Fatima Shah (1914 – October 12, 2002) was a Pakistani physician, social worker and advocate for the blind in Pakistan. She was the founder of the Pakistan Association of the Blind (PAB) and one of the founding members of the

All Pakistan Women's Association The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, () as it is commonly known, is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political Pakistani organisation whose fundamental aim is the promotion of moral, social and economic welfare of the women of Pakistan ...

. She was also the first woman to become president of the International Federation of the Blind.

Biography

Shah was born in 1914 in

Bhera Bhera (; ) is a city and a tehsil of Sargodha District, Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is known for wood-carved items, textiles (such as quilts and khussas), and certain desserts (such as pheonian and pateesa). The city is made up ...

. She belonged to an educated family. Her father, Abdul Majeed Kureshi, was the former chairman of the Mathematics department of

Aligarh University Aligarh Muslim University is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Angl ...

. She was one of 12 brothers and sisters. She was admitted to

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 ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

on a MacDonald scholarship of merit. She joined Dufferen hospital, Likhnou as a house surgeon. In 1937 she married Jawad Ali Shah, a famous personality of Gorakh Pur. She could not continue her job after marriage. She had two daughters. After partition in 1947, she came to Pakistan, but could not go back due to the political conflict between both countries . From 1947, Shah worked for the rehabilitation of

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

women who migrated to Pakistan from India, following independence in 1947. Shah was also one of the founding members of the APWA

which was founded in 1949. She was a leading

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

of the Civil Hospital, Karachi till the onset of

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

through

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a member of a group of genetic disorders called inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD) that cause loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visua ...

in 1954 which resulted in becoming fully blind by 1957. She founded the

Pakistan Association of the Blind Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nat ...

(PAB) in 1960. She worked as the president of PAB until 1984, when she retired from that position. She was sent to the United States by Begum Raana Liaquat so she could study. She visited

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in 1964 in order to study that state's programs for the blind. In the US, she became one of the founding members of the International Federation of the Blind (IFB) in New York. She became the second vice-president of the IFB. When she returned Pakistan, she lobbied the Pakistani government to remove the health clause because people with disabilities were being deprived of jobs. She also urged the government to introduced

Braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...

in Pakistan officially. Dr Shah organized the Disabled People's Federation of Pakistan to serve as a national affiliate to the Disabled Peoples' International of which she was a world council member. She played a significant role in the establishment of a global body called the

World Blind Union The World Blind Union (WBU) is an international organization representing people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted. It consists of other organizations, not individuals. History, scope, and organization The World Blind Union was forme ...

and also became a member of the Federal Council National Parliament. Shah died on October 12, 2002, and was buried in the Defence graveyard in

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 ...

Awards

She received an MBE (

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

) for her work in social services on the occasion of the

coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

. She was awarded Takeo Iwahashi Award at Gothenburg, Sweden for her work with self-help organizations for the blind. The Pakistani government awarded her a

Tamgha-i-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (), also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised Civil decorations of Pakistan, honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be ...

Selected publications

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References

External links

Interview with Shah
(2010 video in Urdu) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Fatima 1914 births 2002 deaths Pakistani obstetricians Pakistani gynaecologists Health professionals from Karachi Educators from Karachi Muhajir people Pakistani blind people Pakistani women activists Pakistani disability rights activists Pakistani women writers Blind activists Indian emigrants to Pakistan