Zeenat Haroon Rashid
زینت ہارون راشد
Born Zeenat Haroon Rashid
January 21, 1928
Died April 08, 2017
Nationality Pakistani
Occupation Women’s rights supporter
Known for Captain in Women’s National Guard Movement
Zeenat Haroon Rashid (Urdu: زینت ہارون راشد, Born: January 21, 1928 - Died: April 08, 2017) was women’s rights and women’s empowerment supporter. She was founding member of the Women’s National Guard. She was daughter of Abdullah Haroon and Lady Abdullah Haroon and daughter in law of Mian Abdul Rashid, the first Chief Justice of Pakistan.[1]
Contents
1 Politics and Feminism
2 Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize For Women
3 Citations/Sources
3.1 References
Politics and Feminism
Women’s National Guard
Rashid was a feminist, a fierce supporter of women in public roles. She was active member of the Muslim League and founding member of the Women’s National Guard at the time of Independence. Throughout her later life, she promoted the vision of women’s empowerment in accordance with Jinnah’s vision. As am member Women’s National she learned self-defence, first aid and helped people to register to vote. She claimed the women in the guard as a symbol of progress. [2][3] According to her daughter Syra, “Politics was her passion, so she was really happy that more and more women were getting in politics. There was a time when there were more women in our parliament than in any other parliament in the world!”[4]
Haroon became famous for women's empowerment, when Margaret Bourke-White, the photographer of Life (magazine) captured her photograph in 1948 practising with the Women's National Guard. The photographs was published in Life magazine’s cover story on Pakistan in January 1948.[5][6]
Sadia Shepard, a Pakistani American filmmaker made a documentary named “The other half of tomorrow” for which she also interviewed Rashid. The documentary was about perspectives of different Pakistani women who worked to improve the contemporary Pakistan.[7][8]
She is survived by her husband, Safdar Rashid and three children Haider, Samyra Rashid and Syra Vahidy.[9]
Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize For Women
To honour the memory of Rashid, the “Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize For Women” has been set by her daughter Syra Rashid Vahidy. The prize will be awarded annually in the hope that it works to support the women who want to pursue writing as a career.[10][11]
The panel of judges for the prize include Ameena Saiyid, the former director of Oxford University Press in Pakistan, and Moni Mohsin, the author of the best-selling novel, The Diary of a Social Butterfly, (2008).[12] Most of the stories given prizes are about violence against women including child sexual abuse, domestic abuse, restriction for women going to higher education, murder, forced marriages, the double standards being applied between women and men and place of women in public spaces.[13]
Citations/Sources
References
Report, Dawn (9 April 2017). "Obituary: Jinnah's young aide Zeenat passes away". DAWN.COM.
"Pakistan's women get their own writing prize". The Friday Times. 13 December 2019.
"Writing prize for women to honour Women's National Guard stalwart Zeenat Haroon Rashid". Daily Times. 12 March 2019.
"The Writing Prize In Honour Of The Woman Who Set Up Pakistan's National Women's Guard". Mashion. 15 December 2019.
Report, Dawn (9 April 2017). "Obituary: Jinnah's young aide Zeenat passes away". DAWN.COM.
"THE DAWN OF PAKISTAN". DAWN.COM. 11 August 2018.
Report, Dawn (9 April 2017). "Obituary: Jinnah's young aide Zeenat passes away". DAWN.COM.
"THE OTHER HALF OF TOMORROW - ZEENAT HAROON RASHID". Vimeo.
Report, Dawn (9 April 2017). "Obituary: Jinnah's young aide Zeenat passes away". DAWN.COM.
"Pakistan's Zeenat Haroon Rashid writing prize speaks of a legacy". Arab News PK. 1 December 2019.
"Story wins award". www.thenews.com.pk.
"Writing prize for women to honour Women's National Guard stalwart Zeenat Haroon Rashid". Daily Times. 12 March 2019.
"The Writing Prize In Honour Of The Woman Who Set Up Pakistan's National Women's Guard". Mashion. 15 December 2019.
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