Nigar Ahmed

Nigar Ahmed (16 February 1945 – 24 February 2017)[1] was a Pakistani women’s rights activist who founded the Women’s Action Forum and Aurat Foundation.[2][3][4][5][6] She died aged 72.[7][8]

Nigar Ahmed
نگار احمد
BornFebruary 16, 1945
Pakistan
DiedFebruary 24, 2017
Occupation(s)Academic, Women's rights Activist
Known forFounding member of Women's Action Forum and Aurat Foundation

Early life and education

Ahmed was born in Lahore in 1945, to Riazuddin Ahmad and Akhtar. She got her early education from the Convent of Jesus and Mary. She did Masters in Economics from Government College Lahore. She was a member of the Government College Dramatics Club and later editor of the famous magazine Ravi. Later she went to New Hall, Cambridge, on a Commonwealth scholarship. After coming back, she taught Economics in Quaid-i-Azam University.[9]

Feminism

Soon after formation of Women's Action Forum in 1981 in Karachi, Ahmed started the Islamabad and Lahore chapters in 1982.[10][11] While living in Islamabad for nearly sixteen years, she stayed involved in the women’s movement.[12] She co-founded Aurat Foundation in 1986 with the late Shehla Zia under the dictatorship era of Zia ul Haq.[13][14][15]

Personal life

Ahmed married Tariq Siddiqi, a civil servant, in Swat. They had two sons together, Bilal and Ahmad.[16] Her husband and both sons got Ph.D. degrees.

Death

Ahmed was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2001. In 2017, she was suffering with chest infection and admitted to a hospital in Lahore, where she died.[17]

Awards

In 2005, her name was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize among other Pakistani women.[18]

In 2010, she received Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah Life Time Achievement Award.[19][20]

References
  1. Aslam, Afia, "Goodbye, Great Heart: Nigar Ahmed (1945–2017), Newsweek, March 11–18, 2017, pp. 16–19.
  2. "Tributes paid to Nigar Ahmad – Business Recorder".
  3. "Women rights activist Nigar Ahmed passes away in Lahore – The Express Tribune". 24 February 2017.
  4. "Rich tribute paid to Nigar". www.thenews.com.pk.
  5. "Remembering the struggle for women's rights". The Express Tribune. 19 September 2016.
  6. "Aurat Foundation needs support for women's empowerment". The Nation. 11 January 2020.
  7. "Women rights activist Nigar Ahmed passes away".
  8. "We won't cry over Nigar Ahmed's death, says Mahnaz Rahman". The Express Tribune. 26 March 2017.
  9. "Nigar Ahmad, 1945 – 2017". The Friday Times. 10 March 2017.
  10. "Remembering a Revolutionary". Newsline. 27 February 2017.
  11. Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (30 March 2017). "Condolence reference for rights activist Nigar Ahmad". DAWN.COM.
  12. Durrani, Ammara (10 May 2017). "An Indian who talks about love with Pakistan is seen as a traitor: Kamla Bhasin". Herald Magazine.
  13. "Nigar Ahmed". DAWN.COM. 26 February 2017.
  14. Jalil, Xari (25 February 2017). "Nigar Ahmed passes away".
  15. "Late Nigar Ahmad remembered for women rights' struggle". www.thenews.com.pk.
  16. Web, South Asia Citizens (2019-06-08). "Pakistan: Tributes to Nigar Ahmad". South Asia Citizens Web. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  17. "Women rights activist Nigar Ahmed passes away | SAMAA". Samaa TV.
  18. "29 women named for Nobel Peace Prize". DAWN.COM. 30 June 2005.
  19. "A luminous constellation | Dialogue | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk.
  20. "Zardari pays glowing tributes to services of Nigar Ahmed". Daily Times. 25 February 2017.


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