Ashraf Abbasi ( ur, ; sd, اشرف عباسي) was a Pakistani politician and the first female

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan presides over the assembly whenever the speaker is absent or unable to perform his or her duties. The office has its roots in 1947 when the Deputy Speaker was addressed as the Deputy Presi ...

. She was a close supporter of the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP) and its leaders

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the four ...

and

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 ...

. She was also a member of the West Pakistan Assembly from 1962 until 1965. She joined the PPP and won from her constituency in 1970.

Personal life

Abbasi received her secondary education from DJ College Sindh in 1940. She also studied at the

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 ...

in Delhi. She obtained her MBBS degree from the

Dow Medical College Dow Medical College is a public medical school located in the city of Karachi, Sindh. It was founded in 1945 and named after British civil servant Sir Hugh Dow, Governor of Sindh. In 2003, it became a constituent college of the newly formed Do ...

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 ...

. Abbasi opened her clinic in

Larkana Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Mo ...

. She also served at Civil Hospital Larkana. She participated in the promotion of education. She died on 4 August 2014 in the village of Waleed,

. She was the mother of three sons, including Safdar Ali Abbasi, who became a PPP senator, Munawar Ali Abbasi(Ex-MPA Sindh Assembly), and Akhtar Ali Abbasi.

Career

Abbasi was a member of the West Pakistan Assembly from 1962 to 1965. Later, she joined the PPP, winning a National Assembly seat in 1970. She became the first woman deputy speaker of the National Assembly, serving from 1973 to 1977 and again from 1988 to 1990. She also served as the chairperson of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Larkana campus, and was a member of the Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, and University of Sindh, Jamshoro, syndicates. She was also a member of the constitution committee. She established the Mothers Trust in 1996 to help poor women. Abbasi wrote her biography titled ''Jaikey Halan Haikliyoon'' ("The Women Who Walk Alone").

Publications

* ''Jaikey Halan Haikliyoon'' ("The Women Who Walk Alone").

References

External links

Ashraf Abbasi
at Woman.com.pk {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbasi, Ashraf 2014 deaths Deputy Speakers of the National Assembly of Pakistan D. J. Sindh Government Science College alumni Dow Medical College alumni Pakistan People's Party politicians People from Larkana District Sindhi people 20th-century Pakistani women politicians Women members of the National Assembly of Pakistan 20th-century Pakistani writers 20th-century Pakistani women writers Women legislative deputy speakers Sindh MPAs 1977