Dr. Fatima Shah--A Lady with a Vision

Fatima Shah was born in an educated family. Her father was a professor of the Mathematics in Aligarh University. She had twelve siblings. She was a doctor by profession. After partition in 1947, she came to Pakistan worked for the rehabilitation of refugee women who had migrated to Pakistan from India. Ms.Shah was also one of the founding member of the 'All Women's Association' (APWA). She had a leading gynaecologist of Karachi until she started to lose her eyesight due to a retinal disorder. Eventually, she became completely blind. She was very depressed and would not leave her house. It was then that Dr Isabelle Grant visited her in Karachi. Dr. Grant was the first blind person to work as a teacher in California, USA. She had travelled to 25 countries totally unassisted and only with her white cane named "Oscar". She inspired Dr. Fatima to work for the blind in Pakistan. Dr. Fatima founded the Pakistan Association of the Blind (PAB) in 1960.

She worked with the Pakistani government to remove the health clause so people with disabilities could find jobs. She also urged the government to introduced Braille (a system touch reading and writing for blind persons) in Pakistan officially. Dr. Shah died on October 12 2002 and is buried in Karachi. The government of Pakistan awarded her a Tamgha-i-Imtiaz She wrote a book titled. "Disability, Self-help and Social Change", which was sent to all famous libraries of the world. She is considered a symbol of resilience, perseverance and determination in spite of hardship and physical disability.