travelogue writer. She has received many awards in recognition of her efforts.
Life and family
Akhtar Jahan Begum was born in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
on 15 October 1928 and graduated from Kinnaird College, Lahore, in 1949. She did her MA in English from Government College, Lahore, in 1951. She began her practical life with the profession of teaching. She remained a lecturer at Islamia College for Women, Lahore, from 1952 to 1965. She married Mian Riazuddin Ahmed, and came to be known as Begum Riazuddin. Their daughter, Ms. Nigar Ahmad, is the chairperson of the Aurat Foundation. Mr. Riazuddin, a senior civil servant, was the nephew of the Urdu writer, Salahuddin Ahmed. Justice
Sabihuddin Ahmed
Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed ( ur, ; 1949-2009) was a former Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and a justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Early life and education
Ahmed was born in Hyderabad, Sindh in 1949 to senior civil officer Wajihuddi ...
and Asma Jahangir are related to Riazuddin through her husband.
Literary career
Begum Riazuddin's literary career is based on two travelogues, ''‘Dhanak Par Qadam’'' (1969) and ''‘Sat Samundar Par’'' (1963). In her travelogues, she uses unique similies and humorous allusions, along with satirical comments. She writes in an informal style. Her writings are simple as well as interesting. Her travelogues feature human mentality, along with civilisation and society.
Feminist activism
Riazuddin is an activist, focusing on women's uplift. She founded her welfare organisation, Behbud Association of Pakistan, for the purpose, in 1967 other branches later expanded to Lahore and in Karachi by the name of Behbud Association Karachi. . She worked as federal secretary of the Ministry of Women's Development in the late 1980s. She has attended many international conferences for the betterment and welfare of women, including the 32nd Session of the
UN Commission on the Status of Women
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main United Nations System, UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the U ...
held in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in March 1988.
When
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
became the prime minister in 1988, Riazuddin was optimistic and hoped for a better future for women after the harsh
Zia
Zia or ZIA (also spelled Ziya, Ḍiya , Dia or Diya) may refer to:
People
* Zia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** A romanization of the Wu ( Shanghainese) pronunciation of the Chinese surname Xie (謝)
...
regime. She said:
Other occupations
Other than being a teacher, she remained a member of the All Pakistan Music Conference Committee from 1957 to 1965. She also participated in the First All Pakistan Handicrafts Exhibition in Lahore in 1965. Begum Riazuddin also acted as adviser to the National Craft Council during mid-1980s. She is one of the founding members of Behbud Association, a social welfare organization working towards empowering women in underprivileged areas. She is a member of the board of governors of the Bait-ul-Mal, to which she was nominated by the
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...
.
Books
Her book ''Pakistan'' was published by Stacey International, London, in 1975. Another book ''A History of Crafts in India and Pakistan'' was launched in Pakistan in 1990 and the next year in London. She has also worked on a thesis titled ''The Contribution of Islamic Civilisation to India & Pakistan.'' Her works also include her travelogues, ''Sat Samundar Par'' and ''Dhanak Par Qadam'' (1969).
president of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. She received the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' of the Ministry of Women's Development in August 2005. She was given the Adamjee Literary Award by the for her pioneering work in the genre of travelogue in Urdu 'Dhanak Par Qadam' in March 1970. She was also one of the group of 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 as part of the
1000 PeaceWomen
PeaceWomen Across the Globe (PWAG), previously known as 1000 PeaceWomen, is an organization based in Bern, Switzerland that aims to increase the visibility of women promoting peace all over the world.
Qurratulain Hyder
Qurratulain Hyder (20 January 1927 – 21 August 2007) was an Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding and influential literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for ...
*
Urdu literature
Urdu literature ( ur, , ) is literature in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal '' غزل and ''nazm '' نظم, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of t ...