Parveen Shakir

Biography

Parveen Shakir is remembered as one of the most influential female poets in the history of Urdu literature. Born in Karachi in 1952, she showed remarkable talent for writing from a young age, first contributing poems to newspapers and magazines as a teenager. She studied English literature and later joined the civil service, where she worked in Pakistan Customs. Alongside her professional career, her passion for poetry grew into a remarkable literary journey.

Her first collection, Khushbu (Fragrance), published in 1976, was an instant success and marked the arrival of a new, distinct voice in Urdu poetry. What set her apart was her boldness in writing from a female perspective at a time when Urdu ghazal was traditionally dominated by male poets. She spoke openly of love, desire, loneliness, and female identity, weaving themes of romance and feminism into her verse with lyrical beauty.

She went on to publish several more collections, including Sad-barg, Khud-kalami, Inkar, and Kaf-e-Aina. Her poetry was characterized by freshness of imagery, use of everyday language, and a deeply personal tone. She skillfully balanced classical form with modern sensibility, making her work accessible yet layered with meaning.

Parveen Shakir received the Adamjee Literary Award and, in 1976, Pakistan’s highest civilian award for excellence in literature, the Pride of Performance. Beyond her literary achievements, she was admired for her courage in addressing social issues, particularly those related to women. Her poetry gave voice to a generation of women who found in her words their own struggles, hopes, and emotions.

Her personal life was marked by challenges. She married civil servant Niaz Ahmed but later divorced, a decision that brought both personal difficulty and social scrutiny. Despite these struggles, she continued to write with honesty and resilience, drawing even more strength and depth into her poetry.

Tragically, Parveen Shakir’s life was cut short when she died in a car accident in Islamabad in 1994 at the age of 42. Her untimely death was a great loss to Urdu literature, leaving behind an incomplete but powerful legacy.

Today, she is celebrated as a trailblazer who reshaped the Urdu ghazal by bringing in a distinctly feminine voice. Parveen Shakir’s verses continue to inspire readers, especially women, for their lyrical beauty, emotional honesty, and fearless exploration of identity and love.