Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...

Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah (22 July 1915 – 11 December 2000) was a Bengali Pakistani

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from Bengal,

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. She was the first Muslim woman to earn a PhD from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. She was Pakistan's ambassador to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

from 1964 to 1967, and was also a delegate to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Family and education

Ikramullah was born as Shaista Akhtar Banu Suhrawardy into the

Suhrawardy family The Suhrawardy family with over nine hundred years of recorded history has been one of the oldest leading noble families and political dynasties of the Indian subcontinent and is regarded as an important influencer during the Bengali Renaiss ...

Hassan Suhrawardy Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Suhrawardy CStJ, FRCS (17 November 1884 – 18 September 1946) was a Bengali surgeon, military officer in the British Indian Army, politician, and a public official. He was the former chairman of the executive commi ...

and his wife Sahibzadi Shah Banu Begum. Sahista's mother was

Nawab Abdul Latif Nawab Bahadur Abdul Latif (1828 – 10 July 1893) was a 19th-century Bengali aristocrat, educator and social worker. His title, ''Nawab'' was awarded by the British in 1880. He was one of the first Muslims in 19th-century India to embrace the i ...

's granddaughter. She studied at

Loreto College, Kolkata Loreto College is a Catholic women's college in Kolkata, India. Affiliated with the University of Calcutta, the college focuses on liberal arts and sciences. It was established in 1912 by the Religious Order of the Institute of the Blessed Virgi ...

. She was also the first Muslim woman to earn a PhD from the

. Her doctorate thesis, "Development of the Urdu Novel and Short Story", was a critical survey of Urdu literature.Begum Shaista Ikramullah
storyofpakistan.com website, Retrieved 8 April 2019

Marriage and children

She married Mohammed Ikramullah in 1933. They had four children: * Inam Ikramullah * Naz Ashraf *

Salma Sobhan Salma Sobhan (; 11 August 1937 – 30 December 2003) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, academic and human rights activist. She became the first woman barrister in Pakistan in 1959. A member of the law faculty of the University of Dhaka, she was a co-found ...

* Princess Sarvath of Jordan

Political career

After she was married, she was one of the first Indian Muslim women in her generation to leave

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

. Muhammad Ali Jinnah inspired her to be involved in politics. She was a leader in the Muslim Women Student's Federation and the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

's Women's Sub-Committee. In 1945, she was asked by the Government of India to attend the Pacific Relations Conference. Jinnah convinced her not to accept the offer, as he wanted her to go as the representative of the Muslim League and to speak on its behalf. She was elected to the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

in 1946, but never took the seat, as Muslim League politicians did not. She was one of two female representatives at the first

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution for Paki ...

in 1947. She was also a delegate to the

, and worked on the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

(1948) and the Convention Against Genocide (1951). She was Pakistan's Ambassador to

from 1964 to 1967.

Publications

She wrote for ''Tehzeeb-e-Niswan'' and ''Ismat'', both Urdu women's magazines, and later wrote for English-language newspapers. In 1950 her collection of short stories, called ''Koshish-e-Natamaam'', was published. In 1951 her book ''Letters to Neena'' was published; it is a collection of ten open letters supposedly written to Indians, who are personified as a woman called Neena. The real Neena was one of her in-laws. After the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, she wrote about Islam for the government, and those essays were eventually published as ''Beyond the Veil'' (1953). Her autobiography, ''From Purdah to Parliament'' (1963), is her best-known writing; she translated it into Urdu to make it more accessible. In 1991 her book ''

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্‌রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...

: A Biography'', about her uncle, was published. She also was one of the eight writers of the book ''Common Heritage'' (1997), about India and Pakistan. In her last days, she completed an English translation of ''Mirat ul Uroos'' and an Urdu volume on ''Kahavat aur Mahavray''. In 2005 her collection of women's sayings and idioms in Urdu, called ''Dilli ki khavatin ki kahavatain aur muhavare'', was posthumously published. She also wrote ''Safarnama'', in Urdu.

Death

She died on 11 December 2000, in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, at age 85.

Awards and recognition

In 2002, President of Pakistan posthumously gave her the highest civil award,

Nishan-i-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the award is not limited to citizens o ...

(Order of Excellence) award.President gives away civil, military awards
Dawn (newspaper), Published 24 March 2002, Retrieved 9 April 2019

References

External links

Find Articles: The London – Begum Shaista Ikramullah (29 March 2001)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikramullah, Shaista Suhrawardy 1915 births 2000 deaths Suhrawardy family All India Muslim League members Ambassadors of Pakistan to Morocco Politicians from Kolkata Loreto College, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Writers from Karachi Politicians from Karachi 20th-century Pakistani women writers Alumni of SOAS University of London Pakistani people of Bengali descent Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 Pakistani women ambassadors Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz 20th-century Bengalis 20th-century Pakistani women politicians