Contrary to what some might believe, feminism has been there since the birth of Pakistan and even before that.

Fatima Ali Jinnah was the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. She played a great role along side her brother in establishing a separate muslim state we now call Pakistan. She was a dentist by profession and practiced in her own clinic. She helped in the formation of ‘All Pakistan Women’s Association’. In 1960’s, she ran for the presidency of Pakistan as a candidate for the Combined Opposition Party of Pakistan. These elections were very important because for the first time a woman was contesting for the highest seat of Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah once said, ‘”My sister was like a bright ray of light and hope whenever I came back home and met her. Anxieties would have been much greater and my health much worse, but for the restraint imposed by her”.

Bilquis Edhi is the wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi, one of the most active philanthopists in Pakistan. She has played a very active role in social welfare along side her husband. She is a nurse by profession. She has spent her lifetime to serve humanity especially women without personal gain. She heads the Bilquis Edhi foundation where she looks after destitute women and children. She has been given the ‘Hilal-e-Imtiaz’ award, she got the ‘1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public service’ alongside her husband. She also received the ‘Lenin Peace prize’.

Benazir Bhutto, a politician by profession, chaired the ’Pakistan Peoples Party’. She was the first woman to head a muslim state and has twice been given the prestigeous title of becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan. She was one of the seven who were awarded the ‘Daughter of the East. She was assassinated on 27th December, 2007 in a suicidal bomb blast after leaving a political rally.

Asma Jahangir is a human rights activist and a lawyer. She has been a chairperson of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission. She became the Special Rapporteur of UN commission on Human Rights. She has been a strong advocate of rape victims, women seeking divorce from husbands who abuse them and victims of the blasphamy law. She is the current president of Supreme Court Bar Association.

The above mentioned are just a few examples of women who have kept the candle of feminism burning in Pakistan since its inception.