Bilquis Bano Edhi ( ur, ; 14 August 1947 – 15 April 2022) was a Pakistani nurse who helped save the lives of over 16,000 children. During her career as a nurse and marriage to

Abdul Sattar Edhi Abdul Sattar Edhi ( ur, ; 28 February 1928 – 8 July 2016) was a Pakistani humanitarian, philanthropist and ascetic who founded the Edhi Foundation, which runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance network, along with various homeless s ...

, she was one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan. She was the co-chair of the

Edhi Foundation The Edhi Foundation ( ur, ) is a non-profit social welfare organization based in Pakistan. It was founded by Abdul Sattar Edhi in 1951, who served as the head of the organization until his death on 8 July 2016. Bilquis Edhi, a nurse by professi ...

, a charity organization that provided many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service 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 c ...

. For her contributions, she was awarded the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public ServiceRamon Magsaysay Award Citation
accessed 30 June 2008 and the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in 2015. She was also a recipient of

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the ...

, Pakistan's second highest civilian honour. For her service to the country, she was also referred to as ''The Mother of Pakistan''.

Biography

Edhi was born in 1947 in Bantva, India in present-day state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. As a teenager, she was noted to have not enjoyed school and instead joined a small and expanding dispensary as a nurse in 1965. At the time, the Edhi home was in the old city area of Karachi known as

Mithadar Mithadar ( ur, میٹھادر ) is one of the neighbourhoods of Saddar Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, and comprises the oldest part of Karachi that was once encircled by a wall. Mithadar and the adjacent community of Kharadar together form wha ...

where it had been founded in 1951.From humanitarian to a nation
, By: Richard Covington, IslamiCity.com, accessed 30 June 2008 The small number of nurses, predominantly Christian and Hindu, who worked there had just reduced in number. The dispensary's founder, Abdul Sattar Edhi, recruited a number of nurses, including Bilquis who, unusually, was from a Muslim background.Women of Pakistan – Bilquis Edhi
, Faisal Abdulla, jazbah.org, accessed 30 June 2008 Bilquis Edhi would go on to marry Abdul. The two remained married until his death on 8 July 2016. Her husband recognizing her talents, had her lead the small nursing department. He had recognized her enthusiasm and interest during her six-month training program where she had learned basic midwifery and healthcare. They were married when she was nineteen and her husband was nineteen years older. Their honeymoon was unusual in that the newlyweds discovered a young girl with head injuries at their dispensary just after their wedding ceremony. Edhi said in 1989 that she did not regret the time lost in consoling the twelve-year-old's concerned relatives or supervising blood transfusions as now "... that girl is married with children; that's what is really important." The Edhi Foundation's unofficial website uses the line "Making a difference and changing lives forever." Edhi took over the management of the ''jhoolas'' project (), the first of which had been built by her husband in 1952. She established over 300 cradles throughout Pakistan where parents can surrender unwanted infants. The cradles carry the message “Do not kill, leave the baby to live in the cradle” in English and Urdu. Over 90% of the surrendered infants are female and a portion of them are disabled. This alternative is thought to have reduced the number of infanticide cases by parents. The Edhi Foundation is also responsible for burying dead babies found by the police.The Child Catchers
, Katharine Hibbert, TimesOnLine, 21 May 2006 accessed 30 June 2008 Along with her husband, Edhi was the co-chair of the Edhi Foundation. The foundation also runs a hospital and emergency service in

Recognition

Edhi and her husband had received a number of awards in recognition of their work. In July 2007, they were publicly recognized for their work by President

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

who made a personal contribution of 100,000 rupees to the Edhi Foundation. President Musharraf also noted that their work provided social services to the poor of Pakistan without any discrimination. This contribution contrasts sharply with another offered by President

Zia ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law i ...

which was turned down because of his perceived political motivations. Despite their relative fame, the couple lived modestly in a two-room apartment which is part of one of their orphanages. In 2022, Edhi was named among '' The Muslim 500'', a worldwide list of most influential Muslims. She was also a recipient of the

, Pakistan's second highest civilian honour.

Death

She died on 15 April 2022 in Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi, due to

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

after a prolonged illness. Her funeral prayers were offered at

New Memon Masjid The New Memon Masjid ( ur, نئی میمن مسجد) known as the Memon Masjid of Karachi, Pakistan, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the city located on Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road, M.A Jinnah Road. The first committee of the Memon Masj ...

after which she was buried in

Mewa Shah Graveyard Mewa Shah Graveyard ( ur, ) is located in SITE Town, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The Mewa Shah Qabaristan (Cemetery), one of the largest and oldest graveyards of Karachi. It is named after the 19th Century Sufi, Mewa Shah, was a Sufi and struggl ...

on 16 April 2022. The

Government of Sindh The Government of Sindh ( sd, حڪومت سنڌ) ( ur, ) is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions u ...

issued an official obituary for Edhi on her death and announced a

day of mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

on 16 April 2022.

References

External links

Unofficial Edhi Foundation site

Article on Bilquis Edhi

Article on Abdul Sattar Edhi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edhi, Bilquis S 1947 births 2022 deaths Memon people Pakistani people of Gujarati descent Bilquis People from Karachi Pakistani philanthropists Pakistani humanitarians Lenin Peace Prize recipients Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Pakistani nurses Burials at Mewa Shah Graveyard

Biography

Recognition

Death

See also

References

External links