LAHORE: Legendary poetess Parveen Shakir was remembered on her 23rd death anniversary across the country on Tuesday.
Parveen Shakir was born on 24 November 1952 in Karachi. She was one of the female poets who can be regarded as pioneers in defying tradition by expressing the “female experience” in Urdu poetry.
During her educational career, Shakir earned three masters degrees in English Literature, Linguistics and Bank Management, as well as, a PhD in Bank Administration.
Shakir joined the civil services of Pakistan in 1976 in the customs department. She was appointed as the second secretary in the department in 1986.
She was the first female poetess who expressed the emotions and feelings of a young girl in a realistic manner. Spontaneity in expression was the hallmark of her poetry that mesmerized the young lot, especially girls.
“Khushbu” gave her a dream start and then her road to success never stopped. She employed mainly two forms of poetry in her work; gazal and free verses.
Her prominent work is based on feminism, romanticism and social stigmas. It won’t be wrong if we say that she was the first female poet, who used the word ‘larki’ in her writings in the very male-dominated Urdu poetry. Her poetry is a reflection of feminine perspective on love, romance, aloofness, separation and intimacy.
