Monthly Archives: February 2016

My friend Naushaba

Education, General, Media, Notable Personalities

 

NaushabaBy Zubeida Mustafa

SHE was a fellow traveller in our journey in journalism and before long we became friends. That was Naushaba Burney whose death last week has robbed many of us of a valuable supporter who infused moral strength in us during critical times. She began her career as a teacher, and as good teachers do, she knew the art of bringing out the best in those she interacted with.I can’t even recall the first time I met her. She seems to have been around in the wide and colourful canvas of friends I have cherished all my life. Having launched on her professional career before I did she had already made a mark and was recognised for her talent. After graduating in journalism from Berkeley in the 1950s, she began teaching at the University of Karachi. Although she left the University after a few years at heart she remained a teacher forever. Continue reading My friend Naushaba →

Unsilenced voice

Culture and the Arts, Development and Poverty, Economy, Environment, Housing, Human Rights, Justice, Law & Order, Notable Personalities, Perween Rahman, Social Issues, Terrorism and Violence

By Zubeida Mustafa

JAN 22 was Perween Rahman’s birthday. Had she escaped the assassin’s cruel bullets she would have turned 59. But that was not to be and this devoted social worker, a friend of the poor, was snatched away from us three years ago on March 13, 2013.

Not that she has receded into oblivion. The poor are not ungrateful. Nor have those who feared her mended their ways. OPP-RTI, the organisation she headed, wanted to observe Perween’s birthday and celebrate her life and achievements. Such events help imprint on the public memory the work of selfless and lovable personalities who have made an impact on the lives of those they worked for. Thus alone will many Perweens be born. This is absolutely necessary if this society is to be saved from the avarice of the selfish. Continue reading Unsilenced voice →