Ashraf Abbasi (; ) 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 Pres ...

. She was a close supporter of the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

(PPP) and its leaders

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

and

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

. 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 Lady Hardinge Medical College, also known as LHMC, is a public medical college and central government hospital located in New Delhi, India. Established in 1916, it became part of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi in 1950. The ...

in Delhi. She obtained her

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

degree from the

Dow Medical College Dow Medical College is a public medical school located in the city of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. 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 newl ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. Abbasi opened her clinic in

Larkana Larkana (; ) 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 Mohenjo-daro. The historic Indus River flows in east and south of the ci ...

. 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 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 Sindhi women politicians