Bilquis Edhi
Encyclopedia
Bilquis Bano Edhi Hilal-e-Imtiaz, , wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi
, is a professional nurse and one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan
. She has been nicknamed, The Mother of Pakistan. She was born in 1947 in Karachi
. She heads the Bilquis Edhi Foundation, and with her husband received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award
for Public Service. Her charity runs many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi. Together with her husband their charity has saved over 16,000 unwanted babies.
Her future husband proposed to her after recognising her talents and allowing her to lead the small nursing department. He had recognised her enthusiasm and interest during her six month training program where she had learnt basic midwifery and healthcare. They were married when she was seventeen and her husband was nearly twenty years older. Their honeymoon was unusual in that the newlyweds discovered a young girl with head injuries at their dispensary just after their wedding ceremony. Edhi said in 1989 that she did not regret the time lost in consoling the twelve year old's concerned relatives or supervising blood transfusions as now "... that girl is married with children; that's what is really important." The Edhi Foundation's unofficial website uses the line "Making a difference and changing lives forever".
Edhi took over the management of the jhoola
s project, the first of which had been built by her husband in 1952. These 300 cradles are available throughout Pakistan where parents can abandon unwanted children, or those that cannot be raised. They carry the message in English and Urdu “Do not kill, leave the baby to live in the cradle.” A small minority of abandoned children are disabled but over 90% are female. This alternative is thought to have reduced the number of dead babies who are killed by their own parents given the alternative provided by the Edhi Foundation to leave the unwanted babies in the cradles. The Edhi project is also responsible for burying dead babies found by the police.
The couple have four children who are involved with the Edhi Foundation and the management of the Edhi village, the fleet of ambulances, the mental home, the schools and the offices in Pakistan and London.
who made a contribution of 100,000 rupees (from his own pocket) and he particularly noted that their work provided social services to the poor of Pakistan without any discrimination. This contribution contrasts sharply with another offered by President Zia ul-Haq which was turned down because of the strings that were attached. It also contrasts with the 100,000 dollars that her husband gave to Pakistani workers in the USA affected by the 9/11 bombing. Despite her husband being received by Presidents and her own appearance on Pakistani television the couple still live modestly in a two room apartment which is part of one of their orphanages.
Abdul Sattar Edhi
Abdul Sattar Edhi, NI , or Maulana Edhi, as he is often known, is a Pakistani philanthropist. He is head of the Edhi Foundation, the world's largest ambulance help service and charity. Together with his wife, Bilquis Edhi, he received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. He is also...
, is a professional nurse and one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. She has been nicknamed, The Mother of Pakistan. She was born in 1947 in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. She heads the Bilquis Edhi Foundation, and with her husband received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...
for Public Service. Her charity runs many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi. Together with her husband their charity has saved over 16,000 unwanted babies.
Biography
Edhi was born in Karachi on August 14, 1947. When she was a teenager she was not enjoying school and managed to join a small expanding dispensary as a nurse in 1965. At the time the Edhi home was in the old city area of Karachi known as Mithadar where it had been founded in 1951. The small number of Christian and Hindu nurses who worked there had just reduced in number. The founder, Abdul Sattar Edhi, recruited a number of nurses including Bilquis who, unusually, was from a Muslim background.Her future husband proposed to her after recognising her talents and allowing her to lead the small nursing department. He had recognised her enthusiasm and interest during her six month training program where she had learnt basic midwifery and healthcare. They were married when she was seventeen and her husband was nearly twenty years older. Their honeymoon was unusual in that the newlyweds discovered a young girl with head injuries at their dispensary just after their wedding ceremony. Edhi said in 1989 that she did not regret the time lost in consoling the twelve year old's concerned relatives or supervising blood transfusions as now "... that girl is married with children; that's what is really important." The Edhi Foundation's unofficial website uses the line "Making a difference and changing lives forever".
Edhi took over the management of the jhoola
Baby hatch
A baby hatch is a place where mothers can bring their babies, usually newborn, and leave them anonymously in a safe place to be found and cared for. This kind of arrangement was common in mediaeval times and in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the device was known as a foundling wheel...
s project, the first of which had been built by her husband in 1952. These 300 cradles are available throughout Pakistan where parents can abandon unwanted children, or those that cannot be raised. They carry the message in English and Urdu “Do not kill, leave the baby to live in the cradle.” A small minority of abandoned children are disabled but over 90% are female. This alternative is thought to have reduced the number of dead babies who are killed by their own parents given the alternative provided by the Edhi Foundation to leave the unwanted babies in the cradles. The Edhi project is also responsible for burying dead babies found by the police.
The couple have four children who are involved with the Edhi Foundation and the management of the Edhi village, the fleet of ambulances, the mental home, the schools and the offices in Pakistan and London.
Recognition
Edhi and her husband have received a number of awards in recognition of their work. In July 2007 they were publicly recognised for their work by President Pervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
who made a contribution of 100,000 rupees (from his own pocket) and he particularly noted that their work provided social services to the poor of Pakistan without any discrimination. This contribution contrasts sharply with another offered by President Zia ul-Haq which was turned down because of the strings that were attached. It also contrasts with the 100,000 dollars that her husband gave to Pakistani workers in the USA affected by the 9/11 bombing. Despite her husband being received by Presidents and her own appearance on Pakistani television the couple still live modestly in a two room apartment which is part of one of their orphanages.