Saneeya Hussain
Encyclopedia
Saneeya Hussain was a Pakistani journalist
and environmentalist
. She married a Brazil
ian man in 1998 and died in Brazil in 2005.
Saneeya began her career at MNJ Pakisan working for Javed Jabbar
as a copywriter in 1978. In the mid-eighties, Saneeya edited The Star Weekend magazine. The paper was a platform for dissenting views. Banned columnists had to keep changing their names to continue writing, and the women’s movement that was so alive in those days found plenty of space in the magazines pages. She was also a member of the Shirkat Gah Collective which catalyzed the Women’s Action Forum, the lobby group that so fiercely resisted the Zia
regime. When “the red scribbles from upstairs” got unbearable, in early 1988, she left.
Saneeya moved on to join the World Conservation Union (IUCN) – and was also among one of the first Pakistanis to participate in people-to-people contact with Indian environmentalists. She also set up the pioneering Journalists Resource Centre that trained and encouraged journalists in environmental reporting.
Saneeyas involvement in the Pakistan's National Conservation Strategy (NCS) drafted at that time included the path-breaking NCS Bulletin (later The Way Ahead magazine), and its Urdu counterpart, Jareeda, edited by Obaidullah Baig
.
After going to work with the World Commission on Dams
at Cape Town, South Africa in August 1998, Saneeya met Luis P. Ferraz, the Brazilian geographer whom she interviewed for a project. Luis and Saneeya eventually married and moved to Kathmandu after she joined Panos South Asia as director in 2002 following a series of detailed long-distance interviews, emails and phone calls.
Saneeya and Luis decided to move back to Brazil in 2004 where she and Luis travelled and lived together in São Paulo, Brazil. On April 20, 2005 Saneeya suffered an asthma
attack in her São Paulo apartment. She was rushed to the hospital but due to heavy traffic did not reach the emergency room in time. Saneeya remained in a coma
for about a week, after which she died at the age of 50. Her father, Vasef Husain, died two months later in Karachi, Pakistan. Her mother and younger sister still reside in Karachi, while Luis lives in São Paulo.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
. She married a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian man in 1998 and died in Brazil in 2005.
Saneeya began her career at MNJ Pakisan working for Javed Jabbar
Javed Jabbar
Javed Jabbar is a legend of advertising in Pakistan, a famous politician, former information minister and an intellectual. He is father of renowned producer Mehreen Jabbar...
as a copywriter in 1978. In the mid-eighties, Saneeya edited The Star Weekend magazine. The paper was a platform for dissenting views. Banned columnists had to keep changing their names to continue writing, and the women’s movement that was so alive in those days found plenty of space in the magazines pages. She was also a member of the Shirkat Gah Collective which catalyzed the Women’s Action Forum, the lobby group that so fiercely resisted the Zia
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
regime. When “the red scribbles from upstairs” got unbearable, in early 1988, she left.
Saneeya moved on to join the World Conservation Union (IUCN) – and was also among one of the first Pakistanis to participate in people-to-people contact with Indian environmentalists. She also set up the pioneering Journalists Resource Centre that trained and encouraged journalists in environmental reporting.
Saneeyas involvement in the Pakistan's National Conservation Strategy (NCS) drafted at that time included the path-breaking NCS Bulletin (later The Way Ahead magazine), and its Urdu counterpart, Jareeda, edited by Obaidullah Baig
Obaidullah Baig
Obaidullah Baig is an eminent scholar, Urdu writer/novelist, Columnist and media expert from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Obaidullah Baig with his family escaped from pograms and genocide in Rampur, India and settled in Karachi, Pakistan...
.
After going to work with the World Commission on Dams
World Commission on Dams
The World Commission on Dams was formed in April 1997, to research the environmental, social and economic impacts of the development of large dams globally...
at Cape Town, South Africa in August 1998, Saneeya met Luis P. Ferraz, the Brazilian geographer whom she interviewed for a project. Luis and Saneeya eventually married and moved to Kathmandu after she joined Panos South Asia as director in 2002 following a series of detailed long-distance interviews, emails and phone calls.
Saneeya and Luis decided to move back to Brazil in 2004 where she and Luis travelled and lived together in São Paulo, Brazil. On April 20, 2005 Saneeya suffered an asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
attack in her São Paulo apartment. She was rushed to the hospital but due to heavy traffic did not reach the emergency room in time. Saneeya remained in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
for about a week, after which she died at the age of 50. Her father, Vasef Husain, died two months later in Karachi, Pakistan. Her mother and younger sister still reside in Karachi, while Luis lives in São Paulo.