Daily Times

The passing away of veteran and top educationist Anita Ghulam Ali marks an end to an era filled with persistent social and political struggles for education and the welfare of teachers to uplift their status in Pakistani society and give them a strong social standing. Born in 1938 to a family of intellectuals in Karachi, Anita had an innate tendency to defy all the norms this misogynistic society imposes on women. Her restless soul found comfort only when she discovered her love of microbiology as a subject in Karachi University and left the university holding a gold medal. Joining the SM College as a faculty member in 1961 marked her debut in the teaching profession. She was a trade unionist and relentlessly put in her efforts to nationalise all the private colleges. As a political worker, her life reached a summit when she headed the teacher’s movement in 1970 against the state’s continuous negligence towards this stratum of society. She was even baton charged and put behind bars for a short period during this movement. This struggle of hers bore fruit when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power and nationalised all the educational institutes. Consolidating the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) is one of her biggest achievements. After joining SEF in 1992 as its Chief Executive, she took the organisation from ruins to one of the most productive educational institutions in the history of Pakistan. When she joined, SEF was working with two employees and without any office, whereas after she left it had 164 staff members and five sub-offices in different areas of Sindh. Her time with SEF which spans over almost two dozen years shows her dedication to the cause of education. She served twice as Sindh Education Minister, first in 1996 under the interim government of Mumtaz Ali Bhutto and second in 1999 after Musharraf took the presidential throne. During the latter turn, Anita Ghulam Ali left the ministry due to her irreconcilable differences with the dictator. Not only did she excel in her education career, her active participation in the sports arena stands as a testament to her versatile personality. She was a true sportsperson who led her university’s team in netball and was also a keen badminton and table tennis player. She also worked as a newscaster in Pakistan Radio while Karachi was the country’s capital. Among her other distinguished achievements, she won the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for her lifetime dedication to the cause of education. She died due to a protracted cardiac illness. She has left shoes too big to be filled. She took her last breath in a hospital in Karachi. RIP Anita Ghulam Ali, they don’t make them like you any more. *