Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah
Encyclopedia
Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah (Urdu
: شائستہ اکرام الله) (July 22, 1915 - December 11, 2000), was a prominent Pakistani female politician
, diplomat
and author
. She was the Ambassador of Pakistan to many countries.
, OBE. She was educated at Loreto House
of the University of Calcutta
with a BA Hons
. After her marriage she left to study at the School of Oriental and African Studies
, where she had the honor of being the first Muslim and Indian woman to receive a PhD
, from the University of London
. Her doctorate thesis "Development of the Urdu Novel and Short Story" was a critical survey of Urdu literature.
, a member of the Indian Civil Service in 1933. Her husband later went on to become the first Foreign Secretary of the Government of Pakistan
and Ambassador
to Canada
, France
, Portugal
and the United Kingdom
. Together, they had four children including:
family had always been involved in politics. Her cousin Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
was (some word seems missing here) to the Premier of Bengal, and she herself had addressed her first public gathering in 1931. During her husband's posting in Delhi
, she came in contact with Muhammad Ali Jinnah
and joined the Muslim League. Along with Fatima Jinnah
, she set up the Muslim Women Student's Federation and drew girls into Muslim League Activities.
In 1945, Begum Ikramullah 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 an active defender of fundamental rights in the assembly and conscious of the lack of balance between the two halves of Pakistan. Her first speech was to support a resolution that the Assembly should meet in Dhaka
, capital of the more populous East Pakistan, as well as Karachi
.
She was one of the two female representatives of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan (1947). She was Pakistan's Ambassador to Morocco
(1964 to 1967). She was a delegate
to the United Nations
on several occasions, and was a member of the Committee that worked on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948) and the Convention Against Genocide
. She scored a notable victory over the redoubtable Krishna Menon
on the issue of Kashmir
at the United Nations.
magazine for women that was first published in 1898. Her volume comprising short stories
called Koshish-e-Natamaam (with an Introduction by Professor Ahmed Ali) and Safarnama are her other works in Urdu
. Her works in English
include Letters to Neena, the much acclaimed book Behind the Veil: Ceremonies, Customs and Colour (first published in 1953), which is a collection of essays on Muslim
society from a woman's perspective. Her remarkable autobiography, From Purdah to Parliament (published in 1963), was followed by a biography of her cousin Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
. In her last days, she completed working on an English
translation of Mirat ul Uroos and an Urdu
volume on Kahavat aur Mahavray.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: شائستہ اکرام الله) (July 22, 1915 - December 11, 2000), was a prominent Pakistani female politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. She was the Ambassador of Pakistan to many countries.
Family and education
Born Shaista Akhtar Banu Suhrawardy in Calcutta, British India as the only daughter of Lt. Col. Dr. Hassan SuhrawardyHassan Suhrawardy
Lt. Col. Dr. Hassan Suhrawardy, D.Sc., M.D., D.P.H., F.R.C.S. was a noted surgeon, politician and public servant in India.-Life and family:...
, OBE. She was educated at Loreto House
Loreto College, Kolkata
Loreto College, Kolkata is a well-respected Catholic college that imparts liberal arts and sciences education for female students. It is located in Kolkata, India. It is affiliated to the University of Calcutta...
of the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
with a BA Hons
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
. After her marriage she left to study at the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
, where she had the honor of being the first Muslim and Indian woman to receive a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. Her doctorate thesis "Development of the Urdu Novel and Short Story" was a critical survey of Urdu literature.
Marriage and children
She married Mohammed IkramullahMohammed Ikramullah
Mohammad Ikramullah KCMG was a prominent figure in the administration of Pakistan at the time of independence. As a member of the provisional government of Pakistan, before the independence, he was Secretary and Advisor at the Ministries of Commerce, Information and Broadcasting, Commonwealth...
, a member of the Indian Civil Service in 1933. Her husband later went on to become the first Foreign Secretary of the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
and Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Together, they had four children including:
- Inam
- Naz IkramullahNaz IkramullahNaz Ikramullah Ashraf is a prominent British-Canadian artist of Pakistani origin.- Education :She was trained as an artist at the Byam Shaw School of Art and later specialized in lithography from the Slade School of Fine Art in London...
- Salma SobhanSalma SobhanSalma Sobhan , was a prominent female Bangladeshi barrister, human rights activist and academic.-Family and education:...
(August 11, 1937 - December 30, 2003) - former barrister and professor in BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... - Princess Sarvath of Jordan
Political career
The SuhrawardySuhrawardi
Suhrawardi or al-Suhrawardi is a name that may refer to:** Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi , Iranian philosopher also known as Sohrevardi* The Suhrawardiyya order of Sufism...
family had always been involved in politics. Her cousin Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a Pakistani-Bengali politician and statesman who served as 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 till 1957, and a close associate of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime minister of Pakistan...
was (some word seems missing here) to the Premier of Bengal, and she herself had addressed her first public gathering in 1931. During her husband's posting in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, she came in contact with Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
and joined the Muslim League. Along with Fatima Jinnah
Fatima Jinnah
Fatima Jinnah , was one of the figurative and pioneering woman figure in Pakistan Movement and was the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. An active political figure in the movement for independence from the British Raj, she is commonly known in Pakistan as Khātūn-e...
, she set up the Muslim Women Student's Federation and drew girls into Muslim League Activities.
In 1945, Begum Ikramullah 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 an active defender of fundamental rights in the assembly and conscious of the lack of balance between the two halves of Pakistan. Her first speech was to support a resolution that the Assembly should meet in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, capital of the more populous East Pakistan, as well as Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
.
She was one of the two female representatives of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan (1947). She was Pakistan's Ambassador to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(1964 to 1967). She was a delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
on several occasions, and was a member of the Committee that worked on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
(1948) and the Convention Against Genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
. She scored a notable victory over the redoubtable Krishna Menon
Krishna Menon
Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon , commonly referred to as Krishna Menon, was an Indian nationalist, diplomat and statesman, described as the second most powerful man in India by Time Magazine and others, after his ally and intimate friend, Jawaharlal Nehru.Described as "vitriolic,...
on the issue of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
at the United Nations.
Publications
She is also known as an author and essayist who used to contribute regularly for magazines Tehzeeb-e-Niswan and Ismat, the former being an UrduUrdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
magazine for women that was first published in 1898. Her volume comprising short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
called Koshish-e-Natamaam (with an Introduction by Professor Ahmed Ali) and Safarnama are her other works in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
. Her works in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
include Letters to Neena, the much acclaimed book Behind the Veil: Ceremonies, Customs and Colour (first published in 1953), which is a collection of essays on Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
society from a woman's perspective. Her remarkable autobiography, From Purdah to Parliament (published in 1963), was followed by a biography of her cousin Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a Pakistani-Bengali politician and statesman who served as 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 till 1957, and a close associate of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime minister of Pakistan...
. In her last days, she completed working on an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation of Mirat ul Uroos and an Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
volume on Kahavat aur Mahavray.
- Ikramullah, Begum Shaista Suhrawardy. Article: Ahmed Ali: A tribute, in Journal of Indian Writing in English, Vol. 23, January-July 1995, Gulbarga, India, Nos. 1-2, pp. 35-38.