born in August 1959 at Kuwait. She received her early
education at Quetta And later on obtained her masters degree in
English literature from the University of Balochistan.
She
is a native of Mand in Merkan district which is one of the most
deprived and desolate areas of Pakistan. Moved by the
underdevelopment of the area Zubaida established a Girls'
Primary School in Mand on Self-help basis in the year 1982. The
school performed outstandingly well in the first year of its
operation. Based on its excellent performance it was handed over
to the Government of Balochistan.
Zubaida moved on to
become a volunteer with the Family Planning Association of
Pakistan. She participated in the Fourth World Women Conference
at China in 1995 as an official delegate. In the year 1999 she
was taken in the Pakistan Federal Cabinet as Minister for
Education based on her services as an activist educator- the
first women in the history of Pakistan to achieve this
distinction. She widely traveled abroad to study the primary
education system prevalent in other countries.
Time
and again the minister has emphasized the responsibility to
evolve the best and workable education system for the new
generation. "Only an effective education can steer a nation
out of the backwardness and bring it at par with the developed
nations," she said.She has spent much time of her career
fighting for Girls' education in her home province, Balochistan. |
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SYEDA
ABIDA HUSSAIN( 22nd October -- 28th October 2001
)
 Syeda
Abida Hussain has been in politics long before Benazir Bhutto.
Not only that she has also been the first and only women ever to
practically fight against sectarianism in Pakistan. She joined
the politics in 1967 and been part of many Government s
handling different ministries from time to time. She has been
minister for Education, Science and Technology in 1996, minister
for Food and Agriculture in 1997, the Minister for Population
Welfare and minister for Environment and Urban Affairs in 1999.
In addition, she also served as Ambassador of Pakistan to the
United States of America between 1991-1993.
Though
known for her bad temperament Begum Abida, an honest woman
managed to survive in the dirty politics of Pakistan for a long
time. In 1999 she chose to resign from the ministry when
allegations of power theft were leveled against her.
At
every possible platform the lady has advocated the empowerment
of women and called upon them to be more expressive on relevant
issues without fear.
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ATTIYA
INAYATULLAH( 15th October -- 21st October 2001 )
 Dr.
Attiya Inayatullah, the Federal Minister for Population from
Pakistan is both a socialist and politician. Dr.Attiya, the
movind force the moving force behind the Family Planning
Association of Pakistan, has many feathers in her cap. She is
the first Muslim woman to be elected Chairperson of the UNESCO
Board of Governors. Twice she was elected Chairman of the
International Planned Parent hood Federation.
In
November 1999, she was selected as a member of the National
Security Council of Pakistan, she advises the government on
matters pertaining to human rights, health, security, women's
issues, and population control.
Dr Attiya took her
masters degree in Sociology from Boston University and went on
to obtain a Ph.D. degree from Punjab University. Welfare of
people particulary women's rights and health for all remain the
prime focus of concern. Her aim is to bring down the annual
growth rate to 1.6% by the year 2011 from the existing rate of
2.17 % . She insisted on a dialogue of women's contribution to
civilizations at the UNESCO.
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