Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
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Shaista Ikramullah
শায়েস্তা ইকরামউল্লাহ شائستہ اکرام الله |
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Begum Shaista Ikramullah
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| Member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan | |
| In office 10 August 1947 – 24 October 1954 |
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| Constituency | East Bengal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 July 1915 Calcutta, Bengal, British India |
| Died | 11 December 2000 (aged 85) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Spouse |
Mohammed Ikramullah
(m. 1933; died 1963) |
| Children | Inam Ikramullah Naz Ikramullah Salma Ikramullah Sarvath Ikramullah |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | University of Calcutta (B.A) SOAS, University of London (Ph.D) |
| Occupation | Politician, diplomat, writer |
Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah (22 July 1915 – 11 December 2000) was a Bengali Pakistani politician from Bengal, diplomat and author. She was the first Muslim woman to earn a PhD from the University of London. She was Pakistan's ambassador to Morocco from 1964 to 1967, and was also a delegate to the United Nationsdebating for a more gender inclusive language in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Family and education
Ikramullah was born as Shaista Akhtar Banu Suhrawardy into the Suhrawardy family to Hassan Suhrawardy and his wife Sahibzadi Shah Banu Begum. Sahista's mother was Nawab Abdul Latif's granddaughter.
She studied at Loreto College, Kolkata. She was also the first Muslim woman to earn a PhD from the University of London. Her doctorate thesis, "Development of the Urdu Novel and Short Story", was a critical survey of Urdu literature.
Marriage and children
She married Mohammed Ikramullah in 1933. They had four children:
- Imam Ikramullah
- Naz Ashraf
- Salma Sobhan
- Princess Sarvath of Jordan
Political career
After her marriage, she was one of the first Indian Muslim women in her generation to leave purdah. Muhammad Ali Jinnah inspired her to be involved in politics. She was a leader in the Muslim Women Student's Federation and the All-India Muslim League's Women's Sub-Committee.
In 1945, she was asked by the Government of India to attend the Pacific Relations Conference. Jinnah convinced her not to accept the offer, as he wanted her to go as the representative of the Muslim League and to speak on its behalf.
She was elected to the Constituent Assembly of India in 1946, but never took the seat, as Muslim League politicians did not.
She was one of two female representatives at the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in 1947.
She was also a delegate to the United Nations, and worked on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Convention Against Genocide (1951).
She was Pakistan's ambassador to Morocco from 1964 to 1967.
Death
She died on 11 December 2000, in Karachi, at age 85.
Awards and recognition
In 2002, President of Pakistan posthumously gave her the highest civil award, Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence) award.
