KARACHI, Sept 11: Begum Zaibunissa Hamidullah, who died here in the early hours of Sunday morning, had been a prominent figure on Pakistan's literary and cultural scene for more than half a century.
Born in England in 1918 and educated in Calcutta, she was a cultured person to her finger tips. Hers was a striking presence at diplomatic parties and other social gatherings in the days when Karachi was Pakistan's capital. Already established as a writer and poet before independence, she blazed a new trail in journalism in Pakistan when she launched her society magazine, the Mirror, in 1952. It carried reports and chatty columns about the social and cultural activity from all over Pakistan and almost from the time its first issue came out, it was a matter of prestige for practically every educated household in the country to have a copy of the Mirror.
Equally well-known for her outstanding intellectual attainments on both sides of the border, Zaibunissa came into prominence when, at the age of 15, her first poem was accepted for publication by Bombay's celebrated Illustrated Weekly of India. From then on she was a regular contributor to that magazine. After independence when she moved with her husband to Pakistan, Altaf Husain, the editor of Dawn, invited her to write a weekly column called 'Through a woman's eye', which became a popular feature of the paper.
Although the Mirror was essentially a society magazine, it usually carried hard-hitting editorials with Begum Zaibunissa's by-line on the current economic and political problems. When she wrote a blistering editorial in defence of H.S. Suhrawardy after Iskander Mirza forced his resignation in November 1957, the central government imposed a ban on the magazine for six months. A petite, fragile-looking person, she had the moral courage to challenge the order and refused to write a letter of apology to the government which was what was suggested to her to have the ban withdrawn. But she refused and challenged the ban in court. The eminent lawyer, A.K. Brohi, offered to plead her case and the Supreme Court set aside the government's orders banning the Mirror, awarding her the costs of her petition.
A prolific writer, Zaibunissa published two collections of her poems - 'The Indian bouquet' and 'The lotus leaves' - in addition to a travelogue on her visit to the United States under the leadership exchange programme. Zaibunissa's father, Syed Wajid Ali, a prominent barrister of Calcutta, was also a celebrated writer and his novels in Bengali were a notable contribution to modern Bengali literature.
Zaibunissa's husband, K.M. Hamidullah, belonged to a well- known family of Punjab. His father K.M. Asadullah was director of the Imperial Library in Calcutta. Hamidullah was head of Bata's operations in Pakistan, having been trained as a leather technician in Czechoslovakia when he joined the company as a young apprentice in the thirties. After rising to the top position in Pakistan, he was transferred to head Bata's operations first in Canada and later in Ireland.
After her husband's death in the mid-seventies in Europe, Begum Zaibunissa returned to Karachi only to live the life of a recluse, totally cut off from society. Her fast deteriorating health also forced this situation on her.
She will be long remembered for her pioneering role in a particular genre of journalism in Pakistan and as a powerful and courageous writer.
KARACHI, Sept 11: Begum Zaibunissa Hamidullah, who died here in the early hours of Sunday morning, had been a prominent figure on Pakistan's literary and cultural scene for more than half a century.
