Parveen Shakir: Iconic Urdu Poet of Love, Feminism, and Sensitivity

Parveen Shakir: Iconic Urdu Poet of Love, Feminism, and Sensitivity

Parveen Shakir was a poet, teacher, and civil servant known in Pakistan at her birth time in 1952. She was considered to be a phenomenon in the domain of Urdu with a uniquely feminine voice and expression in the classical ghazal form. Her poetry encompasses love, feminism, social issues, and human emotions, with special sensitivity in the expression.

Parveen Shakir was born on November 24, 1952, in Karachi, Pakistan. From a very young age, she was interested in reading and poetry. She got an M.A. degree in linguistic studies from Karachi University after completing her M.A. in English literature. After that, she did a nine-year teaching career and then joined the civil service.

Khushbu (1976), Shakir’s first collection, opened the door to a new and fertile world of literature for her and heralded her arrival as a poet of consequence. The book won the Adamjee Award, Pakistan’s highest literary honour, and her succeeding poetry collections, including Sad-barg, Khud Kalami, and Inkaar, cemented her legacy. Her poetry gained popularity among readers of ghazals due to its classical form combined with themes of modernity and inner struggle of women living in a patriarchal society.

Though she was a poet, she was also a highly esteemed civil servant. She joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1982 and served in the Customs Department. She combined the roles of bureaucrat and poet as a prominent feature of her life.

More tragically, Parveen Shakir’s life ended on December 26, 1994, following a car accident in Islamabad. Her poetry survives her deeply, and generations of readers continue to find inspiration, especially women, in its depths, sensitivity, and completely different perspective on love and life.

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