Fatima Shah (1914 – October 12, 2002) was a Pakistani physician, social worker and advocate for the blind in Pakistan. She was the founder of the Pakistan Association of the Blind (PAB) and one of the founding members of the

All Pakistan Women's Association The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, ( ur, آل پاکستان ویمنز ایسوسی ایشن) as it is commonly known, is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political Pakistani organisation whose fundamental aim is the promotion of mo ...

. She was also the first woman to become president of the International Federation of the Blind.

Biography

Shah was born in 1914 in

Bhera Bhera ( pa, ; ur, ) is a city and tehsil of Sargodha District, Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is known for wood-carved items, textiles (such as quilts and khussas), and certain desserts (such as pheonian and pateesa). The city is ...

. She belonged to an educated family. Her father, Abdul Majeed Kureshi, was the former chairman of the Mathematics department of

Aligarh University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a public central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Anglo-Orienta ...

. She was one of 12 brothers and sisters. She was admitted to

Lady Hardinge Medical College , mottoeng = Through Adversity to Stars , established = 1916 , founder = Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst , director = , faculty = , students = , undergrad = 240 , postgrad ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

on a MacDonald scholarship of merit. She joined Dufferen hospital, Likhnou as a house surgeon. In 1937 she married Jawad Ali Shah, a famous personality of Gorakh Pur. She could not continue her job after marriage. She had two daughters. After partition in 1947, she came to Pakistan, but could not go back due to the political conflict between both countries . From 1947, Shah worked for the rehabilitation of

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

women who migrated to Pakistan from India, following independence in 1947. Shah was also one of the founding members of the APWA

which was founded in 1949. She was a leading

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...

of the Civil Hospital, Karachi till the onset of

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

through

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

in 1954 which resulted in becoming fully blind by 1957. She founded the Pakistan Association of the Blind (PAB) in 1960. She worked as the president of PAB until 1984, when she retired from that position. She was sent to the United States by Begum Raana Liaquat so she could study. She visited

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

in 1964 in order to study that state's programs for the blind. In the US, she became one of the founding members of the International Federation of the Blind (IFB) in New York. She became the second vice-president of the IFB. When she returned Pakistan, she lobbied the Pakistani government to remove the health clause because people with disabilities were being deprived of jobs. She also urged the government to introduced

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

in Pakistan officially. Dr Shah organized the Disabled People's Federation of Pakistan to serve as a national affiliate to the Disabled Peoples' International of which she was a world council member. She played a significant role in the establishment of a global body called the

World Blind Union The World Blind Union (WBU) is an international organization representing the estimated 2.2 billion people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted. It consists of other organizations, not individuals. History, scope, and organization The Wor ...

and also became a member of the Federal Council National Parliament. Shah died on October 12, 2002, and was buried in the Defence graveyard 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 ...

Awards

She received an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

) for her work in social services on the occasion of the

coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

. She was awarded Takeo Iwahashi Award at Gothenburg, Sweden for her work with self-help organizations for the blind. The Pakistani government awarded her a

Tamgha-i-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

Selected publications

* *

References

External links

Interview with Shah
(2010 video in Urdu) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Fatima 1914 births 2002 deaths Pakistani obstetricians Pakistani gynaecologists People from Karachi Muhajir people Pakistani blind people Pakistani women activists Pakistani disability rights activists Pakistani women writers Blind activists