Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah

Who was Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah?

Zaib-un-Nissa ; transliterated Zeb-un-Nissa, Zaibunnissa, Zaibun Nisa, Zaibunisa, Zaib-un-Nisa, Zebunnissa, Zeb-un-Nisa Hamidullah was a pioneer of Pakistani literature and journalism in English, and also a pioneer of feminism in Pakistan. She was Pakistan's first female columnist, editor, publisher and political commentator. Zaibunnisa Street in Karachi was named for her.

Before Partition, she wrote for many Indian newspapers, and was the first Muslim woman to have a column in an Indian newspaper. After Partition, her column in the Dawn made her the first female political commentator in Pakistan. After she left Dawn, she became the founder and editor-publisher of the Mirror, the first social glossy magazine in South Asia. Due to her status as Pakistan's first female editor, she became the first woman to be included in press delegations sent abroad. On one of these delegations, in 1955, she became the first woman to speak at the ancient al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.