37 Facts About Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was a Pakistani writer and journalist.

Begum Hamidullah was a pioneer of Pakistani literature and journalism in English, and of feminism in Pakistan.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was Pakistan's first female editor and publisher, and the country's first female columnist writing in English.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah repeatedly represented Pakistan at the United Nations, including by serving as the deputy chief of the Pakistani delegation to the special 1970 session.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was born in 1918 to a literary family in Calcutta.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah's father, S Wajid Ali, was the first person to translate the writings of the well-known Urdu poet Muhammad Iqbal into Bengali, and was an avid Bengali and Indian nationalist and writer.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah had two brothers, and one half-brother from her mother's second marriage.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah grew up in a tightly knit Anglo-Indian household filled with Bengali thinkers and philosophers of the age, as her father's house at 48, Jhowtalla Road, was something of a meeting place for the Calcutta literary circle.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah started to write at an early age, and received considerable support from both her English mother and Bengali father.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah's later writing was affected by her trips to rural areas of Bengal and the Punjab, including her father's birthplace, the Bengal village of Borotajpur.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was educated at the Loreto House Convent, where she completed her Senior Cambridge qualifications.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah published her first poem in The Illustrated Weekly of India in 1933, at age 15.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah moved with him to the Punjab Province after their marriage.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah worked there as an executive for the Bata shoe company.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was the head of Bata's operations in Pakistan, and was sent to head Bata in Ireland in 1972.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah first came into prominence in 1936, when a poem of hers was accepted for publication by Bombay's Illustrated Weekly of India.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah followed up on her early success with Lotus Leaves, another book of poetry.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah's column established her reputation as an honest columnist who was not afraid to voice her opinions.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah became a businesswoman as well as the first female editor and publisher in the nation.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah's glossy social pictorial, with its courageous and sincere editorials, was an instant success.

The Mirror became very popular, and Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah soon became quite famous as a journalist and editor.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was one of the founding members of the Pakistani Working Women's Association, as well as a close friend of Fatima Jinnah, sister of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, wife of Pakistan's first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was a founder member of the Karachi branch of Business and Professional Women's Foundation, and served as its first chapter-president.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was the first president of the Women's International Club of Karachi, a member of the Horticultural Society, and first woman-president of the Flower Show Committee.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah's speech was controversial, as she discussed Pakistan's Kashmir issue.

In 1956, Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah wrote a travelogue entitled Sixty Days in America, about her trip to the US as part of a World Leaders Program, during which she befriended people like Marilyn Monroe and Jean Negulesco, and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Highly critical of Ayub Khan and his government, Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah dropped out of governmental favour.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was Deputy Leader of the Pakistani delegation to the United Nations General Assembly from 1970 to 1971.

In 1971, after civil unrest and the subsequent independence of Bangladesh, Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah sent a telegram congratulating the new government but chose to remain in Pakistan.

In 1971, Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah's husband was transferred to Ireland, to head Bata operations there.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah put her career on hold to be with her husband, and visited Pakistan regularly.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah returned near the end of the decade and began writing a column entitled "Thinking Aloud" for the Pakistani magazine MAG, part of the large Jang Group.

In 1983, Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah husband had a heart attack, and he died the next year.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was plunged into sadness following her husband's death, and soon retired from an active writing life.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah retired from an active career, and only wrote occasional articles during the 1980s.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah died on 10 September 2000, at the age of 81.

Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah had been rushed to the hospital on the 9th, but died in the early hours of the 10th, due to water in her lungs.