Parveen Shakir

Parveen Shakir was a Pakistani poet and civil servant who brought a distinctive feminine voice to Urdu literature. She was born on 24 November 1952 in Karachi, Pakistan. She received her master's degree in English literature from the University of Karachi and later obtained a PhD in the same subject. She started her career as a teacher and then joined the Civil Service of Pakistan. She worked in the customs department and rose to the rank of second secretary. She also wrote poetry and columns for various newspapers and magazines. She published her first collection of poetry, Khushbu (Fragrance), in 1976, which won the Adamjee Literary Award. She followed it with other collections, such as Sad-barg (Marsh Marigold), Khud Kalami (Soliloquy), and Inkar (Denial). She also published a book of her newspaper columns, titled Gosha-e-Chashm (Corner of the Eye). Her poetry was marked by simplicity, directness, and expression of feminine experiences and emotions. She used both traditional and modern forms of poetry, such as ghazal and free verse. She was influenced by the classical and contemporary poets of Urdu and Persian. She was also a member of the Progressive Writers' Movement and a supporter of women's rights. She died on 26 December 1994 in a car accident in Islamabad. She was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the nation's second highest civilian award, in 2009. She is regarded as one of the most popular and influential poets of modern Urdu literature.