A memorable picture: Mrs Zubaida Mustafa with a group of senior journalists at the Karachi Press Club. Also seen are Ahmad Ali Khan, Syed Mohsin Ali, M.H. Askari, M. A. Majeed, Saleem Asmi, M. B. Naqvi, Ghayurul Islam, Hasan Abdi, Iqbal Jafri, Habib Khan Ghori, Abdul Hameed Chapra, et al.

 

The Passing of an Icon of Pakistan

By Dr Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD

I am saddened to hear about the passing of Ms Zubeida Mustafa, a former assistant editor of Dawn in Karachi, who died on July 9, 2025, at age 84. She retired from Dawn in 2009 after a career spanning three decades.

Zubeida Mustafa was a pioneering journalist and a strong advocate for women’s rights in Pakistan. In many ways, she held a unique position among Pakistani journalists, being the only woman in a prominent leadership role. She openly shared her liberal and enlightened views in the paper, even when such perspectives were often frowned upon in mainstream journalism. She also used her editorials to speak out against religious extremism.

Zubeida Mustaffa mentored numerous young Pakistani women to pursue careers in journalism. In 2012, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Women's Media Foundation for her reports on women's issues, politics, education, health, and culture. In 2013, the Women Media Center honored her for her contributions to journalism in Pakistan.

I had some interactions with her while she was working at Dawn. During one of my frequent visits to Pakistan in the early 1990s to see my parents, I met with the editor, Mr Ahmad Ali Khan. I expressed my desire to contribute occasional articles to the newspaper, and he was pleased. He introduced me to Zubeida Mustafa, then a young assistant editor. At that time, she edited the Books and Authors section and later took on responsibility for the editorial page of Dawn. She encouraged me to write for the paper. This was an era before spell checks, AI, and Google. Whenever I had the chance to visit her in her office, I found her very busy reviewing galley proofs of Dawn for typos and errors, a demanding task. However, she was always gracious. After her retirement, she started her own blog, which gave her the freedom to choose the topics she wanted to address.

I wrote regularly for various sections of Dawn for over ten years. Today, it is a very different paper from what it was during Zubeida Mustafa’s era. Some sections of the Sunday edition have disappeared, while others have been added. Sadly, like all print newspapers, it has suffered revenue losses due to competition from electronic media. However, the impact she made and her role in promoting women’s enlightenment in Pakistan will never fade.

(Dr Syed Amir is a former Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, and a health science administrator, US National Institutes of Health)