Quick Info→
Age: 69 Years
Hometown: Islamabad, Pakistan
Husband: Shehbaz Sharif
Bio/Wiki | |
---|---|
Profession(s) | Author, Artist and Activist |
Famous For | • Being the First Lady of Pakistan in 2022 • Writing the controversial book ‘My Feudal Lord’ in 1991 |
Physical Stats & More | |
Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 168 cm in meters– 1.68 m in feet & inches– 5’ 6” |
Eye Colour | Black |
Hair Colour | Black |
Career | |
Debut | Writing (Book): My Feudal Lord (1991) |
Awards, Honours, Achievements | • In 2008, she won the Most Influential Asians Award.
• In 2009, she won an award for the Honorary Swati. • In 2012, she was in the list of Pakistan Power 100, UK. • In 2014, she won the Order of Arts and Letters Award. • She has won the St. Vincent Award. • She has won the Future Show 3001 Award. • She has won the Mayor of Milan Award. • She has won the Together for Peace Award. |
Personal Life | |
Date of Birth | 18 February 1953 (Wednesday) |
Age (as of 2022) | 69 Years |
Birthplace | Karachi, Pakistan |
Zodiac sign | Aquarius |
Nationality | Pakistani |
Hometown | Islamabad, Pakistan |
School | Lady Jennings Nursery School, Karachi |
Controversies | • Tehmina wrote the controversial book ‘My Feudal Lord’ in 1991 that is based on her life and her marriage with Pakistani politician, Mustafa Khar. She described the abuse by her ex-husband in her book. After writing the book, she was disowned by her own family. Initially, there were no publishers who were willing to publish the book, so, she published the book herself. The book has been translated into 40 languages and has received many awards. [1]The Express Tribune • In 1999, Tehmina accused the owner of the company Vanguard Books, Najam Sethi of stealing the profits earned by her book. She sued Sethi for mental torture, and he accused Tehmina of defamation. [2]Independent |
Relationships & More | |
Marital Status | Married |
Family | |
Husband/Spouse | • Anees Khan (m.1970- div.1976) • Ghulam Mustafa Khar • Shehbaz Sharif (m. 2003- Present) |
Children |
Son– 2 Ali Daughter– 3 |
Parents |
Father– Shahkur Ullah Durrani (banker) Mother– Samina Durrani |
Siblings |
Brother– 1 Sister– 4 Zarmina Durrani |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Tehmina Durrani
- Tehmina Durrani is a Pakistani author, artist and activist who is known for being the First Lady of Pakistan in 2022 and for writing the controversial book ‘My Feudal Lord’ in 1991.
- She belonged to a political family as her paternal grandfather was Major Muhammad Zaman Durrani. Her maternal grandfather’s name was Nawab Sir Liaqat Hayat Khan, who was the prime minister of Patiala.
Tehmina Durrani as a child
- She was seventeen years old when she married Anees Khan. After getting divorced from him in 1976, she married Ghulam Mustafa Khar who used to abuse her due to which she divorced him after fourteen years of being married.
- The first book, ‘My Feudal Lord’ written by her in 1991 was surprising for the Pakistani society as it was based on her abusive husband, Mustafa Khar who was a famous and respected personality in Pakistan as he was a former Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab.
- She has written other books including A Mirror to the Blind (1996), Blasphemy (1998), and Happy Things in Sorrow Times (2013).
Cover of the book ‘Blasphemy’
- She believed that her service with Abdul Satar Edhi (Pakistani humanitarian) was life-changing. She wrote the book ‘A Mirror to the Blind’ in 1996 which was an autobiography of Edhi. She learned social work from him and later started the ‘Tehmina Durrani Foundation.’ She founded the Tehmina Durrani Foundation in 2015 which became effective in 2017. In an interview, she talked about the foundation and said,
We are picking the mission of Edhi, where he left. His duty was to serve the humanity without distinction of caste and creed – and so is ours. The core ideas in its Mission and Vision are establishing Pakistan as a Social Welfare State, teaching the Edhi ideology of humanitarianism, tolerance, and service to others less privileged, women empowerment through economic independence, protection and rehabilitation of the children of war.”
Tehmina Durrani with Abdul Satar Edhi
- In 1993, she took part in a hunger strike against corruption by the government. After seven days of hunger strike, she was admitted to the hospital and broke her fast when the prime minister of Pakistan, Moin Quraishi, visited her in the hospital and asked her to stop the hunger strike.
- In 2001, Tehmina contributed to women’s rights by sending Fakhra Younus, who was the wife of Bilal Khar (son of Ghulam Mustafa Khar) to Italy. It was alleged that Younus was attacked with acid by her husband. Tehmina came into the limelight when she made arrangements to take Younus to Italy. Initially, Younus was denied a passport to leave the country, but later, she was allowed to go abroad because of public pressure. She requested the Italy government and the Italian cosmetics firm Sant’ Angelica to treat Younus. On 17 March 2012, Younus died after committing suicide in Italy after undergoing thirty surgeries. She was brought to Karachi, and the funeral prayers for Younus were carried out at the Edhi centre.
Tehmina Durrani with Fakhra Younus
- In 2012, journalists Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daniel Junge directed a documentary based on the life of Younus and name it ‘Saving Face.’ The documentary won Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2012.
Documentary ‘Saving Face’ nominated at Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2012
- In 2015, during the Taliban terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, many children died. In an interview, talking about comforting the parents of the children who died, Tehmina said,
I’ve decided to build a housing society for the parents of the deceased children for which I will request the federal and provincial governments to provide land while friends and philanthropists like Malik Riaz of Bahria Town would be requested to pool their resources for the project.”
- She likes to paint a lot. In 1992, one of her exhibitions, Catharsis was held. Later, the painting became the cover of her book Blasphemy. In 2016, another exhibition, A Love Affair took place. In an interview, she talked about her paintings and said,
I’ve always wanted to paint but I never had the time. I did about ten paintings in twenty, years, but this work has all been done in the last five months. I’m not satisfied with my work, I don’t think any artist is, but this is a beginning. Right now I’m still a curiosity, so I haven’t really found out if I`m any good.”
Tehmina Durrani while painting
- In 2018, when her husband, Shehbaz Sharif was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau, he was supposed to get a medical examination as he was a cancer survivor. In a Twitter post, she questioned about the formation of the medical board in jail and said,
My visit to CM Shehbaz on Saturday disturbed me. As he is a cancer survivor, pet scans and blood tests were regularly conducted by his doctor in London. The tests taken in Islamabad showed some abnormal signs. A board of doctors was to be constituted to check them. That has still not happened. Why?”
- In 2019, it was reported that Tehmina was admitted to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) due to heart pain.
- Tehmina has contributed to other social works that include a movement she started in 2001 that aims to free the spirit of Islam and bring Muslim women to the forefront.
- She is often spotted smoking on various occasions. [3]VICE
- She is often featured in various newspapers.
Tehmina Durrani featured in a newspaper
References/Sources:[+]
↑1 | The Express Tribune |
---|---|
↑2 | Independent |
↑3 | VICE |