PARVEEN SHAKIR

BIOGRAPHY

Parveen Shakir, was born on 24th November 1952, in Karachi,Pakistan.

She was a highly educated woman ; she had masters degrees in English Literature, Linguistics and Bank Administration as well as a Ph.D in the latter.

She taught for nine years, before joining the Civil Service.

In 1986 she was appointed the second secretary CBR in Islamabad.

She was married to Dr. Nasir Ahmed and had one son named Murad Ali.

She won the Adamjee award for her first book, "Khushboo" (Scent) and later received the Pride of Performance award as well.

On 26th December 1994, she had a dreadful accident with a truck, resulting in her untimely death.

POETRY

Parveen Shakir published her first collection of Urdu poetry, titled "Khusboo" (Scent) at the age of 24. She dedicated her book to a famous Urdu poet, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, whom she revered.

She has written both ghazals (classical couplets) and nazms (free verse).

Even though the main theme for her ghazals was love, she did not confine herself to the traditional figures of speech of ghazals.

Nazms, however, serve another purpose altogether. She uses her nazms to protest against female suppression in a male-dominated society, the repressed individuals trapped under dictatorship and the stifling traditions that prevent society from progressing forward.

She uses simple language to express her ideas but that does not take away from the beauty of her poetic works.